Forum of "Innovation in Business Form and Integrated Industrial Development": Making Changes Happen in Global Tourism after the Pandemic

On 3 September 2021, WTCF Beijing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit & World Conference on Tourism Cooperation and Development opened in China National Convention Center, Beijing, with the theme of "Revitalizing World Tourism and Energizing City Development". It was organized by the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) and the People's Government of Beijing Municipality together with the world's major international organizations and tourism institutions. On the afternoon, the forum of "Innovation in Business Form and Integrated Industrial Development" highlighted the innovative measures and effective practice of tourism cities and institutions. The panelists discussed how tourism cities should better promote and leverage the new experience to accelerate business form innovation and industry integration of global tourism as well as how to make changes happen in global tourism after the pandemic.

Dr. Zeng Bowei, Professor of College of Tourism of Beijing Union University, is moderating the forum

Dr. Zeng Bowei, Professor of College of Tourism of Beijing Union University, moderated the themed forum. According to the theme of the forum and Beijing Tourism Group's practices of innovative integration, Bai Fan, General Manager of Beijing Tourism Group, gave a keynote speech at the forum, demonstrating the macro environment, development trends, characteristics, and effective practices of business form innovation and industry integration. He noted that business form innovation and industry integration under the new normal has must keep pace with the times, are constantly changing and rely heavily on science and technology . At the same time, traditional factors tend to highlight innovation, business form innovation, ecological preservation, customized modes and great scale. "In both industry integration and enterprise integration, integrated innovation and technological empowerment are key to promoting high-quality and innovative development of cultural tourism".

In terms of how cultural tourism industries and businesses shall enhance business form innovation as well as promote integrated industry development, Bai Fan offered seven suggestions. First, they should focus on the market and react quickly to market changes; Second, they should prioritize culture and build new business forms, new entities and new modes featuring both culture and tourism; Third, they should invest more in tourism technologies for technology-driven development; Fourth, they should constantly improve content, adopt asset-light strategies and expand "IP Plus" development. Fifth, services should never be neglected and the concept of "Chinese Services" should be widely applied to guide business practices so that consumers will have more enjoyable experiences. Sixth, all entities should adhere to green and environmentally-friendly concepts and promote robust tourism development by following low-carbon concepts. Seventh, they should facilitate the integration of industrial and financial capital to fully tap the potential of capital and improve businesses' core competitiveness from various perspectives, including production, marketing, operation and management.

Bai Fan, General Manager of Beijing Tourism Group

At the panel discussion of the forum, five representatives from government institutions and enterprises at home and abroad expressed their views. Innovation offers the way out when the tourism sector is plagued by COVID-19. María Llinares, Tourism Counselor of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in China, shared Spain's innovative practices of promoting sustainable tourism development. She believed that innovative forms can offer tourists better experiences and increasing utilization rate of facilities will help promote the sustainable development of tourism. Franka Gulin, Director of Croatian National Tourist Board Shanghai Representative Office, noted the new normal will bring new opportunities and that it's necessary to collect and make full use of new information under the new normal. "In most cases, we know that people have different channels of acquiring information. We need to stress safety and tell people how to live under the new normal".

María Llinares, Tourism Counselor of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in China

Franka Gulin, Director of Croatian National Tourist Board Shanghai Representative Office

Tourism is a comprehensive sector characterized by openness, inclusiveness, and it's waiting to be further developed. Qiu Wenhe, President of China CYTS Tours Holding Co., Ltd., observed the whole tourism sector has been witnessing deep transformation before the pandemic and that COVID-19 has just accelerated the process. He believed that reform must be carried out in content, services, products and operation. Innovative integration, innovative practices and technological empowerment will help with the transformation and reform in essence. Yasuda Tsuyoshi, Chief Rept. of JTB Corp. Beijing Office, mentioned that once the pandemic dies away, local governments will implement policies of tourism revitalization. In this case, tourism enterprises should be fully prepared for expanded consumption.

Qiu Wenhe, President of China CYTS Tours Holding Co., Ltd.

Yasuda Tsuyoshi, Chief Rept. of JTB Corp. Beijing Office

In terms of seeking new tourism investment opportunities in the post-pandemic era, Zhang Shumin, President of OCT Tourism Investment & Management Co., Ltd., believed integrated development covering multiple fields represented by "Tourism + Technology", "Tourism + Culture", "Tourism + Internet", and "Tourism + Finance" will offer golden opportunities, since governments around the world are vigorously developing tourism and driving business form innovation.

Zhang Shumin, President of OCT Tourism Investment & Management Co., Ltd.

The tourism sector is a comprehensive economic system featuring openness and inclusiveness and waiting to be further developed. It is primed for a robust restart after going through all the difficulties. Due to the pandemic, people now prefer short-distance tourism, decentralized tourism, customized tourism and tourism in low-density areas. With expedited integration of tourism with relevant industries including culture, sports, education, science and technology, agriculture and health, global tourism is entering a new round of transformation and innovation.