Tourism puts visitor experience first

The model features tourism experiences extending beyond enclosed attractions into historical streets, neighborhoods and everyday urban spaces, he explained.

"Places such as Kashgar Old City in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, show how streets, neighborhoods and public spaces can themselves become part of the visitor experience," he said.

He noted that even enclosed attractions are becoming more immersive, with performances and themed dining turning visitors from spectators into participants.

However, understanding visitors' expectations can be as important as designing elaborate experiences, he emphasized.

He recalled advising a young relative who was planning a trip to Kashgar to learn about the area's geography, history, ethnic groups and religions before setting off.

"He told me he simply wanted to see the scenery and the old town, take photographs and look at cats and dogs," he said.

Dai was initially frustrated, but later reconsidered his expectations.

"We in the tourism industry are always talking about our lofty ambitions. We want to teach young people about history and culture," he said.

Therefore, he urges tourism professionals to pay more attention to the interests of young people, many of whom are "pursuing the simple pleasure of travel".

Wu Bihu, a professor at Peking University's College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, believes that the industry needs to reconsider how existing land and buildings could serve people's needs.

"As the population ages and demographic and technological changes reshape work and leisure, people will need more places where they can simply relax," he said. "Sometimes, all they need is somewhere to do nothing."

He calls this "quality idleness" and believes tourism should make room for it. That change in thinking should also influence how existing spaces are used, he added.

Wu sees potential in vacant rural houses, old factories, warehouses and underused urban buildings, which could be adapted for tourism and leisure activities, subject to land-use regulations and conservation requirements.

He urged related parties to tap into the tourism potential of historical buildings.

"All cultural relics were created as spaces for production and everyday life," he said. "Today, tourism can find appropriate ways to use them again through services."

Xiao Qianhui, a member of China Tourism Association's expert committee, called relevant parties' attention to the challenge of making China easier for overseas visitors to experience.

Xiao sees visa-free entry as a major turning point for inbound tourism, but warns that easier entry does not automatically translate into a smooth trip.

"Visa-free entry is a major milestone in the history of China's reform and opening-up," he said. "Removing obstacles is a more powerful driver of development than simply adding new industry policies."

Practical problems with payments, transport and language services can still discourage visitors or prevent them from spending money. Many Chinese businesses have become accustomed to mobile payment, while older overseas visitors often rely on bank cards.

"Don't assume that everyone travels the way Chinese people do, with a phone and a QR code ready for every payment," Xiao said. "If a visitor wants to buy something but cannot pay, that is a sale we have lost."

The shortage of guides speaking less widely used languages is an even more serious constraint, he added.

Tour operators have received inquiries from Spanish-, Portuguese — and Italian-speaking groups but have struggled to find guides who can communicate with them in their own languages, he notes.

"The shortage of guides in less-spoken languages has reached the point where it is choking off the market," Xiao said.

He proposed training experienced English-speaking guides in additional languages and recruiting people with language skills from other professions. He also called for cultural venues to be more flexible when overseas groups arrive with their own language guides.

On the hotel front, Zhang Rungang, vice-president of China Tourism Association, pointed out that the need to make better use of existing resources is pressing in the hotel industry.

"The hotel industry's capacity is clearly in excess, and the situation is becoming increasingly serious."

He traced the problem to decades of investment in which hotels often served broader objectives, such as improving a city's image, attracting investment or increasing the value of real estate projects.

"For a long time, the hotel industry was not really an independent industry but served other objectives."

The expansion of budget and midrange hotel chains added to supply, while new projects continued to enter the market. Zhang said the industry now needs to shift its attention from building more hotels to managing existing assets.

He believes asset management has become at least as important as day-to-day hotel operations. "Artificial intelligence could further reshape the sector, although its application will vary by hotel category," he noted.

Budget and limited-service hotels, where cost control is a priority, may be able to adopt such systems more readily. Luxury hotels, which depend more heavily on personal interaction, will need to focus on cooperation between employees and technology, he said.

Experts at the meeting pointed to a common conclusion: the country's industry can no longer rely solely on adding attractions, rooms or promotional campaigns. It must pay closer attention to how people use places, what services they need and what makes an experience worth having.