A new model of cultural and tourism integration emerges, with technology redefining China’s tourism city map

In March 2018, the Chinese government launched a new round of institutional reforms. During the seventh plenary session of the first session of the 13th National People’s Congress, the former Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism were officially merged into one. This historic change reflects higher expectations placed on the responsibilities of this department by the state. “Cultural and tourism integration” was listed as a national-level priority, marking the inaugural year for the integrated development of culture and tourism.

With the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, the frequency of travel has also increased year by year. According to China’s 2018 tourism big data, the total number of tourists reached 5.539 billion, generating total tourism revenue of 5.97 trillion yuan, indicating growing demand. As people’s incomes rise, there is an increasing demand for a higher quality of life, which is directly reflected in the promotion of the normalization of tourism in China and the upgrading of consumption.

At the same time, the flourishing of more emerging business formats has also raised the bar for the quality of tourism among the public. This requires destination cities and scenic spots to no longer stick to convention, relying solely on existing products and services to meet the demands of tourists under the new trend of cultural and tourism integration.

Currently, China, with its profound cultural and tourism resources, boasts no fewer than a hundred outstanding cultural and tourism cities. Adapting to the high-standard requirements of the cultural and tourism integration era has become the primary challenge for many cities striving to advance in this field.

Cultural and tourism integration in the new era: Technological innovation becomes the new engine

Culture is the soul of tourism, and tourism is the carrier of culture. This tells us that tourism development in the new era must not be divorced from culture. Only by deeply integrating cultural heritage can we meet the new requirements of the cultural and tourism integration era and satisfy tourists’ pursuit of high-quality tourism and services. Leveraging profound cultural resources to drive the rise of the cultural and tourism industry and boost urban economic development has become the choice of leading domestic tourism cities.

Whether it’s a large city or a small scenic spot, to do cultural tourism well, one must first understand the true core definition of cultural tourism—that is, tourism integrated with culture provides visitors with culturally immersive experiences. Creating such a sense of culture requires extensive preparatory work, such as adjusting planning and layout, understanding visitor needs, improving the quality and service of one’s own cultural and tourism resources, and innovating promotional methods in the new era of communication.

Among these, the most crucial aspect is the development of one’s own cultural and tourism products. An indispensable element here is using technological innovation to deliver sensory, behavioral, cognitive, and even emotional experiences to visitors. Only those tourism cities and scenic spots that create such experiences can truly embody the essence of cultural and tourism integration.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, technological innovation has been listed as a powerful engine driving China’s progress across various fields. And its application is not limited to R&D manufacturing, infrastructure construction, or industrial transformation and upgrading—it is equally applicable to emerging industries such as cultural tourism.

Previously, China’s tourism cities could attract a large number of visitors simply by leveraging their naturally superior tourism resources and ecological environments. But today, these factors are merely the basic foundations of a city’s tourism appeal and do not constitute competitiveness or attractiveness. Even if they draw some visitors, poor tourism experiences can turn them into one-off customers.

Take Henan Province, for example, which holds an important position in China’s cultural, historical, and tourism landscape. Not only is it located at the core hub of China, but it is also the birthplace of Huaxia civilization and the cradle of Yellow River civilization, boasting a profound humanistic and historical foundation. These favorable conditions turned Henan into a popular domestic tourist destination after the reform and opening-up. However, as times have evolved and the trend of cultural and tourism integration has become increasingly prominent, visitors have begun to place greater emphasis on the integration of cultural connotations and technological innovation in the regions and cities they visit. Henan’s previous advantages in historical culture and tourism resources have diminished, highlighting the urgency to enhance the quality and service of its cultural and tourism offerings.

Clearly, without uniqueness and forward-thinking brought about by technological innovation, tourism products will lack distinctive and profound cultural elements. Coupled with inadequate supporting services, they will lose their original competitive edge.

Leading tourism cities spearhead the exploration of cultural and tourism integration

Indeed, in the new era, integrating technological innovation with cultural tourism has become an important approach to enhancing the quality of cultural tourism products. By leveraging their own cultural and tourism resources and incorporating technological elements, cities and scenic spots can not only improve the quality of tourism products and enrich the experience of various formats but also enhance the cultural and tourism appeal of regions and cities, thereby expanding the scope for cultural and tourism development across entire cities.

For specific scenic spots within cities, this has given rise to development directions suited to the new situation of cultural and tourism integration: creating a new tourism model centered around technological innovation, designing and developing new creative cultural and tourism products based on visitor needs, empowering cultural tourism with technology, and presenting urban cultural characteristics in more advanced ways to attract more visitors. The resulting increase in revenue naturally follows.

With clear directions and ideas, the operational model of integrating technological innovation into cultural and tourism integration by China’s tourism cities and scenic spots has gradually matured, forming a pathway for industrial innovation. Digitally driven development and application of cultural tourism are sparking a revolution in the enhancement of scene and content experiences. For example, the visitor center at the Mogao Caves combines digital technology with the development of site tour experiences, using digital technologies represented by holographic projection and dome theaters, and scene technologies represented by 3D modeling, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence to create brand-new “immersive interactive experiences.” This opens a technological gateway for the development of cultural and tourism integration.

In this regard, some outstanding domestic tourism cities, represented by Qingdao, Lijiang, and Qinghai, serve as good examples. On Baidu’s latest search ranking of China’s top tourist destinations, Qingdao, Lijiang, and Qinghai rank high, and they have achieved phased results in exploring “tourism products + technological innovation.”

Currently, the development and application of technology-driven cultural and tourism products are staging revolutionary experiences in these leading cities. For instance, at Qingdao Underwater World, all aspects including exhibition halls, zones, exhibits, and performances have been upgraded, transforming it into a modern tourist attraction that integrates underwater tech sightseeing with marine science education.

At the same time, it has set multiple world and national firsts: including the world’s largest single-piece acrylic cylindrical exhibit tank, the country’s first underwater tunnel combining 180-degree conventional view windows, 254-degree wide-angle windows, and 360-degree cylindrical windows, and being the first underwater world in China to introduce fluorescent murals from abroad.

Additionally, there are offerings such as “Songcheng Performing Arts” launched in Lijiang and Jiuzhaigou, which use high technology to vividly present various tourism performances; in Gansu’s Mogao Caves, the visitor center tightly integrates digital technology with tour experiences, showcasing world-leading scene technologies such as 3D modeling, AR, VR, and AI. These are all examples of enhancing cultural and tourism product experiences through technological innovation. While boosting visual impact and awe for visitors, they create brand-new “immersive interactive experiences” in cultural tourism, making the travel experience more authentic and profound. With their pioneering examples, China’s cultural and tourism integration has opened a futuristic technological gateway for other cities and attractions exploring reform. So, how exactly are they strategically positioned?

Practicing the new model: Three approaches to cultural and tourism integration at Qingdao Underwater World

From a planning perspective, the new-era cultural and tourism industry, composed of the three keywords “culture + tourism + technology,” aims to enable leading tourism cities to reconstruct their cultural and tourism industry chains, lead integration with technology, and ultimately reflect changes in the way visitors experience scenic areas. Take Qingdao, a renowned northern tourism city, as an example. Its urban cultural and tourism industry is in a process of continuous self-iteration, accelerating integration with technology. Taking Qingdao Underwater World as an example, it employs at least three major approaches to cultural and tourism integration.

First is the deep exploration of the value of cultural resources. By using culture to promote tourism development, deeply mining the connotations of cultural products, and redefining related tourism products around these cultural essences, infusing them with the genes of unique cultural significance.

To this end, Qingdao Underwater World has integrated premium tourism resources such as the Qingdao Aquarium, Specimen Hall, and Freshwater Fish Hall. It has deeply explored Qingdao’s marine tourism culture, refined its cultural characteristics, and designed and created a new landscape complex, blending with the natural beauty of mountains and sea to form the marvel of “mountains embracing the sea.” The structure and function of the marine landscape system reproduce the natural scenery and humanistic values of marine ecology, making it a distinctive marine ecological spectacle garden in China.

It houses 2,000 species and tens of thousands of rare marine biological specimens, allowing visitors to see thousands of species and tens of thousands of precious marine creatures from around the world. In addition, it boasts two world records: one is the world’s largest and most complete sperm whale skeleton, and the other is the world’s largest single-piece acrylic cylindrical exhibit tank, laying a solid foundation for spreading marine culture.

Second is technological innovation. Using innovative technology as a support and applying the latest technologies to its own cultural and tourism products can be said to be a key engine for achieving cultural and tourism integration and the fundamental means to perfectly showcase the first integration: the value of cultural resources. Ultimately, it forms more attractive innovative resource elements, elevating the level of specific tourism products and the industrial chain.

In this phase, in addition to the aforementioned tech facilities, the Underwater World also features an interactive ocean science room showcasing the microscopic world of the sea through microscopes, the “Qingdao No. 1” Submarine Doctor Space Laboratory that uses AR technology to present 3D animated movements of marine creatures, a newly designed submarine tunnel offering an immersive, harmonious experience, a backstage garden seascape drama combining 3D animation technology with real underwater performances, and dreamy mermaid shows... All aiming to deliver an innovative marine tourism experience with new themes, creatures, and technologies.

Finally, in terms of market resource allocation, through market-oriented processes, the market positioning of tourism products is accurately identified, market segmentation is strengthened, and full commercial operation of integrated cultural and tourism products is achieved. This attracts and stimulates visitor consumption, continuously expanding the market share of the tourist attraction.

When it comes to the Qingdao Underwater World, one can't help but recall its famous slogan: "If you haven't seen the Underwater World, you haven't really been to Qingdao." The Underwater World has become one of the iconic attractions that showcase Qingdao's marine culture, attracting visitors from all over the world every year. It enjoys an inherent market advantage, and its ocean-themed cultural product areas are always bustling with crowds.

At the same time, it has established partnerships and connections with many world-renowned aquariums, such as Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. For example, the marine life-themed exhibition "Bound by Water: Qingdao – Okinawa Churaumi" unveiled during this year’s May Day holiday is a prime example of resource sharing and collaboration. Coupled with high-frequency interactions with the market and media during major events, key moments, and trending topics, it fully demonstrates the Underwater World’s outstanding capabilities in market operations, brand building, and resource integration.

Cultural and tourism integration is about the form of “merging” and the essence of “combining.” In the future, achieving true deep integration of culture and tourism will require leveraging technological means to transform cultural resources into tourist experiences that satisfy visitors. New explorations and attempts by venues like Qingdao Underwater World in cultural and tourism integration have already shown us how new cultural tourism projects, through industrialization and market-oriented approaches, can present a rich array of cultural products and innovative tourism services. This makes culture more relatable and injects strong momentum into the integrated development of culture and tourism.

In today’s internet era, with continuous technological innovation, we believe more cultural and tourism resources will be transformed into diverse and high-quality tourism offerings through technology, thereby bringing China’s splendid thousands-of-years-old culture to the world stage.