Jointly Discussing the Future of Scenic Areas – The 2016 Jinlv Scenic Area Summit Successfully Held in Shanghai

Beijing, March 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Jointly organized by Jinlv.com, Jinlv Consulting, and Tourism China Association,and specially supported by Haichang Ocean Park, the 2016 Jinlv Scenic Area Summit was successfully held at Shanghai Huating Hotel on March 25.

Themed “Advancing Towards the 4.0 Era of Scenic Area Development in China,” the summit attracted over 500 distinguished guests from scenic areas, related enterprises, media, and tourism authorities. In-depth discussions were held on topics such as business innovation in scenic area operations, the integration of cultural creativity with scenic areas, and the marketing revolution in the sector. Special thanks were extended to the premier partner Haichang Ocean Park, co-organizers China Unicom and Peak Vision, diamond partner ShenDa Intelligence, platinum partner Shenzhen Dingyou, and partners Baidu, Lvmama Travel Network, Kuliang.com, Piaoguanjia, Yikuqu Travel Network, Elephant Group, Jiakai Intelligence, as well as Huating Hotel for their strong support. Additionally, heartfelt appreciation was expressed to prize sponsors such as Toread*Easy Tour World, Linktravel Network, and Tujia.com.

Fang Gang, Senior Director of Group Customer Department, China Unicom Headquarters

Fei Zhenxuan, President of Shanghai Tourism Attractions Association

Fang Gang, Senior Director of Group Customer Department, China Unicom Headquarters, Fei Zhenxuan, President of Shanghai Tourism Attractions Association, and Wei Changeren, President of Jinlv Consulting and Jinlv.com, delivered opening welcome speeches. In his speech, Fang Gang noted that in this era of both transformation and innovative development in the tourism industry, as a telecom operator, China Unicom is truly honored to be part of it. Informatization cannot do without operators, and “Internet + tourism” even more so. In this age of transformation, development, and innovation, China Unicom will continue to focus on the regulatory needs of tourism management bodies, the promotional needs of tourism destinations, and also on the tourism experience of travelers. Fei Zhenxuan stated that under the new normal of the economy, China’s tourism development has shown three characteristics: a strengthened driving role, an increasingly prominent foundational status, and accelerated investment. China’s tourism industry has entered a new stage.

Wei Changeren, President of Jinlv Consulting and Jinlv.com

Wei Changeren said in his speech that China’s scenic areas are still at a very early stage of marketization. At this stage, the healthy development of the market still requires careful nurturing and joint cultivation by the industry, embracing together the arrival of a new era of innovation and wealth creation in China’s scenic areas.

At the summit, many distinguished guests delivered insightful presentations. Wang Xuguang, CEO of Haichang Ocean Park Holdings Limited, said in his speech that the market potential for China’s theme parks is enormous. Between 2012 and 2014, 39 theme parks opened in China, and it is estimated that 64 more will open by 2020. Looking ahead, from both supply and demand perspectives, there will likely be a market gap of about 900 million visitors by 2030.

Wang Zaorong, Chairman of ShenDa Intelligence Group and Founder of Zhiyoubao, mentioned in his speech that currently smart scenic areas have five main features. First, the domestic landscape and market are complex due to the absence of a standardized template. Second, purely offline management is moving towards integrated online-offline development, whether for a single scenic site or a multi-format, cross-regional group. Third, comprehensive solutions for multi-format, cross-regional management have become essential. Fourth, nearly all service and management ends are adopting mobile solutions. Fifth, what is currently being improved is the on-site service and management system after tourists arrive at the scenic area or destination, which remains insufficient.

Yang Weiquan, Deputy General Manager of Peak Travel Investment, said that regional tourism has now become a major shift and trend. The traditional approach of focusing on individual spots can no longer meet current market demands. Under the trend of regional tourism, it's necessary to optimize the allocation of economic and social resources, integrating multiple resources so that each plays its role in its own area, thereby enhancing overall tourism value in terms of services, environment, and functionality.

Zhang Quan, Vice President of Sante Group, believes that enterprises, especially suppliers, should adopt an IP mindset—that is, to move away from the traditional model of land enclosure and ticket sales, and to abandon conventional promotional approaches. It is crucial to refine and restructure the core value of products and endow them with personality, ultimately forming shareable, spreadable, and fan-driven concepts that can generate more business opportunities and consumer enthusiasm.

Ding Dong, President of Shenzhen Dingyou, said during his speech that the Chinese tourism industry faces two main issues. One is the transition from a ticket-based economy to an industrial economy, and from individual tourism enterprise operations to collaborative public-private development. The other is the localization of traffic—various regions particularly hope to keep OTA and internet traffic local to create greater economic benefits.

Han Dong, Senior Consultant for the Travel Industry at Baidu Commercial Ecosystem, shared that in 2015, 20% of online travel transactions were completed via mobile devices, including through OTAs. This shows that most scenic area tickets and secondary sales still occur offline, with relatively few transactions happening online. From a capital perspective, apart from air tickets and hotels, the online penetration rate is very low—meaning there is ample room for exploration by destination and resource holders, which is actually a positive sign.

Zhen Hao, Vice President of Toread Holdings and President of the Travel Business Group, shared that Toread, listed in 2009, has been China’s top-selling outdoor gear brand for seven consecutive years. Toread’s foray into tourism stems from the realization that many of its outdoor gear sales—both online and offline—are driven by travel needs. Thus, travel, outdoor activities, and sports are inherently connected, leading Toread to advocate experiential travel.

Jin Chao, Deputy Director of the New Technology Center at the China National Scenic Areas Association, said in his speech that the internet era is one of yin-yang integration—a fusion of life, work, and industry, or the O2O of yin and yang industries. He explained that, as the I Ching states, “Yin and Yang together constitute the Dao.” Specifically, traditional yin-yang integration could be seen as the world of spirits and the world of daily life. In the internet age, we now live in a yin-yang era, where this fusion is between the virtual online world and the real world of daily life. Everyone’s first act in the morning may be to open WeChat, and the last before sleeping is to turn off the phone and WeChat, entering another yin-yang integrated world.

What do operators need to do for the full integration of tourism and the internet? Xu Baoxiang, Head of Solutions Department at China Unicom Group Customer Business Unit, said in his speech that this can be interpreted from four aspects: first, mobile internet with comprehensive coverage, high speed, and specialized applications; second, the ability to rapidly deploy cloud computing; third, the capability to establish reliable IoT connections; and fourth, the capacity for deep data insight through big data.

Zeng Huiwen, CMO of Piaoguanjia, said in her speech that QR code deployment based on community engagement aligns with the vision of smart tourism. Rather than simply promoting scenic products to visitors, this approach—through the establishment of official accounts and communities—encourages visitors to actively and independently learn about the scenic area. Such marketing becomes more friendly, enhances visitor experience, and increases interactivity.

Li Mingru, CEO of Kuliang Data Marketing, said that the biggest issue in scenic area marketing today is the lack of brand—or brands not resonating with consumers. Most scenic area visitors come via travel agencies. When scenic areas realize this, they often find no one is promoting their brand image, leaving them to handle it themselves. Kuliang’s four product systems help scenic areas achieve precise positioning and deliver marketing results that are accurate, reachable, and actionable.

Tao Ming, CEO of Lianjing Travel, shared that although internet-based travel is popular in the tourism industry, its proportion is still not large—only about 10%. In second- and third-tier cities, internet penetration is even lower, whereas in the U.S., online penetration has reached 80%. China’s online penetration will surely reach similar levels in the future, and this transformation will definitely be driven by mobile internet.

In addition to the speaking sessions, the summit also organized two panel dialogues themed “New Thinking in the Development and Operation of Cultural and Creative Products in Scenic Areas” and “New Effects Brought by Marketing Innovation to Scenic Areas.” These were respectively moderated by veteran reporter Le Yan from First Financial Daily and Chief Tourism Analyst Zeng Guang from Guosen Securities. Participants included Chen Wenjie, Dean of the Culture & Tourism Industry Research Institute of CTS Group; Li Jian, General Manager of Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town Cultural Tourism Technology Co., Ltd.; Huang Xiaoli, Deputy General Manager of Taierzhuang Ancient City Tourism Development Co., Ltd.; Jiang Ying, Co-founder & Director of Shanshui Ceremony Cultural Industry Co., Ltd.; Ma Lin, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai LKK Design Co., Ltd.; Tao Zhuobin, Vice Chairman of Shengshi Longxing; He Qun, Marketing Director of Emei Mountain Marketing Company; Wan Yu, Deputy General Manager of Zhongjingxin Tourism Investment and Development Co., Ltd.; Zhang Mu, Assistant to the Chairman of Guizhou Huangguoshu Tourism Group; Huang Chunxiang, CMO of Lvmama Travel Network; Jiao Wanrong, General Manager of Ctrip Ground Business Department East China Region; Liao Bin, Marketing Management Director of Peak Travel Investment; Zhang Xiaocheng, Co-founder of Yikuqu Travel Network; Liu [Name unclear], General Manager of KLM Holidays’ Nearby Travel Division; and others who participated in the discussion sessions.

China’s tourism market has entered a golden period of development. With the rapid growth in domestic tourist numbers, expanding travel scales, and the advancement of large-scale scenic area development across provinces and cities, the management and operation of China’s scenic areas are at a historic turning point of transformation and upgrading.

Looking back at the development of China’s scenic areas, as direct experiences for tourists, scenic products have evolved rapidly—from the initial 1.0 sightseeing type to the 2.0 leisure type, and then to the booming 3.0 vacation type. However, at the same time, the cultural depth of scenic products, the demand for leisure and vacation enjoyment, and the requirements for information accessibility and purchasing efficiency are not fully met by most existing scenic offerings. Supply-side reform in scenic areas has become imperative. The 4.0 era of scenic areas, characterized by “integration of culture and education, consolidation of formats, and compound products,” has arrived.

The 2016 Jinlv Scenic Area Summit focused on the major trends and changes in the scenic area industry, sharing rich content in various forms and dimensions. Through in-depth analysis of the current state of the scenic area industry, the summit contributed to promoting innovation and growth among scenic areas and related enterprises. In the future, the Jinlv series of summits will continue to uphold the goal of providing a platform for exchange and interaction in the tourism industry and fostering innovation, enabling innovators to reap more benefits. We look forward to reuniting at the next summit.