Wu Guoping | Nianhua Bay, a comprehensive night tour experience, creating a benchmark for nighttime economic development

On October 24, 2020, the "2020 China Night Economy Forum" jointly organized by China Tourism Research Institute, Wuxi Municipal People's Government, and Liangye Technology Group Co., Ltd. was grandly held at the Conference Center of Paramita Hotel in Nianhua Bay Scenic Area, Wuxi, Jiangsu.

The forum, with the theme of "Digital Economy and Scene Creation", was attended by over 500 representatives from the business community, domestic and foreign experts, scholars, and media organizations from more than 40 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions across the country. The forum was located in the Nianhua Bay Scenic Area of Wuxi, and was repeatedly analyzed by attendees as a benchmark for nighttime economic development during the conference.

At the meeting, Dai Bin, President of the China Tourism Research Institute, gave a keynote speech on "Culture Leading the Night Economy and Sharing a Better Life with Guests and Guests", proposing that the development of night economy should focus on the high-quality integration of culture and tourism, and build a solid cultural support system for the process of building a strong tourism country.

In the theme discussion link of "Digital Reconstruction: Helping the Smart Growth of Night Economy", Wu Guoping, Chairman of Lingshan Culture and Tourism Group, delivered a speech entitled "Practice and Experience of Creating Night Tourism Boutique", taking Nianhua Bay "Zen Journey" and the creation of Nishan Holy Land Night Tour as examples, and shared five tips in the creation of night tours: no night vacation, no night cultural tourism; Nighttime economy needs to create explosive products; Night tours should increase traffic retention and make internet celebrities grow in popularity; Technology changes night tourism, technology empowers night tourism; The most top-notch night tour is the diffusion of lifestyle.

Since its opening in November 2015, Nianhua Bay Scenic Area has firmly grasped the "night economy" as a product highlight, and launched various forms of night tourism products around night performances, characteristic accommodation, entertainment experiences, etc. After more than four years of operation and three iterations of upgrades, its core night tour product "Zen Journey", especially after the new attraction Smile Square was put into operation this year, integrates viewing, interaction, experience, and parade, presenting a cultural feast in a unique walking style performance, making tourists not only appreciators and experiencers, but also participants in completing a Zen work together, bringing a new 360 degree immersive scene experience to the majority of tourists. In terms of night tour experience, Nianhua Bay has continuously explored and formed a series of normalized and distinctive Zen cultural experience activities, such as Joyful Scripture Copying, Quiet Flower Path, and Same Wish Lantern Transmission, making the night tour experience at Nianhua Bay more layered and three-dimensional. At the same time, in order to meet the consumption upgrade needs of tourists, Nianhua Bay has introduced a consumption form that integrates cultural and creative, experiential and other gameplay in addition to cultural shopping and specialty catering, such as Youjian Mountain Book Society, Gongshoudao Experience Hall, Yue Health Hall, etc., leading the new fashion of nighttime consumption with innovative consumption scenarios and continuously enhancing tourists' experience in consumption. In terms of characteristic accommodation, Nianhua Bay currently has 27 themed guesthouses and 1 high-end hotel, making it the only Zen culture IP accommodation group in East China. Every inn has a Zen theme, and each theme has a Zen story, forming a cultural context that is both continuous and harmonious, which has become a major factor in attracting tourists to 'stay' at Nianhua Bay. While exploring traditional culture, Nianhua Bay actively carries out cross-border cooperation. In the recent "Ten Cities Bright Moon" event jointly created with the classic game IP "Tianya Mingyue Knife", Nianhua Bay, as the only filming location in East China, perfectly integrates the unique landmarks of the scenic area with the game scene, showcasing the beauty of Chinese style and helping the brand's creativity to go global. The perfect and unique night time products have laid the foundation for the night economy of Nianhua Bay. Although affected by the epidemic this year, Nianhua Bay has been experiencing a continuous increase in tourist reception since its reopening in early March. From the current situation, the number of visitors and occupancy rate in Nianhua Bay are gradually increasing. In the just passed 2020 "National Day" Golden Week, Nianhua Bay carried out cultural tourism activities smoothly and orderly, with various revenue indicators recovering more than 90% year-on-year. The number of visitors and revenue were among the top tourist attractions in Jiangsu, demonstrating a good recovery momentum.