What changes have occurred in the cultural and tourism industry? Industry experts gather in Shanghai to "check the pulse", experiencing changes in enterprises and industries after the reshuffle of the epidemic

In the past three years, cultural and tourism enterprises have experienced severe tests in various dimensions. After the recovery and sedimentation in the first half of the year, how cultural and tourism enterprises that have experienced industry revitalization will survive and develop in the new situation has become a topic of common concern in the industry. At the 6th China Cultural and Tourism Industry Annual Conference held from August 15th to 17th, multiple cultural and tourism industry experts gathered in Shanghai to discuss together, and the 2023 Top 500 Chinese Cultural and Tourism Enterprises list was simultaneously released.

This year is a crucial year for the implementation of the 14th Five Year Plan and a turning point for the development of China's cultural and tourism industry. In the first half of this year, the gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 5.5%, the added value of the service industry increased by 6.4% year-on-year, the total number of domestic tourists increased by 63.9% year-on-year, and the domestic tourism revenue increased by 95.9% year-on-year. Data shows that the Chinese economy still maintains resilience, cultural and tourism consumption is becoming increasingly strong, and the future development of the industry is promising.

On the other hand, the underlying logic, internal laws, and external environment of the cultural and tourism industry have also undergone disruptive changes. On the supply side, the shift from "resources are king" to "operations are king" has made it difficult for extensive and traditional government investment models and enterprise investment and operation models to achieve good economic returns. The upgrading of existing assets has replaced the construction of incremental assets, becoming the main theme of the industry. On the market side, big consumption relies more on traffic entry, and cultural tourism has transformed from a traditional tourism format to a composite format of leisure, vacation, and big consumption. The role of talent, funds, policies, and other factors in ensuring security is becoming increasingly prominent. How do cultural and tourism enterprises adapt to this new situation?

Former Deputy Director of the National Tourism Administration, Wu Wenwen, stated that after the epidemic, 150 million people have shifted to domestic consumption, and the consumer service economy represented by tourism has become a core element of urban competition. Leisure, sightseeing, and micro vacations have become the main forms of tourism, and travel agencies have risen again. Emerging consumer groups such as Generation Z, singles, and silver haired individuals have created new service spaces, value spaces, and benefit spaces for tourism consumption, giving rise to tourism formats and products that adapt to new consumption.

Wu Wenwen believes that the era of large-scale investment, products, and construction in the tourism industry has come to an end, and the era of comprehensive and high-quality development has arrived. As the cornerstone and driving force of China's tourism industry, cultural and tourism enterprises should prioritize enhancing the abilities of entrepreneurs, enhancing their corporate strength, and enhancing their product core competitiveness. They should penetrate the surface, grasp the essence, and make cultural and tourism products and services both bold and proud.

Li Yang, founder and president of New Tourism, said that in the past 7 years, New Tourism has helped and served over 10000 cultural and tourism related enterprises and government entities, continuously tracking and researching over 700 cultural and tourism enterprises and more than 70 cities, resulting in nearly a hundred industry research reports and annual reports in different sub sectors. At present, the cultural and tourism industry has undergone many irreversible changes, such as the basic withdrawal of venture capital institutions, and cultural and tourism enterprises that deeply cultivate products and services have become the main force for development; Transforming from being king of resources to being king of operations, traffic has become the focus of the industry; Upgrading existing assets has become a core issue. "At present, the overall competitive landscape of the cultural and tourism track is relatively scattered, lacking truly leading enterprises."

Sun Dongyang, President of Zhejiang Xiangyuan Cultural and Tourism Co., Ltd., stated in his sharing of Xiangyuan's cultural and tourism practices that the cultural and tourism industry is facing restructuring after the epidemic, with changes in consumers, tourism forms, and tourism content. The form of tourism has shifted from sightseeing at scenic spots to leisure vacations and in-depth experiences. Tourism content has shifted from taking photos to interpreting content, from tour guides to empathizing with tourists, and from service facilities to emphasizing scene experiences. "The core of the cultural and tourism industry in the future is leisure vacation, and what we are competing for in the future is tourists' right to allocate their leisure time."

The 2022-2023 China Cultural and Tourism Industry Investment and Financing Report released at this conference revealed that from 2022 to the first half of 2023, there were a total of 462 traceable investment events in the cultural and tourism industry, with heavy assets becoming the core investment direction; Among the 50 companies surveyed, 37% have an annual investment of less than 200 million yuan, indicating a relatively smaller investment scale and a more cautious investment attitude. In the list of the top 500 Chinese cultural and tourism enterprises announced at the conference, China Tourism Group Co., Ltd. and Overseas Chinese Town Group Co., Ltd. ranked first and second respectively; Famous cultural and tourism enterprises such as Xiangyuan Holdings Group Co., Ltd., Shaanxi Tourism Group Co., Ltd., Tongcheng Network Technology Co., Ltd., Kaiyuan Cultural Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd., and Dalian Botao Cultural Technology Co., Ltd. were listed.