Dai Bin | Chinese and World Style in Tourist Resort Areas

At the invitation of destination governments such as Fosun Tourism and Culture, Bubble Mart, and Beijing Universal, as well as Zhengzhou Zhongmou County, Luoyang Laocheng District, and Shenzhen Futian District, Dai Bin, the director of the China Tourism Research Institute (Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism), recently conducted research and exchanges on relevant projects, and formed a keynote speech on "Chinese Style and World Style of Tourist Resorts". The full text is shared below.

01

The tourism resort has completed the transformation from administrative led functional area construction to market-oriented brand cultivation

On August 17, 1992, the State Council issued a notice on issues related to the trial operation of national tourism resorts (State Letter [1992] No. 46), which clearly stated that "national tourism resorts are comprehensive tourist areas that meet international vacation tourism requirements and mainly receive overseas tourists". It is emphasized that the pilot national resort is an important deployment to "change the structure of China's tourism products, improve the quality of tourism products, and improve international competitiveness. The original National Tourism Administration approved three resorts in Dalian Jinshatan, Qingdao Shilaoren, and the Taihu Lake Lake in Jiangsu Province in the same year. The next year, it also launched a pilot national tourism resort in Sheshan, Hangzhou River, Mount Wuyi, Fujian Nizhou Island, Guangzhou South Lake, Kunming Dianchi Lake, Sanya Yalong Bay, and Beihai Silver Beach. With the joint efforts of tourism administrative departments, local governments, and all sectors of society, China has successively built a number of leisure resort projects with policy support, beautiful scenery, complete supporting facilities, and excellent services, basically meeting the basic requirements The inbound tourists have various needs for health care, leisure, entertainment, fitness and sightseeing. It seems that the workers' sanatoriums and cadres' rest centers in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China were mainly the result of learning from the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. In the early 1990s, the construction of tourist resorts mainly learned from the United States and the West, with an overall surplus of learning and reference, and insufficient independent innovation. For example, the emphasis on career attributes in nursing homes and sanatoriums cannot adapt to market changes after the reform and opening up and gradually fade out of the public eye. For example, tourist resorts emphasize the reliance on natural resources such as beaches, lakes, and mountains, relying on inbound tourism market policies to support them. They cannot meet the market demand of the primary stage of tourism and have to give up the development goals of functional areas. Instead, they explore the construction of administrative districts that integrate into the local economic and social development system and the cultivation of brands for the national leisure and vacation market.

Figure 1 Policy Evolution in the Development Process of Tourist Resort Areas in China

(Source: Collected and sorted by the research team)

The 1999 National Day Golden Week marked a new era of mass tourism in China based on national consumption, as well as new opportunities for innovative development of tourist resorts. It clarified the market orientation of tourist resort construction and the business model of tourist resort operation. In April 2011, the former National Tourism Administration led the formulation and promulgation of the national standard "Classification of Tourist Resort Levels" (GB/T26358-2010), which has become the infrastructure and underlying components for innovative development of tourist resorts in the new era. In 2015, the former National Tourism Administration issued the "Regulations on the Management of Tourist Resort Grades" and began to establish a government led dynamic selection mechanism for national tourist resorts, and officially launched the evaluation work. After the institutional reform in 2018, this set of standards and mechanisms has been continued. In 2020, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed the construction of a number of world-class tourist attractions and resorts with profound cultural heritage. In 2021, the National People's Congress will pass the 14th Five Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Outline of Vision Goals for 2035, and the construction of high-level tourist resorts will become the national will. In 2022, the State Council released the "14th Five Year Plan for the Development of Tourism Industry" and its departmental division of labor, as well as the work division of internal institutions of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, marking a new track for the construction of tourist resorts. As of now, the number of national level tourist resorts has reached 63, along with more than 600 provincial-level tourist resorts and vacation projects in key tourist cities, as well as vacation belts around cities such as Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, Yangtze River Delta, Beijing Tianjin Hebei, Sichuan Chongqing, Guanzhong, Central Plains, and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, which basically meet the vacation needs of residents of different types, levels, and durations.

Figure 2 Market Accumulation and Spatial Diffusion of National Tourist Resort Areas

(Source: Collected and sorted by the research team)

02

The construction of tourist resorts should follow the path of classified guidance and graded construction. It is necessary to build "few but refined" national resorts, as well as "unique and excellent" national and provincial resorts, and more importantly, to build a large number of "small but beautiful" national resorts

We need to build a large number of "small and beautiful" national vacation areas to meet the new leisure and vacation needs of the people. With the completion of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, the accumulation of national tourism experience, the optimization of holiday and commemorative day systems by the state, and the implementation of paid vacation systems, the demand for vacation is increasing day by day. Sightseeing, leisure, and vacation are market demands exhibited by the tourism economy at different stages of development, and it cannot be simply assumed who is low-end and who is high-end. To meet the new demand for vacation tourism among the people, it is necessary to make vacation projects closer to urban and rural residents, and even closer. Through the synergy of capital, technology, creativity and entrepreneurship, through urban renewal and rural revitalization, a large number of "small and beautiful" projects, products and services have been introduced, so that more urban and rural space can become a good place for "micro vacation", so that more people can enjoy "the evening in the suburbs of Beijing", "the weekend in Beidaihe Beach", and "the holiday in the Taihu Lake Lake Manor". Chinese vacation should not only focus on natural landscapes, but also on cultural resources. Wuzhen, Hongcun, Zhouzhuang, Huangling, Xitang, Xiashi and other famous ancient villages and towns attract tourists from foreign countries to linger and forget to leave with their former residences, traditional lifestyles and quality spaces shared by hosts and guests. These natural and cultural resources, combined with highly recognizable lifestyles, increasingly sophisticated infrastructure, public services, and commercial environments, complement specific national and provincial vacation areas, providing urban residents with more leisure and vacation scene choices.

We need to build a number of national level vacation areas with distinctive cultural characteristics, layout a number of provincial-level tourism vacation areas with obvious resource advantages, and promote high-quality development of culture and tourism. Whether at the national or provincial level, they are the national team and main force of tourist resorts. The tourism administrative department not only needs to issue licenses, but also further delegate power to localities and effectively strengthen classification guidance, helping localities find the development positioning of specific vacation areas. Which ones are resource-based and which ones are market driven? What can be used for health and recuperation, and which can be used for exhibition and leisure? All require authoritative scientific research and data support. Both national and provincial vacation areas need to systematically and deeply study the traditional aesthetic connotations of Chinese vacation. The traditional way of life, aesthetic orientation, and values embodied in royal "autumn hunting", official "retirement", and people's "summer retreat" and "cat winter" still have strong enlightening significance for the innovative development of vacation tourism in contemporary China and the world. The rich and colorful natural ecology, famous cities and ancient towns, and traditional culture are the resource support for the spatial layout of tourist resorts, as well as the product carrier for time extension. Tourists can experience grassland life in Hulunbuir, soak in hot springs in Alshan, go skiing in Changbai Mountain, and even go to the Yellow River Suji in Shapotou to watch stars. Only when vacationers genuinely love tourist resorts and enjoy the facilities and services, can tourist resorts be a new space for a better life. In the specific construction process, it is also necessary to introduce vacation investment institutions and brand operators from around the world, such as Universal, Disney, Marriott, Club Med, etc., with a more open attitude, and build a vibrant and boundary open national vacation system.

We need to build several "small but sophisticated" national vacation destinations to serve the needs of host country diplomacy, cultural exchanges, and cultural exchanges. Traditional tourist resorts such as Beidaihe, Chengde, Lushan, Moganshan, and Jigongshan rely mainly on their natural environment and climate resources, while contemporary tourism resorts rely on more abundant and diverse natural resources. Yanqi Lake in Beijing, Nansha in Guangzhou, Xiangmi Lake in Shenzhen, Haiyue Villa in Xiamen, Mount Huangshan in Anhui, West Lake in Hangzhou and other places all have the potential to serve as national holiday resorts for the country's home diplomacy. You can choose national level resorts with resources, historical accumulation, development potential, national needs, and local willingness, and orderly construct several national resorts that showcase the country's image and undertake the functions of home diplomacy and cultural exchange. Under the premise of total quantity control, the non core areas of the completed national vacation destinations should be open to the public during normal times, and cannot become de facto "vacation enclaves" only serving specific groups of people.

Regardless of the level and type of tourist resort, it must meet current needs and lead the fashion of the future. European and American countries consider vacation as a way of life and guarantee it from the perspective of vacation rights and national welfare, mainly manifested in summer seaside vacations in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Hawaii and other places, characterized by sunshine, beaches, seawater and "lying flat"; The winter vacation customers flow to the Alps, Nordic fjords, Sochi and other places, mainly focusing on alpine skiing, sunbathing and hot springs. The seaside, mountainous areas, hot springs, snowy scenery, and Japanese style hotels in Hokkaido, Izu, Karuizawa, and Kinugawa constitute the landscape of Japan's vacation lifestyle. Compared to the vacation lifestyle dominated by "lying flat" in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, the emerging Chinese style vacation combines traditional mountain and water seclusion with modern urban entertainment; We will choose large theme parks such as Universal, Disney, Chimelong, Haichang, Yinji, and Hengdian, as well as small and beautiful characteristic parks such as Squirrel Town and Pop Mart City Park; I am interested in vacation hotels such as Hyatt and Ark of the Sun, and also willing to take a "City Walk". Planners of tourist resorts and developers of vacation products cannot simply copy the business models of other countries. Instead, they should creatively inherit and develop traditional culture, fully leverage the power of technology, culture, and commerce, create more future oriented living environments, and cultivate an inclusive "Chinese style vacation new life".

03

Promoting the expansion of domestic tourism and the revitalization of inbound tourism is the new mission of tourism resorts in the era, as well as a new driving force for development

Drawing on the development model of international tourism resorts and the experience of vacation industry, explore the development path of vacation tourism with Chinese characteristics. Affected by multiple factors such as natural environment, historical culture, lifestyle habits, infrastructure, public services, and brand accumulation, world tourism destinations and vacation projects are mainly concentrated in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, South Pacific, as well as coastal areas and island cities in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and other regions. Special research shows that compared with well-known foreign tourist destinations such as Provence Alpes Blue Coast region, Santorini, Sicily, Sochi, Hawaii, Orlando, Miami, Cancun, Gold Coast, as well as Phuket, Jeju, Hakone and other destinations in Asia, China's tourist resorts have relatively low global visibility and presence. The survey shows that the search popularity of the top ten international tourist resorts has maintained a high average of 54.1 for a long time, while the average search popularity of the top ten national tourist resorts in China is only 18.7. The development of China's tourism and vacation market and the construction of tourism and vacation areas are impossible, and there is no need to replicate the development model of the vacation industry in the United States and the West. The national conditions, market, system, and development stage do not allow it. A feasible approach is to sort out the cultural heritage and aesthetic orientation of "enjoying oneself alone is not as good as sharing with others", "the benevolent enjoy mountains, the wise enjoy water", and "Three Autumn Guizi, Ten Mile Lotus", and cultivate a new space for a beautiful life that is rich in levels, combines movement and stillness, and is shared by both hosts and guests, in order to develop a tourism and vacation development model with Chinese characteristics for the largest majority of the people. In the planning, construction, and operation of tourist resorts, it is not only necessary to focus on the creative inheritance and innovative development of excellent traditional culture, but also to promote advanced socialist culture, enrich the experience content and consumption scenes of tourist resorts.

Adhere to the development concept of top-level design, systematic promotion, and open sharing, build a tourism and vacation industry system with Chinese characteristics, and contribute a Chinese version of vacation solutions to the world tourism community. China's tourist resorts cannot adopt the "enclave" model that separates resorts from communities, nor can they adopt the "high-end" model of a few people and small circles, nor can they cross the ecological red line and develop in natural and cultural resource conservation areas. In the new era, vacation tourists should be conscious practitioners of global civilization initiatives and practitioners of the integration of knowledge and action of socialist core values. The development of China's vacation industry and the construction of vacation areas should promote the common values of peace and development, fairness and justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind, adhere to consultation, co construction and sharing, and pursue common development and prosperity. Tourism resorts developed based on natural resources, historical culture, and social life not only meet the demand for national vacations, but also carry the glory and dreams of promoting comprehensive human development, economic growth, and social development. It is necessary to develop the "National Vacation Promotion Plan" based on government documents and industry standards such as the "14th Five Year Plan" for tourism development, the "National Tourism and Leisure Development Outline (2022-2030)", the "Guidelines for the Work of World level Tourism Resort Areas", and the "Classification and Evaluation of National level Tourism Resort Areas". The plan should be jointly issued by departments such as culture and tourism, development and reform, social security, and land and resources. In the construction process of world-class tourist resorts, it is necessary to emphasize not only the promotion of standards, project inventory, investment improvement, and assessment and acceptance, but also to simultaneously carry out resource development, product research and development, and promotion system construction.

Tell the stories of national vacations in the new era, and contribute to the revitalization of inbound tourism and the construction of the world tourism community. The entry of 1.4 billion people into the vacation market is a significant event that will go down in the history of tourism development in China and around the world. It will undoubtedly redefine vacation tourism and reshape the new global tourism and vacation landscape. With more international holiday tourists visiting China, it will also attract global investment institutions and market entities to participate in the construction process of Chinese tourist resorts. According to a special survey conducted by the China Tourism Research Institute (Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism), the Asian region has the highest interest in Chinese tourist resorts, accounting for 37.12%, followed by Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania. This means that with the enhancement of comprehensive national strength, the achievements in ecological and cultural construction have gained increasing international recognition. During the Mid Autumn Festival and National Day holidays in 2023, special monitoring showed that among the 102 travel related reports from mainstream media worldwide, positive coverage accounted for 55.88%, and positive and neutral coverage accounted for 88.24%, setting a new record for holidays in previous years. Through cultural exchange and heart to heart matchmaking, we will naturally gradually move forward, and the construction of world-class tourist resorts will have an increasingly solid market foundation. We can focus on cultural experiences, ecological leisure, and medical care, and deeply cultivate overseas Chinese, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and the surrounding markets in the Asia Pacific region. We will implement a special promotion plan for vacation tourism worldwide to promote the revitalization and development of inbound tourism. Make good use of the international tourism organizations, overseas cultural centers, overseas tourism offices, international friendly cities, and international travel merchants initiated by China to hold special promotion activities for vacation tourism, and carry out precise marketing for overseas travel merchants and potential customers.

Compared to sightseeing tourism, vacation tourism has higher requirements for regular services, daily communication, and life connections. As China becomes more open, there will be more communication and interaction between vacationers and tourism practitioners at home and abroad. In the future, there will be more and more tourist resorts hosting global festivals, events, conferences, and forums. To adapt to the language habits of the main tourist source areas, we need to improve the foreign names and signs of the resort in an orderly manner, strengthen the content output of mainstream overseas networks and social media, and tell the new era of Chinese vacation stories in a language that the world can understand. We will collaborate with departments such as culture and tourism, public security, diplomacy, immigration, transportation, development and reform, commerce, and market supervision to conduct specialized research on policy optimization for visa residency, flight routes, infrastructure, and public services. We will also tackle difficult issues such as community conflicts of interest, leaving necessary policy space for overseas tourists' vacation life and social interaction.

Author | Dai Bin

Editor | Xue Shiyi

Manuscript Review | Yang Liqiong

Source | China Tourism Research Institute (Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism)

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