Domestic Tourism Boost Chinese Economy

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, and the ease of restrictions in China, the May Day holiday represented a significant boost for the domestic tourism of the country. Millions of people traveled around China exploring local attractions.

During the 5-day May Day Holidays, the government figures report that China recorded 115 million domestic tourism trips which are more than the 43m trips recorded during the Qingming holiday that lasted for 3 days last month.

As great as these figures are, they are less than the numbers for last year when 195m trips were registered on May Day. The total tourism revenue from 115m tourist trips made up about $6.7bn to the total. Experts point out that the revenue generated during the May Day holiday from this year’s tourism sector was lower than that of the previous year by 60%.

Jiangxi province topped the earnings list at about 15.4 billion yuan ($2.17 billion) during the holiday, followed by Hunan at 14.1 billion yuan and Guangdong at 10.3 billion yuan.

Also, according to the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center of Parks, major tourism parks in Beijing received a total of 950,000 visitors during the five days. Between May 1 and May 5th, 11 municipal parks recorded an average daily visitor number of about 190,000.

Considering the current realities, China still has a long way to go to attain full economic recovery from the effects of the epidemic. Experts noted that public confidence in the government is already recovering to a large extent as Chinese citizens are seeing the government’s ability to control the outbreak.

Asia-Pacific director of tourism data group STR Jesper Palmqvist also sees the public confidence rising as the national congress has now scheduled their parliamentary meeting for late May after it had been suspended in March.

Data from STR has revealed that occupancy levels in hotels have seen a significant rise, as the daily rates have nearly doubled in the past weeks.

According to the head of Asia economics at USB in Hong Kong, it is highly doubtful that Chinese citizens will be traveling abroad soon. The reason is that most persons do not yet feel safe to fly. Also, China is cutting down as many international flights as possible especially as many other countries have shut their borders to visitors owing to the pandemic.

While domestic tourism and flights might be looking at more revenue, western tourism agencies and airlines will be suffering a loss of Chinese tourists and their contribution to the tourism sector.

The China Tourism Academy reported that over 6 million Chinese tourists visited Europe in 2018. Their U.S. counterpart, the National Travel, and Tourism office reports that 2.8 million Chinese tourists visited the USA in 2019.

Domestic tourism is on the rise in Beijing as the government stands up to the challenge of preventing further infections while helping the economy recover. One safety measure implemented in Beijing municipals is the official announcement that shops and malls should be kept half full, while Beijing officials work hard to revive the market confidence and broaden the consumption range.

Local tourist attractions in Beijing opened up for the first time over the break but businesses were restricted by a maximum number of entry tickets to be sold. Attractions such as the Forbidden City were also asked to sell their tickets online and avoid on-the-spot selling.

Meanwhile, Shanghai’s Disneyland is set to reopen on May 11 and is the first of its kind to reopen ever since normalcy has been gradually restored in China and its tourism industry.

Walt Disney’s CEO, Bob Chapek said the decision to reopen was made alongside their partner, the Shanghai Shendi Group. The agreement was reached based on the noticeable recovery in China’s industry, as well as the successful reopening of facilities such as entertainment complexes, hotels, and dining around Shanghai.

The Disney Park in Shanghai has experienced a long shut down since January 25 when the COVID 19 spread was worse. The closure affected all Disney theme parks worldwide that have been shut since mid-March.

The controlled and phased reopening of Shanghai’s Disney Park will go side by side health and safety precautions directed at recovering the economy and boosting businesses that will have long term effects on China’s economic development.

Credit: tourism-review.com

HOW INSTAGRAM HAS SHAPED THE TOURISM BUSINESS

Did you know that 48% of Instagram users use this social network to discover and choose the destinations they will visit during their trips? The figure has been growing over the years, making it an essential tool when planning holidays. Instagram impacts the tourism business more and more.

The reason is obvious: Instagram has become part of our everyday lives, but among our contacts, we find family, friends, colleagues… people who we trust in their tastes and recommendations. However, we not only take into account the trustworthy people when making travel plans, a classic Instagram strategy is to follow people who have similar tastes, lifestyles, and motivations, and whose escapades also serve as inspiration for trips.

After all, this social network has, on average, 400 million active users. It is not surprising that many Instagram users have ended up becoming brand ambassadors for their own countries, and even many travel-related brands.

Many hotels, travel agencies, tour operators, and airlines have seen Instagram as a way to reach new customers and markets. It is undeniable that social media are decisive to significantly increase the volume of business for any entrepreneur in the travel and hospitality industry.

This is because, with the right actions, Instagram helps to expand the presence of the business, presenting and promoting a tourism product or service through a channel with a wide, varied and recurring audience.

It is also an ideal way to build a good reputation for the tourism business. It allows you to do brand actions, link with profiles to improve recognition and attributes, and take a stand on issues such as sustainable tourism, training, or cultural heritage, which are essential to build a better online and offline reputation.

In the same way, this social network allows you to study market and customer demand on the digital level – although some data can also be applied outside the online world. Unlike other channels, on Instagram, we can find out exactly what our target audience is like, what their preferred content or products are, and their consumption habits. All in all, this is a great advantage when it comes to managing offers, creating and introducing new products, or setting up a sales strategy

Credits: tourism-

review

World Tourism Day 2019:Official Message by the Secretary-General, UNWTO

“Tourism and Jobs: A better Future for All”  World Tourism Day 2019
Official Message by the Secretary-General, UNWTO

Tourism can help us build a better future for everyone. Around the world, the tourism sector is leading source of employment, supporting many millions of jobs and driving economies forward, both at the local and the national level.

At the same time, it is a catalyst for equality and inclusivity. In many places, tourism employment gives women, young people and those living in rural communities the chance to support themselves and their families and to integrate more fully into wider society.

The true potential of tourism, both as a creator of jobs and as a driver of equality and sustainable development, is only just being realized. Providing decent work opportunities and contributing to developing professional skills are at the heart of this. Well managed, the continued growth of our sector will encompass countless opportunities and allow tourism to live up to its global social responsibility to leave no one behind.

Not one single economic, social or human activity prospers in isolation. For this reason, governments and stakeholders from the public and private sectors are increasingly working together to manage tourism in a responsible and sustainable manner and to ensure its enormous potential is properly realized.

Just as new technology is changing the way we travel, so too is it changing the way we work. Tourism is leading the way in providing workers with the skills and knowledge they need for the jobs of tomorrow. Embracing this creative spirit, including through effective collaboration with partners in the technology sector and in academia, will drive the creation of more and better jobs.

As we celebrate World Tourism Day, let us recognize the transformative power of tourism. Together, we can realize tourism’s potential to build a better, more equal future.

Tourist Demand

TOURIST DEMAND

A common approach to studying of tourism is to divide it into the broad areas of demand and supply, and then examine each separately.

The demand-side is the market for tourism attractions and facilities. It includes the reasons why people choose to travel, and why they prefer some activities over others. Looking at it from a particular destination’s point of view, it is knowing who the client or market is for a place.

The supply-side of tourism refers to the destination resources that are available for the tourist and recreationist. These include facilities and attractions of all kinds (such as sports fields, parks, beaches and entertainment), as well as supporting infrastructure
(such as transportation, hotels and restaurants) and services (such as travel agents, and recreation programs and activities).

To market effectively, the needs of the consumer must be identified. In a demand-driven model, tourist motivations influence the development of a destination.

What we know of as tourism, for example, would not exist if we did not have both tourists and destinations or attractions. The tourist shapes the destination because the destination must respond to the tourist’s presence in some way. And the destination is shaping the tourist by generating expectations, motivations and experiences that would not exist if that particular destination, and its interpreters(tour guide), did not exist.

Source: World Geography of Travel and Tourism.

Tourism Expenditure

Tourism Expenditures


Anything that can be purchased is a commodity. By creating tourist attractions, the tourism industry tends to commodify almost all aspects of the contemporary world. This is known as commodification.

The UNWTO has defined a  tourism commodity as  any good or service for which a significant portion of demand comes from persons engaged in tourism as consumers.

Significant portion is not defined, however, if we assume that this is more than 50 percent, then a tourism commodity is any product or service for which at least 50 percent of the buyers are tourists. (Depending on the product, service and place, the tourist demand could be less than 50 percent.)

Furthermore, almost anything can become a tourist attraction, with the right marketing.

Attractions
can include forms of transportation (e.g., San Francisco ’s Cable Cars), food and beverage (e.g., wine tourism in California).

The magnitude of tourism as an economic activity in a destination is usually measured primarily by estimating the total expenditures made by visitors in the course of at trip(or on behalf of a visitor, such as contracts with a hotel made by a tour operator inassembling a tour for sale).

A few purchases before and after a trip can be considered part of the trip ’s expenses, such as the purchase of consumables made immediately before departure, such as gas for the car, and expenditures such as the dry
cleaning of travel clothes immediately after the trip.

Tourist Motivation

Tourist Motivation


There is no one approach or model that is widely accepted as the standard for
assessing tourist motivation. This is due to the diverse combination of products and experiences that comprises the tourism industry, and the associated wide range of tourist interests and needs. Motivations and needs also change over time, such as over
the course of a lifetime, from one trip to the next, and from one activity to the next on the same trip.

In addition, many tourists are not aware of what motivates them to
take a certain trip or visit a particular attraction, except in the most general of terms which typically include recreation, relaxation, education and escape from their work-a-day world.

One example of a tourist motivation model that incorporates significant elements of supply is that suggested by Mayo and Jarvis (1981). They proposed that travel motivation can be divided into the following four types, based on what the tourists most wish to gain, see or experience in the trip. More than one of these can occur at the same time, though one tends to be more prominent than the others for any single trip.

1. Physical Motivators: The desire for physical rest, sports participation, beach recreation, relaxing entertainment and health considerations.

2. Cultural Motivators: The desire for knowledge of other countries, including their music, art, folklore, dances, paintings and religion.

3. Interpersonal Motivators: The desire to meet new people; to visit friends or relatives; to escape from routine, family, or neighbors; or to make new friendships away from the home setting; to experience anomie (which refers to social interactions in an anonymous setting).

4. Status and Prestige Motivators: The desire for recognition, attention, appreciation and a good reputation among family, friends and acquaintances in the home setting. (This is also referred to as ego enhancement.)

The advantage of this approach is that participation in specific activities can be used to classify motivations. Visitation to a museum is, therefore, an indication of a cultural motivation, while going to a beach would be a type of physical motivation.

The attachment of motivation to activities facilitates the easy collection of data on tourist behavior at its most apparent level, making this approach preferred by local and national tourism boards

The time is ripe for growth of Africa’s luxury tourism offering

The time is ripe for growth of Africa’s luxury tourism offering


Tourism is a key driver in every emerging economy’s GDP, driving growth and job creation. Yet, what of the luxury segment and its potential growth in the tourism sector?

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled ‘Luxury Travel Market – Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2014 to 2022’, the global luxury travel market is expected to generate US$1,154bn by 2022, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 6.4% from 2016 to 2022. Millennials in particular are projected to play a significant part in driving this growth as they seek experiential and unique travel experiences while being very connected with technology (i.e. via social media), enabling them to communicate their experiences to the world. Millennials are fast becoming today’s travel market due their influence, affluence and aspirational outlook.

Africa is known for its experiential travel but there is still a wide gap for luxury experiential travel to take the lead. To this end, Africa’s Travel Indaba 2019 has set up its ‘Luxury Pavilion’ where some of Africa’s most extravagant travel escapes will be showcased to buyers with the express aim of growing the luxury segment’s slice of the bigger tourism pie.

“All participants at this year’s Africa’s Travel Indaba Lap of Luxury Pavilion are valued for their quality service, experience, innovation and heritage. In 2019, we want to show that Africa, especially South Africa, is a destination well positioned in the minds of foreign tourists seeking exclusivity, luxury and unique experiences,” says
Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo , South African National Conventions Bureau Chief Convention Bureau Officer.
In 2018, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation reported an increase of 36m international arrivals on the continent between 2000 and 2017.

The tourism industry is also playing an increasingly important role in the global economy, contributing 5% of GDP, 30% of service exports and 235m jobs worldwide. While the luxury segment is well established in parts of East and Southern Africa, there is still room for growth of luxury offerings on other parts of the continent.

Source: tourismupdate.co.za

Technology and Innovation Seen as a Big Boost to Cultural Tourism

Technology and Innovation Seen as a Big Boost to Cultural Tourism

Madrid, Spain, 9 October 2018 – Seeking to advance use of innovation and cutting-edge technologies into cultural tourism practices, destinations and products, the International Seminar on Harnessing Cultural Tourism through Innovation and Technology will be held in Hamedan, Iran alongside the 40th UNWTO Affiliate Members Plenary Session (12-14 November 2018).

The seminar recognizes the significance of innovation in managing and promoting cultural tourism, which is one of the largest global tourism markets, and the opportunities of integrating innovative governance into the management of cultural tourism destinations. Through disrupting the sector and creating opportunities for improving governance, competitiveness and cultural resource preservation, innovation and technology are instrumental in enhancing cultural tourism development.

The seminar will feature three panels, exploring how big data, innovative business models, digital services and marketing, and other new technology can ensure long-term sustainability, profitability and competitiveness for cultural tourism products while preserving their authenticity. The keynote panel will explore how innovation and technology generate new opportunities for, and motivate new players to enter, the cultural tourism sector.

An estimated 4 out of 10 tourists choose their destination based on its cultural offering. The conference will explore how this choice is increasingly motivated by intangible factors such as a place’s culture, history, traditions and atmosphere, or its association with famous people, ideas or events.

Host city Hamedan, historically home to Iran’s famous scientists and poets, is nowadays known for its rich heritage of handicrafts, namely pottery design. The small town of Lalejin in Hamedan Province was designated the World Pottery Capital by the World Crafts Council on July 2016. Nearby Alisadr, the world’s largest water cave, is another renowned tourist attraction.

The seminar, which also spans the UNWTO Affiliate Members’ 40th plenary, is jointly organized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Iran Cultural Heritage, Handcraft and Tourism Organization, and Alisadr Tourism Company.

Source: United Nation World Tourism Organization

AU Ministers Strategize On Development Of Tourism

AU Ministers Strategize On
Development Of Tourism

The African Union Ministers responsible for Tourism endorsed the crucial role of the Tourism sector in the attainment of the main goals of the AU Agenda 2063 of continental integration, prosperity and peace.

The declaration of the Ministers is followed by the outcomes of a day-long experts’ First Ordinary Session of the Sub-Committee on Tourism of the Specialized Technical Committee on Transport, Transcontinental and Interregional
Infrastructure, Energy and Tourism (STC-TTIET) that was held recently in Nairobi, Republic of Kenya.

The Ministers urge Member States to implement practical measures to facilitate the free movement of persons and goods in the Continent, in particular the removal of visa requirement.

Hon. Priscah Mupfumira’s, Minister of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry and Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Tourism of the STC-TTIET says: “It is envisaged that the Continental Tourism Framework will provide a clear roadmap of activities towards the achievement of the African Union objectives, within the framework of AU Agenda 2063 First Ten Year
Implementation Plan.”

H.E Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the AUC states that the African Union Commission has long recognized the crucial
importance of Tourism to the
achievement of the aspirations of AU Agenda 2063. “The AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government have decided to work collectively towards making: Africa the Preferred Destination for Tourism in the world as the overall goal of Tourism under the agenda 2063 framework”, she says

Also, Hon. Najib Balala, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism & Wildlife of the Republic of Kenya reiterates that Africa has better products and emphasized the need to establish the African Tourism Organization as an innovation platform to market the enormous touristic product of the continent.

“Across Africa, Tourism is one of the highest potential sectors for improving societies, economies and livelihoods. More than 62 million international arrivals in 2017 earned the region 38 billion US dollars”, says Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO Secretary General.

Source: AU

Digital Transformation & Innovation Take Spotlight on World Tourism Day 2018

Digital Transformation & Innovation Take Spotlight on World Tourism Day 2018

Madrid, Spain, 28 September 2018 – World Tourism Day 2018 was observed in Budapest, Hungary yesterday (27 September 2018) with the official celebration focusing on the digital transformation in tourism, a World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) priority. The event examined how investment in new technology provides the sector with opportunities for innovation.

Introducing a new seminar-based format, the official celebration provided crucial insights into the actors and initiatives leading the digital transformation of the tourism sector and aimed at providing participants with concrete and actionable objectives to take away.

During the official celebration, the 20 semi-finalists of the 1st UNWTO Tourism Startup Competition gave pitches to investors and tourism leaders of their innovative projects with potential to disrupt the sector. They were selected from over 3000 applicants from 132 countries. The competition was launched by UNWTO and Spanish tourism leader Globalia to find projects that harness innovation and can change the way we travel.

“UNWTO is proud to have positioned, for the first time, tourism in the global innovation agenda – where it deserves to be because of its economic weight and importance. This is only possible by bringing the private and public sectors together in a meaningful way, and providing opportunities to share ideas, like we have done today”, said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili to conclude the event.

Mr. Pololikashvili was joined for the opening ceremony by Hungary’s Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Csaba Domotor and Gloria Guevara, President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council, who emphasized the role of technological solutions such as biometric data capture in ensuring safe, seamless and sustainable travel.

Key amongst the conference conclusions was that political support is central to putting tourism at the centre of the global innovation and digital agenda. The event harboured this sentiment, attracting the participation of ministers from several countries and high-level political representatives at all levels of government, from local to national, as well as tourism’s main entrepreneurs, investors and innovators.

Other World Tourism Day celebrations also took place worldwide today, helping to mark the 38th year the observance day that has taken place to give visibility to the tourism sector’s role in international economic growth and development.