Dai Bin | Promoting the in-depth integration and development of culture and tourism

Recently, Dai Bin, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and president of the China Tourism Academy, was invited to publish a signed article titled "Promoting the Deep Integration and Development of Culture and Tourism" in the People's Political Consultative Conference Daily. The article puts forward the practical requirements for promoting the deep integration of culture and tourism and points out the key tasks of the deep integration of culture and tourism. The full text is shared below.

● In practice, we should emphasize the integrated development of China's excellent traditional culture and tourism, and also pay attention to the integrated development of revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture that carry the red gene and tourism. ● We should show a beautiful China and reshape the national tourism image with the advanced socialist culture that carries the national rejuvenation and people's happiness. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed that Chinese-style modernization is a modernization that coordinates material and spiritual civilization. The tourism industry will promote the all-round development of people and the common prosperity of the spiritual level as the development goal of the new era. It should not only emphasize the economic attributes of tourism, but also emphasize the cultural connotation; it needs not only effective market supply, but also perfect public services. Improve the system and mechanism for the deep integration of culture and tourism, empower tourism thinking, expand the market for culture, and meet the growing spiritual needs of the general public with excellent literary and artistic works and high-quality tourism products.

While maintaining an optimistic outlook on the prosperity of the tourism industry, we should also pay close attention to some deep-seated issues in the high-quality development of the tourism industry.

In the process of China's modernization, people's demand for "poetry and distant places" has begun to shift from "whether there is" to "how good it is", and from "whether it is lacking" to "whether it is exquisite". Benefiting from economic growth, scientific and technological progress, transportation improvements, and especially the increase in disposable income and leisure time, the tourism market has further penetrated, tourism consumption has steadily upgraded, and more and more residents in small and medium-sized towns and rural areas will become first-time travelers.

While we remain optimistic about the prosperity of the tourism industry, we should also pay close attention to some deep-seated problems in the high-quality development of the tourism industry. At present, the average frequency of Chinese people traveling once a quarter and the travel time of less than 8 days a year is compared with the average travel time of 15 days a year in developed countries. There is still a lot of room for improvement in the popularity of tourism. The vast majority of rural residents have not yet realized basic sightseeing needs and active leisure behaviors. The marketing, visa, payment, and foreign language environment related to inbound tourism need more facilitation measures, and the routes, products, and services need to be iterated and innovated. Tourism investment, project construction, and the cultivation of business entities are still in a relatively extensive development stage. To a certain extent, the tourism development model still has the traditional model of "eating dividends from the sea of ​​people and collecting tickets for the mountains and waters". Cultural creativity, fashionable life, and science and technology have not yet become new quality productivity for entrepreneurship and innovation. The labor remuneration, social reputation, and professional conditions of front-line practitioners such as tour guides, team leaders, drivers, and waiters are still relatively low. The construction of world-class tourist attractions and resorts, world-class tourist cities and blocks, and world-class tourism enterprises is still in its infancy. The modernization of the tourism governance system and governance capacity also faces a series of institutional and mechanism obstacles that need to be resolved. Various places still have problems to varying degrees: "documents are constantly being issued, policies are constantly being introduced, and brands are constantly being created, but problems have not been comprehensively, systematically and completely resolved." The traditional thinking of "waiting, relying and asking for help" still has a considerable market, and the tourism market's endogenous independent innovation capabilities are obviously weak.

How to innovate cultural expressions, especially modern expressions of traditional culture, and effectively enhance tourists’ experience, satisfaction and sense of gain of local culture has become a key task in the deep integration of culture and tourism.

According to the special survey data of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Data Center, culture and tourism have become one of the main ways for people to relax, rest, and learn. Ninety percent of the respondents like or like traveling very much, and eighty percent of the respondents said that they like or like to participate in cultural activities in their daily lives. The willingness of urban and rural residents to travel is above 80% all year round, and more than 90% on holidays, which means that tourism has entered the daily life of the people. The yearning of urban and rural residents for culture and tourism constitutes the most solid social and psychological foundation for the integrated development of culture and tourism. In the past, the understanding of tourism was to see mountains, water and scenery. Today, more and more tourists want both beautiful scenery and a good life including culture, art and entertainment consumption in their itineraries. Those residents who have a preference for cultural activities in their daily lives, like to go to the library to read, go to the art gallery to see exhibitions, and go to the theater to watch plays and listen to music, once they leave their usual environment and go to a foreign country as tourists, they are likely to be willing to experience the cultural connotation of the destination. The survey shows that 29.2% of the respondents hope to arrange more cultural experience activities during the travel process, and 78.3% of the respondents hope to participate in cultural experience activities during the travel process.

Contemporary tourism has shifted from the traditional mode of "short-term, infrequent, scenic spot-focused, and group tours" mainly focusing on famous mountains and rivers, world cultural heritage sites, and high-level scenic spots to the modern mode of "long-term, frequent, scene-focused, and free travel". Data show that more than 70% of tourists participate in cultural experience activities, and nearly 80% hope to arrange cultural experience activities during their travels. As the demand for natural integration into the cultural space of the destination increases, tourists will have higher requirements for the integrated development of culture and tourism. As tourism enters the daily lives of urban and rural residents and tourists enter the living scenes and leisure spaces of urban and rural residents, cultural venues and museums have become a new space for a better life shared by tourists and residents for leisure, entertainment, popular science, and learning. The survey shows that the cultural experience projects chosen by respondents in their usual and unaccustomed environments tend to be similar. Museums, art galleries, cultural centers, cultural stations and cultural centers are more popular with the public. More than 70% of respondents who often go to museums also go to museums when traveling. Local residents visit theme parks, cinemas, libraries and other cultural scenes at a higher rate than tourists. Tourists and residents also go to bookstores, exhibition halls, theaters and theater-type cultural venues, but their participation is relatively lower than that of museums, theme parks and cinemas. It is worth noting that tourists and citizens need to further increase their attention to cultural heritage activities organized by the government and spontaneous leisure places for the public.

Judging from the tourists' perception of the cultural value of the destination before and after the visit, the national and local governments have been highly recognized for their efforts to protect historical and cultural cities. Most tourists' perception of cultural attractions still remains on traditional cultural landscapes, and their awareness and experience of modern culture and contemporary civilization need to be improved. Although tourists are increasingly interested in the lifestyle, cultural performances, and landmark buildings of the destination, local cultural life and fashion consumption have not yet become core tourist attractions. Tourists' sense of gain and satisfaction with the integration of culture and tourism are generally good, but the sense of gain (81.92) is lower than the satisfaction (86.42). This means that tourists' understanding of local culture has not reached the expected goal.

The integrated development of culture and tourism can promote the enhancement of tourists' satisfaction and enhance their local cultural cognition and experience. Data show that the satisfaction and sense of gain of urban tourists are higher than those in rural areas. Tourists have a high evaluation of the integration of culture and tourism in cities with rich cultural heritage and developed economy and society, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, coastal tourist cities such as Qingdao and Dalian, and national historical and cultural cities such as Shenyang and Taiyuan. For cities with low tourist satisfaction, there is a common problem of "not understanding, not staying, and not spreading". "High ticket prices, incomprehensible, sightseeing is not as good as hearing, and no sense of participation" and other problems are also the pain points that tourists pay more attention to in the process of traveling to their destinations. How to innovate cultural expressions, especially the modern expression of traditional culture, and effectively enhance tourists' experience, satisfaction and sense of gain of local culture has become a key task for the deep integration of culture and tourism.

Improve the system and mechanism to promote the in-depth integration and development of culture and tourism

Study and implement Xi Jinping's cultural thought, face the people's beautiful life, build a national tourism development theory in the process of Chinese modernization, and provide a strong spiritual driving force for the deep integration and development of culture and tourism. Adhere to the people-centered development concept and work orientation, so that the vast number of urban and rural residents can travel, afford to travel, travel happily, and play at ease. Put the focus of tourism work in cities, focus on rural areas, and tilt more fiscal, financial, development and reform and industrial policies to the central and western regions and the vast rural areas, so that rural residents can also enjoy the spiritual level of cultural, leisure and tourism upgrade needs. Guided by tourist satisfaction, further improve the tourism public service system for individual tourists, and continuously improve tourist satisfaction and sense of gain. At the practical level, we must emphasize the integrated development of China's excellent traditional culture and tourism, and also pay attention to the integrated development of revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture that carry the red gene and tourism. We must not only consolidate the status of the strategic pillar industry of the national economy, but also introduce new quality productivity to cultivate new cultural space, innovate new tourism scenes, and strive to build tourism into a priority area of ​​humanistic economy.

Study and implement Xi Jinping's economic thought, focus on high-quality development, and cultivate new momentum for the tourism industry. Continue to expand the market base of tourism consumption, face the sinking market and demand upgrade, and pragmatically promote the domestic tourism promotion plan and the inbound tourism revitalization plan. Further release the driving effect of major cultural projects, accelerate the construction of a number of world-class tourist attractions and resorts with profound cultural heritage, national-level tourist leisure cities and blocks with distinctive cultural characteristics, world-class tourist cities, international tourist destinations and world-class tourism enterprises. Accelerate the cultivation of new formats such as "aviation + tourism", "high-speed rail + tourism", "highway + tourism", "shipping + tourism", "tourism + festivals", "tourism + shopping", and "tourism + art" with strong cultural attributes, high technological content, and strong demonstration and driving force, and create more tourism spaces and consumption scenarios for new demands. Strengthen the application of science and technology and cultural creation, and accelerate the cultivation of new quality productivity such as culture, art, technology, and venture capital that are necessary for the high-quality development of the tourism industry.

We should thoroughly study and implement the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on tourism work, implement the spirit of the National Tourism Development Conference, systematically evaluate the effectiveness of existing policies at the central and local levels, strengthen overall coordination and classified guidance, and pragmatically promote the construction of high-quality tourism destinations and characteristic development. Relying on the construction of national cultural parks, national parks and national tourism routes, we should strengthen the overall coordination of tourism planning and special construction across provinces and cities. In order to promote the recovery of the tourism industry from depression, the central and local governments have issued a large number of policy documents and held a large number of government-led conferences, forums and investment promotion activities, which have played an irreplaceable role in stabilizing expectations and boosting confidence. When the tourism economy enters the normal development track, governments at all levels and tourism administrative departments must be determined to control the "restless hands" and let the market return to the market and the government return to the government. The Tourism Development Conference must have necessary performance evaluations, and cannot be fully replicated and promoted on a large scale regardless of regions and levels. Accelerate the implementation of the National Tourism Service Quality Improvement Project. Give full play to the role of data and new scientific and technological elements, establish a high-quality development evaluation system for the tourism market with tourist satisfaction as the core in the new era, and conduct a national tourist satisfaction survey on a regular basis. Strengthen professional guidance and market supervision for key cities, key areas, and key departments, continuously improve and perfect the construction of service systems for individual tourists, and force the improvement of tourism product and service quality and optimization of destination environment from the perspective of tourists. Through institutional and mechanism reform, make state-owned tourism enterprises more market-oriented, market behavior more professional, and entrepreneurs' expectations more stable and confident. Expand domestic and foreign market publicity for the "Top 20 Chinese Tourism Groups", world-class tourist attractions and resorts, national tourist cities and blocks, and national tourist routes, and set more industry benchmarks.

Enrich the national tourism image and innovate the tourism promotion system. We should show a beautiful China and reshape the national tourism image with the advanced socialist culture that carries the national rejuvenation and people's happiness. For many years, cultural symbols such as Confucius, Peking Opera, and Kung Fu have constituted the world's cultural imagination of China and are also important carriers of foreign cultural exchanges. China in the new era is also a modern China. First-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, and national central cities such as Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Hangzhou, Daxing Airport, CBD, China Zun, Guangzhou Tower, Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway, Pudong New Area and other landmark buildings should also become new carriers of the national tourism image together with the Forbidden City, Terracotta Warriors, Yinxu, and Liangzhu. The revolutionary culture that carries the spirit of self-improvement of the Chinese nation and the advanced socialist culture that carries the national rejuvenation and people's happiness should also enter overseas cultural centers and tourism promotion scenes to show a beautiful China that is self-improving, modern, fashionable, and inherits history. It is necessary to establish a national tourism promotion bureau with market orientation and professional operation in due course, improve the cultural and tourism exchange and cooperation mechanism between China and foreign countries, form a new communication system by successfully hosting the China-West Culture and Tourism Year, Overseas Chinese Tourism Culture Week, and China International Tourism Fair, and promote the construction of border tourism pilot zones and cross-border tourism demonstration zones.

Author | Dai Bin Editor | Liu Xin Source | "People's Political Consultative Conference Daily" August 26, 2024, Page 5 Please indicate the author and source for reprinting