Dai Bin｜Let inbound tourists walk into the community streets and experience the real China

Recently, Dai Bin, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and president of the China Tourism Academy, accepted an exclusive interview with Southern Weekend and expressed his insights on further opening up the tourism industry and inclusive tourism. The full text is shared below.

I have met foreign friends who asked, what is your neighborhood mediation? In their view, this is part of China's governance system and they are very interested. When foreigners come to China for tourism, the first stage is to see the mountains and rivers, and then they want to get a deeper understanding of a country or a city, understand its economic and social operations, including the mysterious government courtyards, and feel the real China.

Foreign tourists take photos in the Forbidden City in March 2025. Visual China Photo

In 2024, "China Travel" as a hot word on the Internet has set off a wave of craze on global social media platforms. With the continuous optimization of China's visa-free policy, experiencing "144-hour transit visa-free" has become a traffic password. More and more foreign Internet celebrities and bloggers check in to experience China travel and publish travel videos and life experiences. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2024, there were 131.9 million inbound tourists, an increase of 60.8%, and the total expenditure of inbound tourists was US$94.2 billion, an increase of 77.8%. China's trip brings wonderful experiences and memories to international tourists, but also exposes the lack of reception level in some details. During the 2025 National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Dai Bin, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and president of the China Tourism Research Institute, brought his suggestions on further opening up the tourism industry and inclusive tourism. He believes that in addition to optimizing details such as departure tax refunds and item storage and access, the concept of tourism should also be innovated to allow inbound tourists to walk into communities, streets, and even open government courtyards to let tourists experience the charm of real China. At the same time, this change in tourism concepts will also have a positive impact on domestic tourism, further release the tourism market, and give birth to new tourism formats.

Dai Bin, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Photo provided by the interviewee

Feel the charm of the real China Southern Weekend: You have put forward many suggestions on improving the tourism industry, especially the experience and quality of inbound tourism. Among them, you first proposed the concept of building a "first stop city for inbound tourism". What is the reason for this? Dai Bin: Just like when we go abroad to play, we will say that we go to New York, Paris, and London, all of which are based on cities. In our impression, New York is New York City, not New York State, and we don’t need to understand the administrative structure of a city in its country. But this is not the case in China. In the promotion of tourism, our country will attach importance to the concept of the national level and the concept of the provincial level, but it does not pay enough attention to the city. More and more foreign tourists are entering the country as individual tourists. They will have some detailed needs, which is something we easily overlooked in the previous tourism promotion. If we take the city as the unit, especially if we build the "first stop city for inbound tourism", we can make up for these shortcomings in details in a targeted manner and set a good example. Southern Weekend: What are these detailed issues? Dai Bin: Foreigners will have shopping needs when they come to travel. According to international practice, in addition to airport duty-free shops, there are also city duty-free shops. That is to say, tourists with valid documents can do duty-free shopping in the city. These items can be automatically brought into the airport customs supervision area through the logistics system through the supervision of customs and the arrangement of the fiscal and taxation system. They do not need to be carried with them. They can be taken out inside the airport. Another way is departure tax refund. A large number of purchases are realized through departure tax refund. In addition to the arrangement of customs and taxation system, there are also some professional companies to assist. On the other hand, here, both city duty-free shops and departure tax refund services are not very suitable for the development of inbound tourism. I hope to make a breakthrough in this regard. In addition, the storage of luggage items is not only troublesome for inbound tourists, but also for domestic tourists. Of course, some solutions have emerged in China, such as Hangzhou's "Easy Tour", where tourists can check in their luggage in the streets and business districts, which actually introduces the concept of remote check-in. Southern Weekend: In addition to the optimization of details, are there any suggestions on the concept and concept level? Dai Bin: My suggestion is to open government courtyards in an orderly manner, at least starting from tourist hotspots, and open parking lots, canteens and other public spaces to the public on holidays. In fact, Yangzhou, Dunhuang, Lishui and other places have taken the lead in trying, making fuller use of social resources, bringing unique experiences to tourists, and showing the city's open, inclusive and confident image. Hangzhou has gone a step further and has 100 social resource access points, from vegetable markets to residents' committees, and even to grassroots police stations. The effective opening up of the administrative system is a manifestation of actively embracing the tourism market. It is convenient for domestic tourists and a showcase for foreign tourists. They will be interested. I have encountered foreign friends asking, what is your neighborhood committee mediation? In their view, this is part of China's governance system and they are very interested. I hope that places like social resource access points can be consciously promoted in the tourism market, especially at the market level of study tours and inbound tourism, and become a window to showcase China's contemporary image. When foreigners come to China for tourism, the first stage is to see the mountains and rivers, and then to experience a good life. They hope to have a deeper understanding of a country or a city, understand its economic and social operations, including the mysterious government courtyards, and feel the real China. We should promote "inclusive tourism" Southern Weekend: Are these suggestions for inbound tourism also a revelation for improving the overall quality of domestic tourism? Dai Bin: They are the same. In 2024, Shucheng, Anhui and other places will open government courtyards for tourists to take photos and park, and open government canteens, which will become the password to attract tourists. Use an open and inclusive demeanor to show the modern image of a city. Moreover, the government is not open on holidays, and the parking lot is idle. The ideas of domestic tourists are also changing. They not only want to see mountains and rivers, and beautiful scenery, but also experience a good life. What is this good life? It is not enough to develop a scenic spot and some cultural heritage. He also wants to see public culture, robots, drones, and unmanned driving. Tourists will regard Wangfujing as a tourist attraction, but in fact it is a leisure district. Liangma River was originally a district, and now it has become a tourist leisure area, and tourists will also go to see it. Including railways, roads, agriculture, and oceans, these are things that make people feel a good life. In today's tourism market, mass tourism has entered a new stage of comprehensive development, and tourists' needs have become diverse. Southern Weekend: According to this understanding, what new ideas and thoughts are there for further releasing tourism potential? Dai Bin: We must do everything possible to release tourism consumption demand. I think we should promote "inclusive tourism". In the past, foreigners traveled and Chinese received them. Later, city dwellers traveled and country dwellers received them. Now every citizen should be able to enjoy a real sightseeing tour every year. We must let cultural public services and tourism resources sink, so that the vast rural residents and the vast middle- and low-income groups in cities can travel more conveniently and in an affordable way. After the popularization of "inclusive tourism", market players should consider how to provide high-quality tourism services and develop new tourism products. I think that we should further play the role of public culture and strengthen the empowerment of science and technology. We should use new technologies to create more new tourism scenes, strengthen cultural creativity and creation, and promote market players to provide tourists with high-quality tourism products. Southern Weekend: After the change of concept, will there be some new formats? Dai Bin: New formats are closely related to new demands. For example, "the good life in the city" has now become a tourist destination, and it is increasingly becoming a space that attracts people from near and far, and is shared by hosts and guests, which will generate new demands. From 6pm to 10pm, we call it the golden 4 hours, and the 6 kilometers around the residence of tourists are called the silver 6 kilometers, which constitute an important time and space for night tourism. Therefore, in order to adapt to the needs of night tourism, formats such as light shows, city sightseeing and catering will be constructed. In the past, tourism was considered a matter for young people, and the old and the young were not taken seriously. Now it is different. Now, there are special tourist trains for elderly tourists, and there are some special study routes and study camps for youth tourism. These are all new formats. Reporter | Li Zaile Source | Southern Weekend Editor | Liu Xin Please indicate the source for reprintingFeel the charm of the real China Southern Weekend: You have put forward many suggestions on improving the tourism industry, especially the experience and quality of inbound tourism. Among them, you first proposed the concept of building a "first stop city for inbound tourism". What is the reason for this? Dai Bin: Just like when we go abroad to play, we will say that we go to New York, Paris, and London, all of which are based on cities. In our impression, New York is New York City, not New York State, and we don’t need to understand the administrative structure of a city in its country. But this is not the case in China. In the promotion of tourism, our country will attach importance to the concept of the national level and the concept of the provincial level, but it does not pay enough attention to the city. More and more foreign tourists are entering the country as individual tourists. They will have some detailed needs, which is something we easily overlooked in the previous tourism promotion. If we take the city as the unit, especially if we build the "first stop city for inbound tourism", we can make up for these shortcomings in details in a targeted manner and set a good example. Southern Weekend: What are these detailed issues? Dai Bin: Foreigners will have shopping needs when they come to travel. According to international practice, in addition to airport duty-free shops, there are also city duty-free shops. That is to say, tourists with valid documents can do duty-free shopping in the city. These items can be automatically brought into the airport customs supervision area through the logistics system through the supervision of customs and the arrangement of the fiscal and taxation system. They do not need to be carried with them. They can be taken out inside the airport. Another way is departure tax refund. A large number of purchases are realized through departure tax refund. In addition to the arrangement of customs and taxation system, there are also some professional companies to assist. On the other hand, here, both city duty-free shops and departure tax refund services are not very suitable for the development of inbound tourism. I hope to make a breakthrough in this regard. In addition, the storage of luggage items is not only troublesome for inbound tourists, but also for domestic tourists. Of course, some solutions have emerged in China, such as Hangzhou's "Easy Tour", where tourists can check in their luggage in the streets and business districts, which actually introduces the concept of remote check-in. Southern Weekend: In addition to the optimization of details, are there any suggestions on the concept and concept level? Dai Bin: My suggestion is to open government courtyards in an orderly manner, at least starting from tourist hotspots, and open parking lots, canteens and other public spaces to the public on holidays. In fact, Yangzhou, Dunhuang, Lishui and other places have taken the lead in trying, making fuller use of social resources, bringing unique experiences to tourists, and showing the city's open, inclusive and confident image. Hangzhou has gone a step further and has 100 social resource access points, from vegetable markets to residents' committees, and even to grassroots police stations. The effective opening up of the administrative system is a manifestation of actively embracing the tourism market. It is convenient for domestic tourists and a showcase for foreign tourists. They will be interested. I have encountered foreign friends asking, what is your neighborhood committee mediation? In their view, this is part of China's governance system and they are very interested. I hope that places like social resource access points can be consciously promoted in the tourism market, especially at the market level of study tours and inbound tourism, and become a window to showcase China's contemporary image. When foreigners come to China for tourism, the first stage is to see the mountains and rivers, and then to experience a good life. They hope to have a deeper understanding of a country or a city, understand its economic and social operations, including the mysterious government courtyards, and feel the real China. We should promote "inclusive tourism" Southern Weekend: Are these suggestions for inbound tourism also a revelation for improving the overall quality of domestic tourism? Dai Bin: They are the same. In 2024, Shucheng, Anhui and other places will open government courtyards for tourists to take photos and park, and open government canteens, which will become the password to attract tourists. Use an open and inclusive demeanor to show the modern image of a city. Moreover, the government is not open on holidays, and the parking lot is idle. The ideas of domestic tourists are also changing. They not only want to see mountains and rivers, and beautiful scenery, but also experience a good life. What is this good life? It is not enough to develop a scenic spot and some cultural heritage. He also wants to see public culture, robots, drones, and unmanned driving. Tourists will regard Wangfujing as a tourist attraction, but in fact it is a leisure district. Liangma River was originally a district, and now it has become a tourist leisure area, and tourists will also go to see it. Including railways, roads, agriculture, and oceans, these are things that make people feel a good life. In today's tourism market, mass tourism has entered a new stage of comprehensive development, and tourists' needs have become diverse. Southern Weekend: According to this understanding, what new ideas and thoughts are there for further releasing tourism potential? Dai Bin: We must do everything possible to release tourism consumption demand. I think we should promote "inclusive tourism". In the past, foreigners traveled and Chinese received them. Later, city dwellers traveled and country dwellers received them. Now every citizen should be able to enjoy a real sightseeing tour every year. We must let cultural public services and tourism resources sink, so that the vast rural residents and the vast middle- and low-income groups in cities can travel more conveniently and in an affordable way. After the popularization of "inclusive tourism", market players should consider how to provide high-quality tourism services and develop new tourism products. I think that we should further play the role of public culture and strengthen the empowerment of science and technology. We should use new technologies to create more new tourism scenes, strengthen cultural creativity and creation, and promote market players to provide tourists with high-quality tourism products. Southern Weekend: After the change of concept, will there be some new formats? Dai Bin: New formats are closely related to new demands. For example, "the good life in the city" has now become a tourist destination, and it is increasingly becoming a space that attracts people from near and far, and is shared by hosts and guests, which will generate new demands. From 6pm to 10pm, we call it the golden 4 hours, and the 6 kilometers around the residence of tourists are called the silver 6 kilometers, which constitute an important time and space for night tourism. Therefore, in order to adapt to the needs of night tourism, formats such as light shows, city sightseeing and catering will be constructed. In the past, tourism was considered a matter for young people, and the old and the young were not taken seriously. Now it is different. Now, there are special tourist trains for elderly tourists, and there are some special study routes and study camps for youth tourism. These are all new formats. Reporter | Li Zaile Source | Southern Weekend Editor | Liu Xin Please indicate the source for reprinting