Research results of 2013 "China Tourism Economy Blue Book (No. 5)"

China Tourism Academy: Tourism economy is relatively optimistic in 2013

On the morning of January 9, 2013, the "2012 Tourism Economy Operation Analysis and 2013 Development Forecast, and Results Release Conference of China Tourism Economy Blue Book (No.5)" hosted by the China Tourism Research Institute was held in Chengdu. The China Tourism Research Institute has released relevant research results on the operation status of China's tourism economy in 2012 and the development situation in 2013. The latest research results from the China Tourism Research Institute indicate that although the global economic recovery was hindered in 2012, with the background of domestic economic stabilization and recovery, China's tourism economy continued to maintain stable and rapid growth through the joint efforts of the entire industry and society, and fully achieved the work goals set at the beginning of the year. It is expected that the total revenue of the tourism industry for the whole year of 2012 will be 2.59 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.1%. The three major tourism markets are in a pattern of "two increases and one leveling", with domestic and outbound tourism maintaining rapid growth, while inbound tourism is basically flat. It is expected that the number of domestic tourists will reach 3.0 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.6%, and the domestic tourism revenue will be 2.3 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 19.1%; The number of outbound tourists reached 82 million, a year-on-year increase of 16.7%, and the outbound tourism expenditure was 98 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 35.2%; The number of inbound tourists was 133 million, a year-on-year decrease of 1.7%, and the foreign exchange income from inbound tourism was 48.3 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 0.3%; The trade deficit in tourism services is expected to further widen, reaching nearly 50 billion US dollars. The overall operation of the tourism industry is relatively prosperous. In the first three quarters of 2012, the tourism industry prosperity index was 125.86, 128.45, and 128.59, respectively, and the tourism entrepreneur confidence index was 135.65, 128.93, and 123.58, all at the level of "prosperity" or "relatively prosperity". The integration of the tourism industry is advancing in depth, and the tourism industry system is becoming more perfect; The enthusiasm for developing tourism in local areas, especially in cities, has risen and has become an important driving force for innovative development of the tourism industry; The people are more satisfied with the development of the tourism industry, with a national satisfaction index of 80.66 in 2012, reaching the level of "satisfaction" for the first time. The China Tourism Research Institute believes that a sound economic and social foundation has laid a solid foundation for the sustainable and healthy development of the tourism industry. Coupled with policy incentives such as "doubling income", "new four modernizations", and "beautiful China" construction, the operation of China's tourism economy in 2013 was relatively optimistic. It is expected that China's tourism industry will continue to grow steadily and rapidly in 2013, with stable growth in domestic tourism, rapid growth in outbound tourism, slight growth in inbound tourism, and further expansion of the trade deficit in tourism services. It is expected that the total annual tourism revenue will be 2.96 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.2%. The number of domestic tourists reached 3.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10%; Domestic tourism revenue reached 2.65 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15%. The number of inbound tourists reached 137 million, a year-on-year increase of 3%; The foreign exchange revenue from inbound tourism was 49.3 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 5%. The number of outbound tourists reached 94.3 million, a year-on-year increase of 15%; Outbound tourism expenses amounted to 117.6 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 20%. In terms of policy recommendations, the China Tourism Research Institute proposes to accelerate the pace of reform and innovation while expanding tourism consumption. It will comprehensively implement the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and promote the scientific development of the tourism industry, focusing on the two strategic goals of "strategic pillar industries of the national economy and modern service industries that satisfy the people more", and promote the development of the tourism industry to a new level. It is also reported that the book "Analysis of China's Tourism Economy Operation in 2012 and Development Forecast in 2013" (Part 5 of the "Blue Book of China's Tourism Economy" series) compiled by the China Tourism Research Institute has recently been published and distributed by China Tourism Press.

A tourism development path with Chinese characteristics has taken shape

Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, pointed out that after more than 30 years of efforts, especially the rapid development in the past decade, a tourism development path with Chinese characteristics has taken shape. First, the tourism consumption demand of the general public has become the basic support for the continued prosperity of China's tourism economy. In the past, the world paid attention to international tourism. The development of my country's tourism industry also started with inbound tourism. It was not until recent years that we deeply realized that national tourism is the main body of the tourism economy. Especially in 2012, our understanding became more rational. From the market perspective, national mass tourism consumption accounts for 96% of the entire market; from the perspective of industrial development, the cultivation of tourism formats and the improvement of tourist destinations in various places are also based on the layout of national mass tourism consumption. This is the characteristic of China's tourism development as a developing country and a major country, which is fundamentally different from the tourism development path of countries and regions such as Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong, China. Second, the market mechanism plays a basic role in resource allocation and has become a real driving force for the development of the tourism economy. Due to the special industrial nature of the tourism industry and the fact that the tourism industry has just started, my country proposed a "government-led strategy" for the development of the tourism industry in the early 1990s, and has made great achievements over the years. With the establishment of the socialist market economic system, tourism, as an open industry, has increasingly emphasized the role of market mechanisms while emphasizing government leadership. At present, a group of corporate entities with market vitality and competitiveness have been formed. Enterprises of various ownerships actively participate in tourism operations, and private capital plays an increasingly important role in the development of tourism economy. Third, the Party committees and governments at all levels attach great importance to the industry, which has promoted the joint efforts of tourism economy, especially the construction of tourist destinations. For a large developing country like China, which is also a socialist country, industrial development cannot be separated from the guidance of the government. Tourism is a rapidly developing industry and needs more government support. The tourism development strategy, the environment creation of tourist destinations, and the construction of tourism public service systems in the vast central and western regions especially need to form the joint efforts of the whole society, which cannot be achieved without the leadership of local Party committees and governments. In recent years, driven by the national strategy of tourism and the promotion of work such as tourist satisfaction, Party committees and governments at all levels have attached more importance to the development of tourism industry than before. In many places, the top leaders are in charge of tourism, which has played a good role in promoting the development of local tourism. Fourth, science and technology, education and talents are increasingly becoming important guarantees for the sustainable development of tourism. In recent years, the tourism industry has made more full use of modern scientific and technological means, giving rise to many new formats and quickly occupying a large market share. Smart tourism is in the ascendant, and a number of smart tourism cities, smart scenic spots, smart hotels, and smart travel agencies have been formed. Tourism education and scientific research have made new achievements, and first-level disciplines are being established. Doctoral, master's, professional master's, undergraduate, higher vocational, and secondary vocational systems are complete, which has cultivated a large number of high-quality talents for the tourism industry and formed a number of influential academic achievements. The world's first comprehensive and large-capacity tourism dictionary, "China Tourism Dictionary", was officially released in May 2012.

Tourism development mode is accelerating

The quality and efficiency of tourism development have been further improved. For a long time, the per capita growth of my country's domestic tourism consumption has been slow, especially the per capita tourism expenditure of urban residents, which once showed a downward trend. Although the total per capita expenditure increased rapidly in 2011, the per capita tourism expenditure of urban residents was still lower than the historical best level. In 2012, the above situation was reversed. In the first three quarters of 2012, the per capita tourism expenditure of urban residents reached 920 yuan, which is already higher than the best level for the entire year in history. In recent years, the per capita tourism expenditure of rural residents has been increasing year by year. In the first three quarters of 2012, the per capita tourism expenditure of rural residents was 477 yuan, which was already higher than the level of the whole year of the previous year. Although the performance of the inbound market is not ideal, the per capita spending growth rate has also picked up. The structure of the tourism industry has been steadily optimized. The integrated development of the tourism industry has become a social consensus, and the tourism industry system has been further improved. From an internal perspective of the tourism industry, various forms of tourism complexes have emerged in large numbers; from an external perspective, the integration of tourism and agriculture, cultural and creative industries, real estate industry, financial industry, equipment manufacturing industry, etc. is deepening, and new business formats are constantly emerging. The horizontal and vertical division of labor in the tourism industry is more reasonable. For example, the wholesale and retail system of travel agencies has developed qualitatively driven by the agency system. In terms of hotels, mid-range hotels have developed rapidly after budget hotels. From the perspective of regional structure, following the changes in the regional tourism development pattern last year, the central and western regions, especially the western region, continued to perform strongly in 2012. From the perspective of tourism prosperity, the pattern of tourism prosperity in the eastern, central and western regions has been reversed from "high in the east, followed by the central and low in the west" in recent years to "high in the west, followed by the central and low in the east". In the first three quarters, the tourism boom in the western region has level continues to lead. The functions of the tourism industry will be further unleashed. Tourism plays a more significant role in employment, poverty alleviation, and regional growth. More and more places regard tourism as a strategic pillar industry to promote national economic growth, a leading industry for coordinating urban and rural development, and a leading industry for urban transformation and development. The people are more satisfied with the development of the tourism industry. The tourism reception capacity represented by travel agencies, tourist hotels, tourist attractions and tourist vehicles and ships continues to increase, and is becoming the advocate of "China Service" and the first industry to set an example.

China's tourism industry has made new breakthroughs in international development

The rapid development of China's outbound tourism continues to attract worldwide attention. Countries have made attracting Chinese tourists an important part of tourism development, and have taken measures such as visas and Chinese services to facilitate Chinese tourists. In order to strengthen international tourism cooperation and promote the recovery of the inbound tourism market, the National Tourism Administration has carried out large-scale overseas promotional activities in conjunction with the tourism theme year, and held a series of activities such as the "China-Russia Tourism Year", which have achieved good results. In December 2012, Beijing and Shanghai were granted 72-hour transit visa exemption, and China has further opened up to foreign tourists. The strengthening of the international influence of China's tourism industry is also reflected in many aspects, such as: in September 2012, the world's first city-based international tourism organization, the World Tourism Cities Federation, was officially established in Beijing; in November, the United Nations World Tourism Organization decided to award the United Nations World Tourism Organization Lifetime Achievement Award to Shao Qiwei, Director of the China National Tourism Administration.

China Tourism Academy: It is recommended that tourism work in 2013 focus on six major priorities

China Tourism Academy suggested that in 2013, tourism departments should combine the comprehensive implementation of the spirit of the 18th CPC National Congress with the promotion of scientific development of the tourism industry, focus on two major strategic goals, and do a good job in six aspects to promote the development of the tourism industry to a new level. First, do everything possible to expand tourism consumption. Promote the release of major laws and policies such as the Tourism Law and the National Tourism and Leisure Outline as soon as possible, promote the further implementation of the paid vacation system, form a social atmosphere and business environment conducive to tourism consumption, and further enhance tourism consumption awareness. Continue to promote the development of rural tourism, cultural tourism, red tourism, etc., and actively cultivate new consumption hotspots such as marine island tourism and cruise yacht tourism in conjunction with the "ocean tourism" theme year. Accelerate the cultivation of emerging leisure industries and guide new tourism consumption demands. Encourage local governments and tourism enterprises to implement preferential measures to expand the number of tourists and consumption levels of low-income urban people and rural residents. Second, vigorously optimize the market order and improve service quality. Make good use of the "Tourism Law", "Travel Agency Regulations" and other legal means, actively perform responsibilities, strengthen the rectification of tourism consumption places, and work with the industrial and commercial, price, consumer rights protection and other departments and local governments to focus on combating problems such as inferior goods, exaggeration, inflated prices, and forced consumption for group travel. Adapt to the trend of individual tourists and promote local governments, especially cities, to strengthen public services for individual tourists. Third, deepen reforms and accelerate the cultivation of market entities. Accelerate the reform of industry associations. According to the requirements of the State Council's Document No. 41, by the end of 2014, the reform goal of "the personnel and financial relations of tourism industry associations at all levels and types should be decoupled from tourism administrative management departments" should be basically achieved. Accelerate the cultivation of various market intermediary organizations. Improve the degree of community residents' participation in the tourism industry and promote local residents to share the fruits of tourism development. Support the development of private tourism enterprises, support the branding, groupization and internationalization of powerful enterprises, and accelerate the cultivation of a group of dynamic and competitive market entities. Fourth, systematic innovation will improve the modernization level of the tourism industry. Promote the construction of smart tourism cities, smart tourism scenic spots, and smart tourism enterprises, increase the intensity of scientific and technological innovation and talent training in the tourism industry, and encourage the use of modern business models and information technology to transform traditional tourism. We will encourage the development of tourism products and new formats based on market demand, focus on providing services and guidance, and publish a tourism industry guidance catalogue in due course. We will launch a tourism development theory system construction project, increase investigation and research efforts, and enhance the ability of theories to serve the society. We will improve the destination evaluation system based on tourist satisfaction, respect the initiative of the grassroots and the masses, and fully stimulate the innovation power of local areas. Fifth, we will enhance the international competitiveness of my country's tourism industry. We will conscientiously implement the "Opinions on Doing a Good Job in Tourism Market Promotion under the New Situation", innovate market promotion and promotion methods, promote the improvement of inbound tourism policies such as visas, tax-free shopping, finance, and insurance, and ensure that the status of inbound tourism as a third tourist destination remains unchanged. We will steadily promote tourism cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and the four places, support more capital, talent and technology exchanges, and promote the healthy development of tourism and economy in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. We will strengthen research on the development situation and trends of the world tourism industry, enhance the ability to build platforms with China as the main body, and encourage Chinese tourism enterprises, products, ideas and talents to go global. Sixth, we will promote the in-depth integration of tourism with new urbanization and new rural construction. We will seize the opportunity of further acceleration of the urbanization process and accelerate the construction of various tourist destinations. Strengthen the guidance of local governments and tourism investment institutions, be vigilant against blind high-end tourism investment and face-saving and political achievement projects, and promote the rational operation of tourism-related investment. Comprehensively improve the level of rural tourism development, and actively use the market-driven and environmental optimization functions of the tourism industry to promote agricultural modernization and urbanization.