Dai Bin | Integration of culture and tourism promotes the transformation and upgrading of the tourism industry (adhering to the "two innovations" and paying attention to the new era of literature and

Adhere to the "two innovations" and pay attention to the new era of literature and art. On July 19th, Dai Bin, the president of the China Tourism Research Institute, was invited to publish a special article titled "The Integration of Culture and Tourism Promotes the Transformation and Upgrading of the Tourism Industry" in the People's Daily. Tourism is on the rise, opening up new spaces in the performing arts market; Artistic immersion meets the diverse tourism and cultural needs. The full text is shared as follows.

The 4th Gulangyu Music Festival in Xiamen.

Photo provided by Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Fujian Province

West Lake Landscape in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.

Photo by Zhou Yilu (Image China)

Photos of Shanghai Rainbow Indoor Choir performance.

Shanghai Rainbow Indoor Choir provides pictures

In the past, people's understanding of tourism was limited to the sightseeing stage of "seeing mountains, water, and scenery". Today, the integration of culture and tourism is driving the transformation and upgrading of the tourism industry. Tourists not only enjoy beautiful scenery but also experience a better life during their travels. Especially cultural projects such as art festivals and concerts, as new tourism resources, have become an important force in promoting the high-quality development of the tourism industry

Art is the best carrier of humanities and human emotions. Like famous mountains, rivers, scenic spots and other tourism resources, the quality of life empowered by art is also a key competitiveness of urban tourism industry

Today, the integration of culture and tourism is driving the transformation and upgrading of the tourism industry. Tourists not only enjoy beautiful scenery but also experience a better life during their travels. Especially cultural projects such as art festivals and concerts, as new tourism resources, have become important forces in promoting high-quality development of the tourism industry.

Tourism is on the rise, opening up new spaces in the entertainment market. At the beginning of this century, the first landscape live performance "Impression: Liu Sanjie" pioneered the early form of tourism entertainment. Once upon a time, people would embark on their journey back to Guilin after visiting the Three Mountains, Two Caves, and One River along the Li River. The nights in Yangshuo were unfamiliar to millions of tourists every year. The appearance of "Impression: Liu Sanjie" has lit up the night sky of the Li River. Tourists visiting Guilin can not only appreciate the beauty of the beautiful mountains and waters in the natural scenery during the day, but also enjoy a wonderful performance that integrates classic mountain songs, ethnic customs, Li River fishing fires and other regional elements at night. This unique form of performing arts, with real mountains and waters as the performance stage and local cultural customs as the main content, quickly gained considerable social and economic benefits. A large number of tourism performances that are deeply loved by tourists and enhance the cultural content of tourist destinations have emerged. The "Impression Series" in Lijiang, Mount Wuyi and other places, the "See You Again Series" in Mount Wutai and Pingyao, as well as large-scale live performances such as "Everlasting Regret", "Eternal Love of Song City" and "Crossing Dehua Street" are popular with tourists, and many performances are hard to get a ticket during holidays.

In the past decade, with the significant increase in tourism demand, the integration of stage art and tourism has entered a new stage of technological assistance, content innovation, and rapid growth. According to estimates, during this year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday, a total of 110 million domestic tourists traveled in China, a year-on-year increase of 6.3%; The total expenditure of domestic tourists on travel was 40.35 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.1%. Since 2023, China's tourism market has rapidly recovered and become one of the highlights of economic growth. With the expansion of market space and the support of industrial policies, more resources have entered the tourism industry, and a group of cultural enterprises targeting the tourism market have rapidly grown. Shanghai Disney, Universal Studios Beijing, Happy Valley, Chimelong and other tourist resorts have played a leading role, realizing the clustering of performances, entertainment, catering, accommodation, shopping and other forms of business and large-scale tourism consumption.

With the increasing influence of social media on the tourism industry, personalized travel methods are becoming more popular among people. The decision of tourist travel destinations is not only based on traditional natural and historical cultural resources, but also on cultural and artistic resources that showcase individuality and freshness. The phenomenon of traveling to a city for a play, performance, or exhibition is becoming increasingly common. In 2023, more than 5600 large and medium-sized concerts and music festivals with over 2000 attendees will be held in China, with 35.52 million spectators. The popularity of "New Dragon Gate Inn" has made Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe an important check-in spot in Hangzhou. Wearing Hanfu, visiting West Lake, and watching Yue Opera have become fashionable travel "three piece sets" for young people. High quality stage arts such as "The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting", "Confucius", "Li Bai", "Never Disappearing Radio Waves", "Wing Chun", which are well known by the public, are hard to find a ticket in tour performances around the country, and initially have the market appeal of resident performances.

It is worth noting that art forms such as chamber choirs, symphonies, small theater plays, and modern dance have also become important factors in driving tourism popularity and improving tourism quality. Shanghai Rainbow, Xiamen Love Song, Wuhan Star River, Chengdu Mockingbird and other indoor choirs, as well as Beijing Nine People Drama, Guizhou Symphony Orchestra and other groups or institutions, have become well-known brands in the vertical subdivision fields of related arts, and have also become engines to drive young people into a city. Through cultural activities such as artistic performances, tourism consumption is stimulated, which deeply stimulates the vitality of the tourism market, enriches the supply of tourism products, and enhances the urban tourism experience.

The sinking of art meets the diverse needs of tourism culture. From the "fire" in Zibo and the "heat" in Tianshui, to the snowflakes in Harbin, the flowers in Shanghai, and the hairpin flowers in Quanzhou, the popularity of one city after another highlights the fact that meeting people's emotional needs, displaying more kindness, sincerity, and warmth, is the true "traffic code". Similarly, for tourism and entertainment, only by deeply understanding the needs of tourists can we effectively empower the high-quality development of the tourism industry, which is related to a better life and economic development, and truly achieve the unity of social and economic benefits.

Cultural products aimed at tourists should not only showcase their unique features, but also have a clear positioning. Due to different scenarios, tourism performances and ordinary theater performances have different product positioning. If foreign tourists want to watch Beijing Opera while traveling to Beijing, the martial opera "Da Nao Tian Gong" may have a better effect; Tourists from other places who come to Henan to watch Henan opera, and the story of Yang family general 'Mu Guiying Takes Command' should win a lot of applause. This means that in the early stages of creating art works for tourism, the integration of the characteristics of the works and the needs of tourists should be carefully considered. If a cultural heritage site wants to introduce traditional Chinese opera performances to expand its tourism dimension, it may be better to arrange a piece of opera that matches the architecture, and then add costume fitting, facial makeup and other elements to enhance tourists' experience and better integrate art and tourism.

Adapt to local conditions to construct new tourism scenes and cultivate new artistic spaces. Currently, neighborhoods, commercial districts, and other areas have also become new spaces for tourism and entertainment. The Crazy Barber Shop, performed by Happy Fried Dough Twists in Shanghai Ruihong Tiandi Yueliangwan, arranged the theater in the shopping mall. The stage was no longer a "mirror frame" hanging on the high platform, but connected the audience and drew closer to the audience. During the performance, the audience becomes participants and promoters of the plot, and multiple endings allow the audience's choices to influence the direction of the story. The drama in the mall not only brings performance activities to the audience and becomes a cultural project within reach, but also brings new cultural experiences to tourists. Commercial districts such as Wangfujing in Beijing, Huaihai Road in Shanghai, and Chunxi Road in Chengdu, as well as historical and cultural districts such as Nanluoguxiang, Houhai, and Dashilan in Beijing, are dotted with small and beautiful exhibitions of intangible cultural heritage and art; Beijing's Guomao, Yansha, Huamao, and Guangzhou's Huanshi East Road, Beijing Road and other commercial districts have gathered cultural, artistic and leisure formats including cinemas, small theaters, and script shows, attracting more and more local residents and foreign tourists, especially young visitors. The integration of art and tourism development can also revitalize idle urban spaces, rejuvenate ancient buildings, and make "going upstairs to watch a good show and going downstairs to drink coffee" a wonderful living experience. The organic combination of new performing arts spaces, commercial spaces, living spaces, etc. has lowered the psychological threshold for people to enter the arts, transforming viewing from "watching specifically" to "experiencing at any time".

Currently, more and more young people are entering the fields of culture, art, tourism, and leisure to innovate and start businesses, reconstructing tourism scenes with wisdom and creativity. Government departments, tourism organizations, and academia are also tracking and researching these new tourism trends and tendencies in a timely manner to tap into the potential of tourism. These efforts have demonstrated the broad prospects of shaping tourism through culture and promoting culture through tourism.

Art is the best carrier of humanities and human emotions. Like famous mountains, rivers, scenic spots and other tourism resources, the quality of life empowered by art is also a key competitiveness of urban tourism industry. We look forward to art and tourism professionals joining hands, adhering to the principles of integrity, innovation, and integrated development, and launching more excellent art works and high-quality tourism products, so that art and tourism can create a better life together.

Author | Edited by Dai Bin | Source by Liu Xin | Please indicate the author and source when reprinting in People's Daily