Tourism industry urged to harness technology and restore market

Technology is empowering the cultural tourism sector, driving the market from recovery-oriented growth toward sustained prosperity, according to a recent report.

The World Tourism Cities Development Report 2022 was released by the World Tourism Cities Federation at the World Conference on Tourism Cooperation and Development 2023. It was held at the China National Convention Center on Saturday during the ongoing China International Fair for Trade in Services.

Great changes are taking place in the global tourism market; consumer travel tends to show a trend of becoming routine and leisurely and favoring outdoor activities, the report found.

New business models and formats have been stimulating vitality in the tourism market and creating a new development trajectory, industry insiders said.

Thanks to the gradual relaxation of travel restrictions by various countries, global travel demand has rebounded strongly. The tourism economy showed positive signs in 2022, the report said.

Data from the federation show that the total number of global tourist arrivals reached 9.57 billion in 2022. Total tourism revenue amounted to $4.6 trillion, recovering to 66.1 percent and 79.6 percent of the level in 2019, respectively.

While the world tourism market is recovering, emerging development trends have come to attention.

Due to the uncertainty of the pandemic, tourists found it difficult to engage in long-haul travel, leading to a shift toward briefer, short-distance trips. Leisure activities and outdoor sports have become the preferred choices for such trips.

Beijing Mayor Yin Yong told the tourism forum that the enormous demand for travel has created a dynamic market.

"The global tourism industry has embraced full recovery and robust growth this year," he said. "As a key global tourism city, Beijing received 150 million tourist arrivals in the first half of the year, earning more than 270 billion yuan ($37.18 billion) in tourism revenue, both registering about a year-on-year one-fold increase and basically recovering to levels prior to the pandemic."

"Currently, the global tourism industry is at a strategic turning point, transitioning from market recovery to high-quality development. That requires us to work together, seize the opportunity and accelerate the improvement and upgrading of the tourism industry to achieve sustained recovery and prosperity," Yin said.

Riding the wave of technological progress, the international tourism industry is benefiting from digital technologies.

In terms of leveraging smart technology in the cultural tourism industry, Yin proposed creating new forms of tourism to satisfy the general appetite for novelty, curiosity, knowledge and enjoyment in mass tourism.

He encourages tourism businesses to make use of artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and other smart technologies in a bid to get cultural resources digitalized and online.

He also called on them to create more tourism products, enrich smart tourism scenarios, innovate immersive tours and interactive experiences, and develop other innovative service formats to provide the market with more high-quality choices.

Jose Luis Sanz, mayor of Seville, Spain, said at the forum that data is indispensable to tourism development. A smart tourism office has been set up in his city, dedicated to designing tourism-related projects and creating a smarter and more sustainable city in cooperation with industry stakeholders.

In response to changes in market demand, such as high-quality services, low-carbon operations, and cultural and personalized tourism, global tourism cities need to improve infrastructure and services and place emphasis on the integration of cultural creativity and tourism services, according to the report.

Wang Xudong, director of the Palace Museum, said that in the new consumption era, tourism shows such characteristics as diversification, digitalization, personalization and integration.

"That requires us to adapt to new circumstances; delve into the unique culture and tourism resources of different cities; achieve the reciprocal promotion of culture and tourism; enrich the supply of tourism products; utilize modern marketing and communication methods; strengthen the branding of tourist cities and jointly promote the prosperous development of the global tourism economy," Wang said.

With the theme "new trends, new business formats and new consumption jointly creating the new prosperity of culture and tourism", the conference aimed to encourage global tourism cities to learn about market trends, grasp opportunities, spur consumption and think innovatively to aid global tourism prosperity.

Sponsored by the World Tourism Cities Federation and the Beijing municipal government, the event attracted nearly 4,000 attendees from some 30 countries and regions.