Travel Convergence Digital Innovation Development Report 2019

October  9, conducted by the China Tourism Research Institute, organized by the Shanxi Province Culture and Tourism Department, co-organized by the Shanxi Province Cultural Tourism Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd., the “Digital Arts and Tourism Integrated Innovation and Development Conference (Shanxi)” was held in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province. At the meeting, Dr. He Qiongfeng, Director of Data Analysis of the China Tourism Research Institute, released the 2019 China Arts and Tourism Integration Digital Innovation and Development Report.

In 2019, digital arts & tourism activities were held in rich and various form, with nearly ten provinces holding conferences on data-travel related issues, including not only Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui and other Eastern provinces, but also Chongqing, Yunnan, Qinghai and other Central and Western provinces. The China Tourism Research Institute has conducted a series of research focusing on the integration of 5G and arts & tourism, held a digital travel development forum and released a report on the development of China’s digital arts & tourism. This year, under the  new situation of high-quality development of culture & tourism and “burst”  of digital arts & tourism, on how to go further, more stable and more rational, the China Tourism Research Institute and Shanxi Cultural Travel Group carried out joint research and compiled the “Cultural Travel Integration  : Digital Innovation Development Report 2019”, provided market and industry trend judgment and data support for the integration of innovation.

The development of digital innovation in the integration of arts & tourism already has a considerable industrial base and social consensus. From animation games to online literature, from network music to network video, more and more digital culture products emerged into daily live.  Digital Summer Palace, digital Dunhuang and other fine works appeared. Over the past 20 years, digital innovation has become one of the most important factors in tourism’s economic growth. Ctrip.com was born in Shanghai in 1999.  Afterwards, Yilong.com, Tongcheng.com, Qunar.com, Tuniu.com, Lvmama.com, Mafengwo.com, Tujia.com and other online tourism and related enterprises came up. And, Baidu, Ali, Tencent, JD.com, Meituan, Telecommunications, Unicom and other enterprises have cross-border into the field of tourism, driving China to become a global leader in mobile online travel services.

The digital innovation of the arts & travel industry is an unprecedented opportunity. “The new normal needs new power, digital economy can do a lot in this area”.  In this second half of the rapid development of the digital economy of the Internet, the threshold of transforming and upgrading of all walks of life will continue to be lowered, the development of industrial Internet will enter the “fast  lane”. The integration driven by digital innovation is not only the organic integration of information technology and the arts & travel industry, but also an important component of the strategic thinking at the practical level. Under the three drives of policy, market and technology, the enthusiasm of the cultural and tourism integration has been effectively stimulated, and the development of digital innovation of the cultural brigade is expected to become the most widely used field of the digital economy.

The development of digital economy is the fertile soil for digital innovation. In recent years, digital economy has had a wide impact on the ordinary people.  Per survey data, about 40% of people do not carry cash in their daily lives. Travel accommodation, culture & art and other related mobile APP, financial management, GPS etc.  were frequently used, only second to social, news, shopping, video, games and other high-frequency life software, fully indicating the large number of cultural & tourism enthusiasts and a wide range of participants. Nearly 70% of mature Internet users believe that the digital economy will have a critical impact on the cultural & tourism industries, in line with the overall economic and social impact.  The industry development should be planned together with the overall digital infrastructure, business, people’s livelihood, government affairs and so on.

The digital innovation prospect is foreseeable.  It is advisable to insist being market oriented and economy integrated. Benefit from the obvious advantages of the wide application of the digital economy in society, the widespread market demand and tourism spots, and the strong entrepreneurial and innovation atmosphere of cultural & tourism enterprises, about60% of mature Internet users believe that the digital economy will become the main economic form and major growth in the future. About 50% believe that business enterprises should adhere to the organic integration of the real economy and the digital economy, actively promote digital transformation and strategic transformation, and avoid falling behind and floating with the flow.

We should emphasize on the nurture of talent, and focus on digital innovation to solve the consumption drawback such as low participation, deep cultural connotation, mismatch between supply and demand, and timely information. The survey indicated that more than 40% of respondents thought that there was too much information about culture & tourism, too little information was really valuable for decision-making, participation and experience were not deep, there was lack of timely visitors, traffic, activities and preferential information forecast, and there is an urgent need for digital innovation. About innovation future, more than 60% of respondents believed that there was need to significantly strengthen the nurture of relevant talent.  More than 50% thought that there was need to be vigilant about swarm of imitation investment.  40% considered there was need to be closely integrated with the real and practical economy.

Digital innovation promoted high-quality development of rural arts brigades. About 50% of the respondents believed that the digital arts & tourism industry will become an important graspofthe rural revitalization, and about40% thought that the industry will have a positive impact on the countryside, but only in certain areas.  “Village net hot spots”, “Taobao village” “digital homestay” “digital literature brigade poverty alleviation Innovations such as “One Machine Tour”  have accumulated rich experience for the digital innovation of rural arts brigades. We should further digitally integrate rural cultural & tourism resources, offline travel and service quality, online and offline resources complementing, to transform the “net hot spots”  into  “The prosperous place of the literary brigade”.

Digital innovation and cultural brigade fusion is blooming and evolving. The digital convergence of cultural resources requires not only abstract aggregation in spatial dimension, but also cross-condensation in time dimension. It needs not only innovative product supply, but also quality services. The use of series of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G, Internet of Things, VR and AR, Wen-China, and Big Data will further tap into the needs of the audiences, and also inverts digital travel services and products iterative upgrades and expansion. Shanxi Culture and Travel Digital Experience Hall and Shanxi Smart Tourism Cloud Platform is the first provincial-level cultural tourism fusion of the digital integrated experience pavilion and Shanxi tourism brain.  The project mines tourists and enterprises needs in depth, innovates space-time resources and provides quality-oriented travel services.  It is the periodic achievement of digital innovation to promote the integration of arts & travel, and it is also an important test base for the digital arts & tourism application laboratory.

From: China Tourism Research Institute

Editor: Maggie