Zhang Hui: The epidemic forced the tourism industry to make changes, a "new" tourism is expected

With effectively control of the national epidemic at present, tourist scenic spots around the country are resuming work orderly. Due to few passengers and other reasons, many cultural and tourism enterprises are also facing problems such as difficulties in returning to work, tight cash flow.

Zhang Hui, deputy director of the Expert Committee of World Tourism Cities Federation, president of the Modern Tourism Development Institute of Beijing Jiaotong University, an expert who receives Special government allowances of the State Council, said at the scene of the "Restart of China Cultural Tourism - Series of Theme Salons Online" that the epidemic forced tourism to reform and innovate, and there would be a large room for the development of self-drive tourism, rural tourism and home-stay tourism etc.

Zhang Hui said there were nearly 150 million oversea trips in China last year, and the epidemic has had a major impact on tourism enterprises that mainly focuses on oversea businesses. Domestic tourism also changed, especially for long-distance travel, it’s harder to recover, however, short-distance travel within provinces or just cross-cities would be more popular.

"After the epidemic, tourists' travel preferences will change, and there will be a large room for tourism to develop such as self-drive tours, rural tours and home-stay tours." Zhang Hui said.

According to Zhang Hui, tourism is an industry that combines space mobility and people gathering. There would be less long-distance movements for quite a long time. In the east and west tourism markets, local people are basically the core of their tourism. The western population is small, it’s hard for a large-scale passenger-flow in scenic spots there this year. While the east is totally different--densely populated, the eastern scenic spots will see some growth once the domestic epidemic subsides.

In Zhang Hui's view, the epidemic may accelerate the speed in reforming Chinese tourism development model, pushing back reforming and innovation in the next step. The ways to travel like gathering-tourism, group-based tourism are against basic rules of modern tourism. Tourism enterprises should reflect: what is the future orientation, what products to explore and what kind of tourism environment to create.

Through the epidemic, the tourism industry should reflect on its problems so that the tourism will develop in high-quality to turn the crisis into an opportunity. Although the epidemic has caused the tourism industry missed the Spring Festival, spring will definitely come.

Expert profile

Zhang Hui

Zhang Hui is Deputy Director of Experts Committee of World Tourism Cities Federation, and president of the Modern Tourism Development Institute of Beijing Jiaotong University.