High temperatures are coming in turn, and the tourism industry is also restless in this hot and dry summer.
The first half of the year is a bumper year for the tourism industry, and tourism events in various places are frequently searched. According to tourism data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in the first half of 2023, the total number of domestic tourists was 2.384 billion, a year-on-year increase of 63.9%; domestic tourism revenue (total tourism expenditure) was 2.30 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.12 trillion yuan over the previous year, an increase of 95.9% %.
However, in this round of recovery of the tourism industry, the state of the industry is different from before. This can also be seen from the discussions on social media. Tourism keywords have never been so abundant. Special forces tourism, citywalk, "village BA", hotel decompression, reverse tourism, customized tour... It seems that overnight, Chinese people began to create a new history of the tourism industry.
If we want to name this change, only "National New Tourism" can summarize its comprehensive reshaping from the characteristics of the crowd to the consumption trend. In the face of the emerging new demand, what action does the tourism industry take? In the long run, can they capitalize on this new fad?
The butterfly is reborn, and the new national tourism is a new increase in the industry
National new tourism is a concept formed together with the "explosive" recovery of the domestic tourism market.
In the first half of the year, Chinese people’s travel sentiment exploded, and the tourism industry ran out of speed with the hotel accommodation OTA business. According to data from Tianyancha, there were nearly 72,000 newly registered hotels in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%. The financial reports of hotel groups such as BTG and Jin Jiang have also turned losses into profits in the first half of the year. The financial report just released by Tongcheng Travel shows that in the second quarter of 2023, its revenue will reach 2.87 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 117.4%. The adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was 810 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 175.8%. The adjusted net profit was 590 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 428.9%.
So is this just a resurgence of travel enthusiasts returning to places across the country? From the perspective of market performance, tourism is not going back to the past, but surpassing the past. The data of most subdivisions and platforms has exceeded that of 2019. For example, in the second quarter of Tongcheng Travel, the revenue of the accommodation industry increased by 90.7% compared with the same period in 2019, the transportation revenue increased by 59.5% compared with the same period in 2019, and the total transaction volume reached 59.7 billion, an increase of 44.6% compared with the same period in 2019. has grown significantly.
The new national tourism is a real long-term increase, which is the value of "new".
National new tourism, first of all "new" in the increase of consumers. From the perspective of the crowd, the scale of consumers has expanded, and non-first-tier cities have participated extensively, raising the market ceiling.
Southwest Securities once pointed out that the domestic third-tier and lower markets have a low base of disposable income, so they are growing fast, and the necessary cost of life is also lower. There is more capital for cultural enjoyment consumption, and tourism is an important option. As of June 30, 2023, about 87% of Tongcheng Travel's registered users live in non-first-tier cities. In the second quarter, about 70% of the new paying users of Tongcheng Travel’s WeChat platform came from non-first-tier cities.
The new national tourism is also "new" in the change of individual preferences of consumers, which makes the products that can be developed and the focus of attention in the tourism market more diverse. Various user groups such as Generation Z, small-town youth, and the new middle class have different consumption priorities, and the potential is worth exploring.
According to Crowley’s 2023 Tourism Consumption Content Research Report, among various forms of tourism, 89.8% of tourists choose independent travel; post-70s and post-80s spend more on transportation, while post-00s and post-85s are more willing to contribute food, drink, Playing and shopping expenses; high-tier cities and male tourists have a soft spot for experiential projects, while low-tier cities and female tourists prefer spiritual tourism. These obvious tendencies have become the reference for customized products in the tourism industry. According to the financial report of Tongcheng Travel, in the leisure and vacation market, the proportion of personalized needs such as private tours and customized tours is rapidly increasing.
Finally, the new national tourism is still a profound change in the tourism trend - the punch-card tourism of "sleeping in the car, taking pictures after getting off the car" makes people physically and mentally exhausted. Consumers begin to travel in different ways such as national trends, folk culture, and local activities. Find meaning in it. From mountain climbing to temples, hotel decompression to reverse tourism and returning to nature, Chinese people see the meaning of tourism. No one stipulates where to go or what to do when traveling. Leisure and relaxation are the last word. Their psychology has also changed travel destinations and travel patterns.
This summer, "Village BA" is popular all over the country. The tourism revenue of Rongjiang County, Guizhou Province, where it is held, increased by 164.05% year-on-year to 3.834 billion yuan. The "White Paper on Insights into China's Travel Consumption Trends (2023 Edition)" pointed out that this year's May 1 journey travel keywords "niche" and "unpopular" have increased by 172% and 113% month-on-month, respectively. With a substantial increase of 169%, the tourism potential of Chinese cities is still worth exploring.
All kinds of new elements and new performances show that the new national tourism has brought the tourism market into a new round of growth cycle.
Conforming to the trend of the big cycle, long-term value is hidden in user characteristics
New growth must be a process, and the new national tourism means that consumers' right to speak has been greatly improved. For the tourism industry to understand the new national tourism, the first step is naturally to understand the characteristics and needs of users.
The Hong Kong Stock Research Institute believes that the trend of tourism is nationalization and popularization, and the penetration rate of online tourism has exceeded 60%. Therefore, the OTA platform that has the most first-hand contact with users in the industry is very important to observe and utilize user characteristics.
First of all, in terms of channels, as soon as the low-tier market rises, the scale of users will increase and there will be more sources, and they will want to access travel products more conveniently. The depth of channels will become the main factor affecting the growth of users.
For example, although the network is fragmented, more and more consumers are accustomed to fulfilling their daily needs in a one-stop way. On WeChat, the national communication software, in addition to the Jiugongge entrance for same-journey travel, users are constantly optimizing the search scene and using booking, ordering, etc. The experience of these businesses in the hotel. In addition, Tongcheng Travel has also become a partner of Huawei's service portal for the tourism industry.
Secondly, at the supply level, users need a convenient travel experience, and more products are bound to be needed for different levels and types of user needs. For the new generation of travelers, especially young users who prefer customized experience, it covers comprehensive services such as group tours, independent travel, wine tour packages, customized tours, themed tours, outbound tours, visas, and car use, and has become Tongcheng Important factors that attract them to travel.
Finally, at the level of user needs, the release of the potential of the tourism market depends on upgrading the tourism theme - gameplay, which is the most effective factor to attract contemporary people. Efficient operation and marketing for different groups of people, improving quality and service, can attract a specific group of users together in a circle and become potential users in the tourism market.
Taking Generation Z, who is the most playful, as an example, the "Generation Z Gamers White Paper" lists 8 major categories, 32 subcategories, and 169 subgroups. Whether tourism can be combined with the most popular content such as e-sports and music Get up and let "travel + X" become a model?
The answer is of course possible. For example, at the end of June this year, Jay Chou's Haikou concert "Si Lian" directly brought the passenger throughput of Meilan Airport to a peak, attracting more than 150,000 tourists and increasing revenue by more than 900 million yuan. In addition, the "Tongcheng Cup" e-sports event created by Tongcheng Travel, the Tongcheng Gexian Village Music Festival, etc., have also become new tourist scenes that young people love to go and play.
These actions have played a significant role in promoting the release of national tourism consumption. As of the second quarter, the average monthly paying users of Tongcheng Travel was 42.2 million, a year-on-year increase of 61.7%, an increase of 52.3% over the same period in 2019, and a record high for two consecutive quarters; annual paying users reached 220 million, and the monthly payment ratio rose to 15.1%. A three-year high.
It is not difficult to find that the essence of national new tourism means diversification and refinement, so it can still be regarded as a blue ocean. Making tourism with higher quality, better experience, and more cost-effective will become the key to user choice.
Rooted in the industrial chain, laying the foundation for the release of long-term potential
To enable users to watch and play well, the entire industry chain must be involved. However, the three-year epidemic has undoubtedly aggravated the strangeness between the industry chain and users-the online rate of tourism has increased, but is the most affected offline, the ability to receive tourists still solid? Users have relaxed mentality, but they have higher requirements for experience. Hotels and travel are not "indigenous" industries of the Internet. Can they keep up with the changes?
Therefore, in the view of the Hong Kong Stock Research Institute, the long-term logic of the new national tourism does not lie in the outbreak overnight, but in the continuous promotion of the construction of the industrial chain. Among them, the OTA platform will continue to participate, empower and harvest.
First of all, changes in demand are forcing the reshaping and evolution of the industrial chain, which is also an inevitable requirement for the high-quality development of the tourism industry.
For example, the value of offline channels will rebound after users’ demand for leisure and vacation explodes. Like Tongcheng Travel, which has established its own advantages online, the offline layout will undoubtedly broaden the boundaries of services. In the second quarter, Tongcheng Travel also announced the official launch of the offline store franchise plan, and is building a new enabling platform including brand, technology, products, traffic, etc., which is of great significance to improving the efficiency of the supply chain.
Secondly, compared with mature foreign markets, the supply-side structure of the domestic tourism industry is relatively scattered, and the current characteristics of being large but not strong are very prominent.
For example, from the data point of view, public data show that in 2022, the hotel chain rate in my country will be about 39%. Compared with the 60% chain rate of hotel brands in developed countries and the level of more than 80% in the United States, this is not conducive to brand planning. It is difficult to build a good professional brand by continuously upgrading its own services and making consumers' travel experience very different. The eLong hotel technology platform is committed to promoting the digital upgrade of the accommodation industry chain and supply chain. At this stage, nearly 2,000 hotels have signed contracts. This unified upstream service will be a key force supporting the adjustment of the national new tourism supply chain.
Finally, the trend of digital intelligence upgrading on the supply side of the tourism industry is unstoppable, because it directly affects what kind of experience users who are accustomed to digital life will get. In the future, low efficiency and low level of intelligence may become the trigger for brands to be squeezed out of the core market.
In recent years, the field of transportation, especially the transportation hubs in the non-first-tier market, which has a low level of digitalization, is relying on digitalization to change its business status. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, Henan Airport Group, Yichang Three Gorges Airport, Luoyang Rail Transit Group, Nanchang Metro and other units have all chosen to cooperate with Tongcheng Travel, either to transform the travel process, or to start more operational activities, in many ways Go digital.
This has also created a new growth point for Tongcheng Travel. The revenue ratio of "other" businesses such as Tongcheng Travel advertising services, hotel management services, business travel services, membership services, and scenic spot ticket services has increased from 6.3% in the second quarter of 2019. % increased to 11% in the second quarter of 2023.
It can be seen that tourism is the switching of different scenarios and experiences. Since both B-end and C-end businesses are rooted in this industrial chain, they can naturally be well coordinated. In the long run, the work of Tongcheng Travel has also strengthened its voice in the industry chain.
epilogue
When the new national tourism has become popular, a new trend is actually magnified, that is, more consumers find that spending money for their own happiness gives life more meaning.
This is also the reason why the tourism industry has entered a new growth cycle. Tourism has become popular and popular. In commercial terms, it means an increase in frequency and consumption. After a long wait, whether it is for consumers or practitioners, it is a happy thing to maximize the value of tourism.
Source: Hong Kong Stock Research Institute