Provinces wage cutthroat competition to woo visitors

Numerous short-video clips posted by local authorities on social media platforms are attracting widespread attention from netizens across China.

The footage is aimed at turning online engagement into tourism revenue.

Hashtags such as "local culture and tourism bureaus going crazy, trying to outperform each other, and open to online suggestions to promote themselves" are trending on several platforms.

The cutthroat competition began as authorities attempted to copy the success story of Harbin, the capital of the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, which has become an internet sensation and a must-visit destination this winter.

The unprecedented influx of tourists, captivated by the stunning icy landscape in Harbin and the warm hospitality of local people, has resulted in the city becoming the most talked-about and sought-after travel destination in China this winter.

In the first four days of this year, 55 topics about tourism in Harbin trended on Sina Weibo, generating more than 1 billion views. Douyin, the name TikTok uses in China, and Xiaohongshu have also witnessed numerous trending hashtags related to how Harbin has "spoiled" travelers, along with the hospitality shown to them by local people and the authorities.

During the three-day New Year holiday, Harbin attracted more than 3 million visitors, generating a record-breaking 5.9 billion yuan ($830 million) in tourism revenue, with both figures setting records.

Harbin's success has spurred other areas to compete for online attention on the Douyin platform.

The battle began with the Department of Culture and Tourism in Henan province posting 23 videos on Douyin on Jan 9. Over a four-day period, the department posted 112 videos to promote the province's tourist attractions.

The footage attracted nearly 1 million new followers, with the hashtag "How many videos have the Henan culture and tourism authorities posted on Douyin?" trending on the platform. Netizens joked that the authorities in Henan were attempting to attract visitors with the sheer number of videos they posted.

Meanwhile, footage of bare-chested male models at the Yuntai Mountain scenic spot in Henan has been posted on a local tourism account run by people born after 2000. The videos have become popular with netizens who joke about visiting the province to see "the hot guys".

With the authorities in Henan showing their muscle, other areas do not want to be left behind.

In Shanxi province, the culture and tourism authorities posted 57 videos on Douyin between 8 pm on Jan 11 and 6:35 am the following day. At the peak, they posted two videos in one minute and 12 in an hour.

In Hebei province, the authorities have termed themselves "King of the competition", and vowed to fight to the end to attract visitors.

On Jan 12, they changed their name on Douyin from "Hebei tourism" to "Hebei culture and tourism", as "culture and tourism" has become a popular catchphrase on the platform. They also declared a "war" with other provinces to attract visitors, and vowed to win.

Next day, they posted 75 videos, all with the hashtag "Hebei is king of the competition".

The authorities were even told by Douyin to "take a rest", as they had posted too many videos, to which they responded that 75 a day is the platform's limit, not Hebei's.

The authorities in Shandong province have joined the competition in a way that has proved a little embarrassing for some locals.

On Jan 11, the Culture and Tourism Department in Shandong posted a video on Douyin claiming the province's last name is Dong rather than Shan (the last name for Chinese is reversed from that of Westerners). They also tried to cash in on the fame of Harbin, which is located in Dongbei, or Northeast China.

However, some local netizens said they were embarrassed for people in other areas to see the video, as they believe the authorities in Shandong are trying too hard to attract visitors.

However, the efforts made have paid off. On Douyin, the number of followers of Henan's culture and tourism authorities rose from 156,000 to more than 1.5 million in a week.

In Hebei, followers of the provincial authorities almost doubled to 910,000 in a week, while in Shandong, the authorities attracted 200,000 new followers during this period.

Deng Ning, vice-dean of Beijing International Studies University's School of Tourism Sciences, said that with people's attention being diverted to short-video platforms, promoting tourism resources on such outlets has become an "inevitable trend" for culture and tourism authorities.

Figures from the China Internet Network Information Center show that as of June, the nation had nearly 1.08 billion internet users and 1.02 billion short-video users.

Deng said short-video platforms can transform unlikely places into popular travel destinations due to the large number of followers and online feedback they generate.

Some of the best-known travel destinations last year gained popularity on such platforms.

For example, Zibo, Shandong, became known for its barbecue food early last year. Tianjin then followed, with footage of retirees diving from local bridges, before Harbin drew attention with its spectacular ice and snow landscape, Deng said.

"Such cities become famous because travelers want to go to places where there are large numbers of people, as they are longing for social contact after three years of social distancing due to the COVID-19 outbreak," he said. "They need to do some traveling to 'find a cure', preferably at relatively cheap destinations."

He added that local authorities post so many short videos because this is the quickest and easiest way to replicate the success of other "online celebrity cities", but it is impossible to predict which locality will become the next "hit city". Also, if there is too much similar content, netizens easily become bored, he said.

Celebrity endorsement

With more provinces joining the competition, celebrities are being invited to advertise local attractions.

Pop star Wang Yibo posted a video to promote his hometown of Luoyang, Henan. Actress Zhao Liying recorded footage for her hometown in Hebei, while a promotional video recorded by actor Xiao Zhan for his hometown of Chongqing trended on Douyin, attracting some 120 million views.

The authorities in Hunan province, using the pulling power of the popular Hunan Satellite TV, have called on the services of pop stars and other celebrities, some of whom are not from the province but have strong connections with the television station. Composer Tan Dun, singers Liu Huan, Li Yuchun and Zhou Bichang, and TV hosts He Jiong and Wang Han are among those promoting the province's tourist attractions.

Footage of celebrities such as Wang Yibo saying, "I'm waiting for you in Luoyang" struck a chord with Wu Jiahui, an undergraduate student in Beijing, who comes from Luoyang.

"I feel proud to see Wang using his influence and popularity to promote my hometown. I am also happy to see Luoyang getting the attention it deserves online," she said.

However, Zhang Dan, a postgraduate student in Changsha, capital of Hunan, who is also an avid fan of Wang, said the star's efforts have not persuaded her to visit Luoyang.

Official participation

In addition to pop stars, local tourism officials have joined the battle to attract visitors. On Saturday, Wang Dianyou, head of Harbin's Acheng district culture and tourism bureau, performed a hit dance at Harbin Ice and Snow World.

In Zhangjiajie, Hunan, Peng Zhenhua, head of the Wulingyuan district culture, tourism, radio and television bureau, danced with several young men wearing local costumes.

Both videos attracted a considerable number of online views. While some netizens were not so appreciative of the two officials' awkward dance moves, they valued the efforts made by officials to win them over.

Netizens are also joining the competition to attract visitors.

In Sichuan province, known for its giant panda bases, people jokingly claimed that the head of the local culture and tourism bureau has the extraordinary ability to give birth to pandas.

Meanwhile, netizens in Hunan, which is known for its spicy dishes, boasted that the local culture and tourism head can eat 50 kilograms of red peppers, while those in Jiangxi province claimed the culture and tourism head can swim several laps of Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China.

Wei Changren, founder of btiii.com, a tourism-related financial news portal, said the videos and online banter show that local authorities and people have made great efforts to revive the tourism sector.

"As long as the videos are not vulgar and do not violate laws and regulations, we should applaud these efforts for being creative and using thinking outside the box, which are not always local governments' strengths," he said.

If a city is to become a hot tourism destination for the long term, it needs to give full play to its unique strengths and characteristics, and stand out from its competitors in order to attract visitors repeatedly, Wei added.

He added that winter is not the best season for traveling in many areas of China, so not all places are able to emulate Harbin's success.

However, if netizens remember certain content from the videos and want to visit the city in the future, then such footage has achieved its goal, Wei said.

Apart from online promotion, which has become increasingly essential in the age of social media, it is equally important for local authorities to improve their tourism services and infrastructure, and make their cities hospitable for travelers, he added.