Enjoying Immersion - Digital Technology Helps China's Tourism Industry Transformation and Upgrading, Experience Expo | Industry | China

Viewers experience VR Haihe cycling in the Tianjin exhibition area of the 13th China Tourism Industry Expo. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue

Tianjin, September 3 (Xinhua) - Wearing VR devices and riding bicycles, tourists feel as if they are on the coast of the Haihe River, and can enjoy the scenery of the Haihe River while cycling; With a gentle pull of the "arbitrary door", the beautiful scenery "hits your face"... At the 13th China Tourism Industry Expo held in Tianjin, China, the cultural and tourism industry, supported by digital technology, is full of "technological style".

Against the backdrop of accelerated recovery in China's tourism industry, the latest applications such as digital services, intelligent tourism equipment, and intelligent tourism management have comprehensively outlined a new landscape of smart tourism. In the eyes of many exhibitors, new tourism formats represented by immersive and experiential tourism have emerged continuously since the beginning of this year, demonstrating new trends in tourism consumption and promoting the transformation and upgrading of the tourism industry.

At the booth of China Telecom Tianjin Branch, live dancers are dressed in intelligent equipment, and every dance action can be accurately reproduced in real-time on the giant screen. Even the facial expressions of the dancers can be accurately imitated... Currently, digital humans driven by live action or artificial intelligence have been widely used in the Chinese tourism industry.

The staff performed virtual digital humans at the 13th China Tourism Industry Expo. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue

The smart cultural tourism metaverse space created by Tianjin Telecom has also attracted a large number of attendees. Museums, exhibitions, performances, forums, and other offline real scenes are replicated into online digital twin spaces, allowing visitors to not only immerse themselves in virtual images but also interact in real-time with other visitors.

"Compared to offline activities, 'never-ending' exhibitions, exhibitions, performances, forums, and other activities can be held in the metaverse space, and the size of the digital space can be infinitely extended. The cost of organizing activities is lower and the efficiency is higher," said Dai Zhaowu, Senior Manager of China Telecom Tianjin Branch.

Tianjin Huazhiguan International Travel Agency is one of the participating companies in this expo. Tourism products such as unmanned travel agencies and internet famous special effects robots have a strong sense of technology, and "technology+cultural tourism" is an important development direction for the enterprise in the future.

"Nowadays, consumer demands are constantly changing, and tourism is no longer just a 'walk and see' in the past. Sightseeing tourism is shifting towards immersive and experiential tourism, and digital technology has become an important lever for the iteration and upgrading of the traditional tourism industry." said Cao Wei, Deputy General Manager of Tianjin Huazhiguan International Travel Agency.

This is a scene taken on September 1st at the 13th China Tourism Industry Expo. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Sun Fanyue

In August of this year, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China issued a notice on the first batch of pilot projects for cultivating immersive new spaces for smart tourism. 24 cultural and museum venues, leisure blocks, theme parks, industrial parks, and tourist attractions were selected.

With the promotion of consumer demand and relevant policy support, more and more tourist attractions, museums, art troupes, and entertainment consumption venues are using digital technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence to integrate cultural and creative elements, allowing tourists to deeply participate in interactive experiences.

This summer, the National Museum of Oceanography is crowded with people. The first exhibition of the large-scale immersive interactive digital art work "Whale Story" light and shadow art exhibition has recently been released in the museum. Tourists stroll in the "blue waves", and giant deep-sea whales "swim" around, as if within reach.

"This art exhibition utilizes AI and digital technology to emphasize the close connection between humans and nature through multiple interactive experiences, hoping to raise viewers' awareness of environmental protection and biodiversity." Zhang Xueyan, a lecturer at the National Marine Museum, said that the digital tourism project has attracted a large number of visitors, with an average of over 10000 visitors per day since the summer of this year.

In May, the Tianjin Liang Qichao Memorial Hall also introduced the concept of the metaverse, using new technologies such as MR for live scene reproduction, exhibition content expansion, and interactive experience. Professional actors conducted immersive performances inside the memorial hall, leading the audience to experience Liang Qichao's patriotism and family style education firsthand.

In addition, various new technologies such as holographic projection, digital twins, and augmented reality have been applied to the digital upgrading and renovation of the approximately 100 square meter exhibition room on the first floor of the Liang Qichao Memorial Hall. With the theme of "Liang Qichao's life is a modern history", Liang Qichao's historical contributions and educational philosophy are presented through digital means through time and space tunnels, CAVE projection exhibition rooms, MR exhibition rooms, orbital mirror exhibition rooms, and 30 AR enhanced scenes.

Mr. Li, a resident of Tianjin, came to visit with his 9-year-old daughter during the summer vacation. The children were fully focused throughout the trip and said, "Digital devices make history more interesting, and children learn a lot from 'playing'."

Chen Guizhen, Deputy Director of the Industry Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, stated that in recent years, the development of the digital cultural and tourism industry has entered a fast lane, the scale of digital cultural and tourism consumption has continued to expand, the supply of digital content has become increasingly rich and diverse, and the number of digital content users has become increasingly widespread. Digitization continues to empower and strengthen China's cultural and tourism industries.