(Ma Yuanzhu, Chairman of Emei Mountain Tourism Co., Ltd.)
Chairman Ma Yuanzhu explained that building the brand image of Emei Snow Bud tea has become a new growth point for Emei Mountain tourism, and experiencing tea culture has become an important part of visiting Emei. By holding the annual “Emei Snow Bud Buddhist Offering Ceremony,” visitors can closely experience the traditional tea ceremony blessed by Zen, thereby gaining a true sense of “Zen and tea as one.”
Why focus on tea tourism and tea culture? Chairman Ma Yuanzhu shared the reasoning behind it. The tea culture tour introduced this time is just one new product, a microcosm of Emei Mountain tourism. It includes one tea-themed hotel and three tea houses in Emei: the “one hotel” refers to the uniquely designed Emei Snow Bud Hotel, a tea culture-themed hotel, while the “three houses” are the Snow Bud Houses built near Baoguo Temple, Wannian Temple, and the Golden Summit in the Emei Mountain area. These tea houses emphasize the concept of a green, ecological, and healthy retreat. By constructing tea houses around ancient temples, they aim to create an ecological Zen tea culture on Emei and develop immersive tea experience tours.
Tea & Tourism Integration: Emei Leads Smart Tourism
(Du Hui, Deputy General Manager of Emei Mountain Tourism Co., Ltd., Speaks on Tea & Tourism Integration)
“Tea from Emei’s mountains, water from the Yangtze River” — with the theme of tea and tourism integration, Du Hui, Deputy General Manager of Emei Mountain Tourism Co., Ltd., gave a fresh introduction to Emei Mountain tourism. Covering everything from “dual high-speeds” (high-speed rail and expressways) to 12 distinctive themed tourism series including zodiac-themed journeys, Buddhist culture tours, “East-West-South-North-Center” self-drive routes, online game-inspired tours, ice-snow hot spring tours, wonders tours, and smart tourism, the presentation completely broke away from traditional marketing methods. It refined products that not only carry brand appeal and cultural depth but are also ready for standardized e-commerce offerings.
The official e-commerce platform of the Emei Mountain scenic area, “Shitu Tourism Network,” has matured significantly, achieving seamless integration with hotel systems, tickets, bus tickets, and cable car tickets. By downloading the Shitu Tourism mobile app, following its WeChat account, using the scenic area’s self-service ticket machines, and enjoying full mountain Wi-Fi coverage, visitors can access free wireless internet services throughout the area. It has become a professional channel for customized travel products. Emei Mountain tourism has truly achieved both personalization and convenience.
Additionally, at the end of 2013, the Emei Mountain scenic area hosted its first Smart Tourism Destination E-commerce Forum, where 29 strategic partners were signed, including Nanjing-based Tuniu Travel Network, Suzhou’s Tongcheng Network, Shanghai’s Ctrip, and Lvmama Travel Network. The forum enabled open API integration, real-time data transmission, real-time room bookings, enhanced customer experiences through diversified ticket reservations, provision of multi-level and unique tour routes along with niche personalized products, sharing of travel photos and guides after trips, e-commerce network promotions and coupons, and seasonal, festival, and event-based discounts and gifts from the scenic area for visitors.
Online and Offline Collaboration: Boosting Emei Tourism Together
At the meeting, Du Hui, Deputy General Manager of Emei Mountain Tourism Co., Ltd., also held focused discussions with representatives from two Jiangsu e-commerce websites, 12 leading travel agencies, and three self-drive alliance groups. They exchanged ideas on accelerating O2O operations between e-commerce websites and traditional travel agencies in the Jiangsu market and jointly promoting the takeoff of Emei Mountain tourism in Jiangsu, outlining specific measures.
Chen Wen, General Manager of China Comfort Nanjing International Travel Agency, said: “OTA e-commerce and traditional travel agencies each have their strengths. Today’s meeting and discussion are an opportunity for Jiangsu travel businesses to integrate and support each other. We’re very grateful to Emei Mountain for providing such a platform.” Bao Shuti, General Manager of Nanjing China Travel Service, said: “The Jiangsu tourism market has entered the era of independent travelers, with increasingly personalized demands. Emei Mountain is transforming, and so must we travel agencies. By combining the 12 series of products mentioned by President Du today with market demand, we’ll develop diverse and personalized offerings.” Wang Chen, Product Director of Tuniu Travel Network, stated: “After nearly a year of collaboration with Emei Mountain, our partnership model has matured. This year, our cooperation will evolve from ticket-based product collaboration to marketing collaboration centered on themed products. Tuniu plans to launch a self-drive campaign titled ‘Ten Thousand Horses Gallop to Puxian, Eight Cities Drive to the Golden Summit,’ connecting eight key cities in Jiangsu to promote Emei together.” Wang, head of Jiangsu’s “Freedom Alliance,” noted: “Jiangsu has one of the highest vehicle ownership rates in the nation, and Emei Mountain has well-developed self-drive bases with convenient transportation and pleasant weather year-round. This year, we’ll not only organize a series of full self-drive tours but also launch the first RV self-drive tour to Emei in the Jiangsu market.”
Du, General Manager of Emei Mountain Tourism Co., Ltd., acknowledged the speeches of the attendees and extended invitations to all participants for an on-site visit to Emei Mountain. He stated that the development of the Jiangsu tourism market and the growth of Emei Mountain tourism are shared endeavors. This year, efforts in Jiangsu will involve vertical market segmentation and expansion, horizontal collaboration and market enhancement, jointly building product systems around themes such as sightseeing, praying, leisure, wellness, and self-driving. Together, they will drive a provincial secondary marketing layout across multiple regions under a “1+N” model, establish a comprehensive marketing matrix combining various channels, and carry out diverse marketing activities.
In 2014, Emei Mountain tourism marketing continued to innovate with a rich variety of products, including self-drive tours, zodiac-themed journeys, and the Ten Great Vows Buddhist Prayer Tour among others. One of the current key initiatives, the “East-West-South-North-Center, Self-Drive to Emei’s Peaks” campaign, gained traction through recruitment events in Chongqing and full documentation by Travel Satellite TV, creating a uniquely Emei self-drive experience. Upcoming recruitment will take place in Xi’an, Nanning, Changsha, Zhengzhou, and Nanjing, establishing six self-drive routes into Sichuan to reach Emei via expressways. In Jiangsu this year, a novel smart tourism project — the Emei Mountain Self-Drive Passport — will be launched to promote regular self-drive activities. In April, a series of “100 Chartered Flights to Emei, Pray for Blessings at the Golden Summit” charter flights will kick off, ensuring monthly events and themes to elevate the Emei Mountain brand in the Jiangsu market.