Difficulty in booking and ticket grabbing... Focusing on the solution to the difficulty of obtaining tickets for tourist attractions | Travel | Focus

In the just arrived summer, the tourism industry has shown a strong recovery momentum. However, when some tourists embark on their journey with anticipation, they encounter difficulties in booking scenic spots and museums, as well as difficulties in grabbing tickets. How to crack it is of great concern.

Behind the difficulty in obtaining a single ticket, it reflects the good trend of the industry accelerating recovery and increasing market heat, and also puts forward new requirements for the tourism industry entering the high-quality development lane on how to better meet demand and match high-quality services.

"No shortage of tourists, no shortage of tickets"

Entering July, the summer tourism market has become popular with the hot weather.

Recently, the reporter saw multiple tourist groups from Zhejiang, Hubei, Hainan and other places near Di'anmen West Street in Beijing. A local tour guide in Beijing told reporters that he has been busy since the Spring Festival this year and has not rested for a whole day since the start of summer. "Since July, I have brought more than ten teams from Guangdong, Sichuan, Yunnan, Hubei, Hunan and other places. I walk non-stop every day and my feet are also worn out."

On July 9th, people visited and toured Qianmen Street. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ren Chao

According to data from Meituan and Dianping, from July 1st to 10th, domestic tourism consumption orders doubled compared to the same period in 2019, with a 150% increase in bookings for parent-child related accommodations; There are over 10000 notes on the topic of "summer tourism" on Ctrip Travel.

Dai Bin, President of the China Tourism Research Institute, analyzed that the summer tourism market is booming. Firstly, after the tourism market gradually returns to normalcy, demand is concentrated and released; The second is the strong growth of the research travel market this year. "After so many years of development, mass tourism has gradually shifted from enjoying the grandeur of mountains and rivers to understanding the beauty of culture."

However, people's enthusiasm for travel seems to have been dampened by difficulties in booking and ticket grabbing. "I have seen many well-known tourist attraction reservation platforms, and almost all of them have sold out their tickets. It's just a matter of seconds to grab tickets." Mr. Fang from Hangzhou, Zhejiang told reporters that he had already planned all the itineraries for Beijing, but was disrupted because he couldn't buy tickets.

Recently, reporters have seen a surge in tourist queues at popular tourist attractions in Hangzhou, Nanjing, and other places, despite the unbearable high temperatures. On the social platform, netizens roast about the difficulty of booking tickets. Not long ago, a tourist who was traveling to Xi'an said that he had already made reservations for tickets to the Shaanxi History Museum before departure, but had not been able to make an appointment yet. He wanted to go to the museum entrance to try and see if he could buy tickets for the day, but unfortunately, he still couldn't. "I'm leaving the day after tomorrow, so I'll have to wait until the next time I have the chance to grab a ticket and come back to Xi'an to play."

Why is it difficult to make appointments and grab tickets during the summer rush?

Why did the problem of difficult reservations and ticket grabbing erupt during the summer vacation? Interviewees believe that in addition to the booming market demand, the tourism market has also exposed some new problems after entering the normalization of appointment booking.

——The program is cumbersome and builds a "digital fence". The reporter found that booking tickets not only requires logging into various mini programs or WeChat accounts, but also the time for grabbing tickets varies: some are one week in advance, some are three to five days in advance; Some tickets are released in the morning, while others are released in the afternoon or evening. "Late night ticket grabbing" has even become a hot topic on social networks.

Yang Ji, Associate Professor of the School of Culture, Creativity and Management at Zhejiang University of Media and Communications, believes that intelligence and mobility are the development trends of modern scenic spots, but we cannot build a "digital wall" based on them. "Both scenic spots and cultural heritage sites are social public resources, and it is still necessary to consider reserving 'special channels' for social groups who are not proficient in using digital devices."

——Ticket grabbing agents occupy ticket source space. The reporter logged into the official visit reservation channel of the Nanjing Museum for several consecutive days and time periods, and found that the visit tickets for that week had already been displayed as "booked up", and it was difficult to obtain tickets that were "not open" based on "hand speed".

Through a platform that claims to be the "official ticket source, with tickets available every day" and can provide ticket booking services for 200 museums across the country, even for the next day's tickets, the remaining number of tickets is as high as "99+", but it must cost 89 yuan. A customer service told the reporter that the name, mobile phone number, ID card number and other information should be filled in when buying the ticket, and the ticket is non refundable after purchase.

"Originally a universal welfare for the general public, it has become a way for some people to make money." Yang Ji said that how to plug the loophole of ticket snatching has raised higher requirements for scenic spots and museums, such as further upgrading the ticketing platform system and improving recognition and warning capabilities.

——The significant increase in demand highlights the supply-demand contradiction. Dai Bin's analysis shows that during the epidemic, the public has a good understanding of measures such as flow restrictions, reservations, and peak shifting. However, with the comprehensive restoration of social order, some scenic spots have not grasped social demand and timely evaluated market changes. In the peak tourism season with a significant increase in travel demand, the previous management methods are still too rigid, allowing tourists to experience a significant discount.

Some people also pointed out that the difficulty of booking some scenic spots is related to the understanding and determination to solve the problem. Zhang Hui, Deputy Director of the Expert Committee of the World Tourism Cities Federation and Dean of the Modern Tourism Research Institute of Beijing Jiaotong University, believes that most scenic spots have great adjustment flexibility in terms of passenger flow, time, and space, based on different time periods, route nodes, and management methods, while ensuring safety and tourist experience. But how to implement it in practical operation not only tests the wisdom and ability of relevant parties, but also tests the determination of supply side reform. "This determination cannot be limited to words alone. It is necessary to strengthen policy innovation in order to truly solve the contradiction between supply and demand of tourism services."

Integrate high-quality supply and innovate management services

The interviewed experts stated that effectively alleviating the difficulties of booking and ticket grabbing is related to whether the spiritual and cultural needs of the people can be met. Comprehensive measures need to be taken, and more importantly, high-quality supply and innovative management services need to be integrated with a broader perspective.

On June 25th, tourists visited the "Sky Mirror" attraction of a rural homestay in Luoquanyan Village, Xuan'en County. Shen Jizhong

Industry insiders suggest that the government can timely release guiding and high-frequency data to guide the market and effectively play a warning role. Scenic spots and cultural heritage sites should scientifically evaluate whether to continue the reservation management mode based on their own situation, scientifically plan tourist routes, and continuously optimize the efficiency of project connections and traffic organization.

The Office of the National Cutural Heritage Administration issued a notice on July 14, proposing that museums around the country should adjust measures to local conditions, scientifically study and judge, reasonably implement mechanisms such as reservation, flow restriction and peak shift, optimize and adjust the ticket reservation system, and avoid "one size fits all". The reporter learned that in response to the "difficulty in obtaining one ticket", many places have actively responded to the demand and made timely policy adjustments, better meeting the needs of tourists by delaying opening and increasing reservations.

The Shaanxi History Museum has announced that starting from July 16th, the opening hours on Sundays will be extended from 8:30 to 18:00 to 8:30 to 20:00. A tourist said, "I was fortunate enough to book a ticket and my family visited the Shaanxi History Museum." "You can now visit the museum at night.". Hangzhou's newly emerged internet celebrity, Deshou Palace, has announced that it has appropriately increased the number of reservation slots based on the current surge in tourism demand; The Shanghai Museum has issued a notice stating that, except during peak periods, appointment based visits will still be implemented, and no appointment will be required on working days.

Law enforcement agencies can play an important role in continuously cracking down on behaviors that disrupt market order. It is reported that the Beijing police have conducted in-depth investigations and launched a fierce attack against the situation of overcharging and selling free tickets around the National Museum. At the same time, some places have also increased the governance of ticketing platforms, dynamically analyzed the trend of ticketing volume, and promptly dealt with any problems found.

Wang Jieping, Vice President of Jiangsu Tourism Association, stated that the upgrading of cultural and tourism consumption is constantly driving the supply upgrade of scenic spots. Good scenic spots will develop more diversified, and some scenic spots may also gradually face the risk of being eliminated by the market. "Scenic spots are the main battlefield of the tourism industry and the core of the supply side. These scenic spots urgently need to be upgraded and cannot passively wait for tourists to visit."

Dai Bin believes that local governments, especially cultural and tourism departments, should focus on cultivating more "warm spots" scenic spots, increasing their spatial openness to society, continuously promoting the overall restoration of the tourism industry ecology, and consolidating the foundation for the sustainable and healthy development of the tourism industry.