What’s the point of not downloading the APP?
To have a meal, you have to download an APP and scan the QR code to order; to take a taxi, you have to register the APP with a Chinese mobile phone card; to visit a museum, you have to make an appointment and purchase tickets through the APP... The willingness of foreign tourists to travel to China continues to increase, and the number has rebounded significantly, but While "the mountains are good, the water is good, the food is good, the fun is good", many tourists also report that they are "stuck" by various apps, which is very annoying.
To be fair, such shortcomings are more or less "happy troubles". In my country, consumption scenarios have become increasingly digital and intelligent, and various apps and mini-programs have almost become standard features in offline places. However, from a horizontal comparison, since China is more networked than most countries in the world, the lifestyle we are accustomed to is somewhat unfamiliar to many foreigners. They are still accustomed to paying by swiping cards and cash, standing on the street to hail taxis, and prefer to read paper menus when ordering... In addition, some APP designs are not fully considered, and the background identity data of the APP is not connected, etc., leading to Foreigners don't know, can't, or don't want to use Chinese apps, which leads to the dilemma of being "stuck" in offline life.
The difficulty in using APP is just a small incision, which reflects the big problem of my country’s further improvement of tourism, or the consumption environment. That is, how to help more foreign friends in China bridge the digital divide without affecting mainstream Chinese consumers. In this regard, the experience of “aging-friendly” transformation of Internet applications is undoubtedly worth learning from. In recent years, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has successively issued the "General Design Specifications for Aging-Adapted Internet Websites" and "General Design Specifications for Aging-Adapted Mobile Internet Applications" to guide various Internet companies in China to develop age-appropriate APPs such as one-click taxi hailing, easy online shopping, and voice typing. , and received good results. Based on this, relevant departments can introduce relevant policies to promote the construction of foreign language systems on major APP platforms and the interconnection of passport number databases and other "externalization" transformations. This not only creates more convenient software and hardware conditions to meet the diverse needs of people coming to China, but also helps Chinese Internet companies adapt to the needs of globalization and strengthen their competitiveness for "going out".
The "externalization" transformation of mainstream APPs needs to be paid attention to, and the problem of too many and excessive scenes of asking for mobile APPs in today's life is also worthy of reflection. You can’t eat without scanning the QR code, you can’t get discounts if you don’t use the APP to check out, and every attraction needs an APP… The original intention of the “Internet” was to reduce communication costs, but many businesses have forgotten their service orientation and are instead keen on using technology.” Bullying” consumers. After all, the mobile APP is a service tool, and the right to use it should be in the hands of the customer and should not become a "single-choice question." On this issue, it is still necessary for regulatory authorities to stand up and strengthen daily supervision, so that merchants have more "sense of boundaries" and consumers have the power and confidence to choose their own convenient and comfortable way to obtain services.
At present, driven by multiple favorable factors such as the visa-free policy and payment service optimization, the inbound tourism market is ushering in a golden period of recovery. Seizing this opportunity and optimizing the functional design of domestic APPs to make the travel environment more "unobstructive" for overseas tourists will also add points to China's image.
