Dai Bin | Accelerate innovation, integration and improvement of the modern tourism system

Recently, at the invitation of the journal China's National Conditions and National Strength, Dai Bin, President of the China Tourism Research Institute, wrote the foreword article "Accelerating Innovation, Integration and Perfecting the Modern Tourism System". The full text is shared below.

On May 17, 2024, the National Tourism Development Conference conveyed General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on tourism work, namely, to focus on improving the modern tourism system, accelerate the construction of a tourism power, and promote the steady and long-term high-quality development of the tourism industry. This has anchored the direction for the current and future development of the tourism industry and is of far-reaching significance.

Constructing a national tourism development theory in the new era will gather social consensus and inject spiritual power into the modern tourism industry. Looking at the long history of tourism development in China and abroad, the cognition, development goals and guiding ideology of tourism are always in dynamic evolution. Without scientific theories derived from practice and development practices guided by scientific theories, there is no way to talk about a complete modern tourism system.

Today's tourism is not only a market and industry, but also an ideal and great cause for the people's unremitting struggle for a better life. We must face up to the characteristics of tourism industry with significant economic attributes and high marketization, and also pay attention to the trend of tourism industry's increasingly prominent business attributes and deepening socialization; we must recognize that traditional natural and cultural resources are still the fundamental resources for sightseeing tourism, and we must also have insight into the enrichment and expansion of the connotation and extension of the connotation of tourism industry by scientific and technological innovation, cultural creation, economic growth, social development, especially the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation and people's happiness.

A tourism market that is gradually sinking and demand is constantly upgrading, and a tourism industry that is a livelihood industry and a happiness industry, constitutes the fundamental logic for promoting the innovative development of the tourism industry and improving the modern tourism system. The contemporary tourism industry should and must focus on the construction of a tourism power and the demands of the times for high-quality development, adhere to the people-centered development concept, thoroughly implement the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on tourism work, and clearly and firmly follow the unique path of China's tourism development.

In response to the diversity and quality demands presented by the new stage of the comprehensive prosperity of mass tourism, we provide more abundant and high-quality tourism products. In the modernization process of the coordinated development of material and spiritual civilization, with the gradual accumulation of tourism experience of urban and rural residents, tourism demand has gradually moved towards diversification, personalization and high quality. In the past two years when the tourism industry has moved from rapid recovery to a new stage of prosperity and development, we have witnessed the return of the tourism market and also noticed the change in tourism demand. Niche tourist destinations have "come out of the circle" one after another, from theater venues to market streets and alleys and other leisure and living spaces for urban and rural residents, and have become part of the travel plans of tourists, especially young groups. More and more tourists not only expect to "plan their own itinerary", but also desire to "control their own travel experience". They tend to drive, travel by themselves and travel freely, and appreciate the beauty of nature and the charm of culture during their journey. As art goes to the masses and tourism moves towards the high end, many tourists begin to pursue a better life beyond the scenery itself. They hope to appreciate the cultural heritage and tranquility of ancient villages and towns, and look forward to witnessing the vigorous vitality and bright future of modern cities. From this perspective, the era of only scenery but lack of scenes is gradually fading away, and the era of tourism being shaped by tourists has arrived.

Promote the deep integration of culture and tourism, cultivate new quality productivity, and give birth to new tourism formats and new subjects. Tourism is a rigid demand for people's better life, and the pursuit of a better life has also become a new source of power for tourism development. The derived business logic, technical logic and development logic are irresistibly reshaping the contemporary tourism system. The tourism industry covers travel services represented by travel agencies, online travel platforms, and travel communities; tourism accommodation represented by star-rated hotels, brand hotels, rural hotels, and homestays; tourism reception represented by tourist attractions, resorts, cruise ships, theme parks, urban parks, suburban parks, and national parks; tourism retail represented by duty-free shops, tax refund shopping, shopping villages, and commercial complexes; tourism transportation represented by tourist trains, tourist sightseeing trains, inland cruise ships, and tourist car rentals; and all modern tourism service systems dedicated to providing services for tourists' lives in other places. These highly representative traditional tourism formats are facing major challenges of modernization and transformation.

From tourism concepts to business models, from products to markets, from technology to human resources, traditional tourism formats need to launch a self-innovation that keeps pace with the times. While paying attention to traditional formats, we should not ignore market players in the fields of infrastructure, industrial manufacturing, and technological innovation. With the help of policy promotion and social investment, they are gradually making strategic inroads into the tourism industry. In this process, the boundaries of the tourism industry are bound to expand, and the tourism industry chain, value chain, and ecological chain will also be upgraded. In this process, we need to accelerate the modernization of the governance system and governance capabilities in the tourism field.

Author | Dai Bin Source | China's National Conditions and National Strength, 2024, Issue 11 Editor | Liu Xin Please indicate the author and source for reprinting