*China"stourismmarketissteadilyrecoveringwiththeremovaloftravelrestrictions.Thecountrysawnearly1.22billiondomestictouristtripsinthefirstquarterof2023,up46.5percentyearonyear.

*Inresponse,China"stouristdestinationsareavidlydevelopingnewtechnologiesandproducts,fromroboticentertainerstocamping.

【资料图】

*Thetravelfrenzyhasmadeunlikelytouristhotspots,includingthe"barbecuecity"ofZibo,whilesendingripplesofexcitementtooverseasdestinations.

WUHAN,April25(Xinhua)--Robotsperformingkungfu,interactivemuralsanddeluxecamps--touristsreturningtoChinesescenicspotsthisyearmayfindmanynewservicesonoffer.

Chinesetouristsarecomingbackwithavengeance,havingmade1.22billiondomestictouristtripsinthefirstquarterofthisyear.Inresponse,thecountry"stourismsectorisactivelydevelopingnewtechnologiesandproductstoheatupthemarket.

Thejust-concludedChina(Wuhan)CultureandTourismExpo,whichattracted2,000exhibitorsfromhomeandabroad,hasofferedaglimpseintotheshifttowardhigh-qualitydevelopment.

TouristsvisittheYellowCraneTowerinWuhan,centralChina"sHubeiProvince,April21,2023.(Xinhua/WuZhizun)

INDUSTRYUPGRADES

Avarietyofnewtechnologieshavebeenstealingthespotlightattheexpo,fromVRtours,robotguidestointelligentwearables,thatarevyingforaplaceinChinesemuseumsandscenicspots.

Meet"Crinoid,"ahumanoidrobotplayingdulcimerattheexpo.Itisdesignedtoreadmusicscores,composemusicandstagemusicalperformances.

"Wearediscussingcollaborationswithseveraltouristsites,whereourrobotscanbedeployedtoentertainthetourists,"saidZhouLi,headofCrinoid"sdevelopmentteamattheChinaUniversityofGeosciences(Wuhan).

"Peoplearereallyinterestedinthisnewtypeofperformance.What"smore,therobotcanperformforlongerhoursatalowercost,"saidZhou.

Industryobservershavepointedtotheincreasinguseofnewtechnologiesinthetouristsectortonotonlyraisemanagementefficiencybutalsocatertotherisingdemandforunconventionaltravelexperiences.

"Technologiessuchas5G,bigdataandcloudcomputinghavebeenwidelyusedinthetourismsectorinrecentyearstodevelopnewtouristproductsandbusinessmodels,"saidFuCaiwu,headoftheNationalInstituteofCulturalDevelopmentinWuhanUniversity.

"Forinstance,manytouristsitesarenowharnessingmobileinternetandlivestreamingtoattractvisitors.Thishasbecomeanewpromotionstrategy,"saidFu.

Othertouristattractionsareembracingburgeoningnewformsoftourism,suchascampingandnighttimetravel,toappealtothewealthierandyoungerholidaymakers.

Priortotheexpo,morethan200tentsweresetupalongtheEastLakeofWuhan,whereexhibitorsshowcasedmotorhomesandcampingequipmenttothevisitors.

OnShuangfengMountaininHubeiProvince,acampsitewithover100motorhomesiscrowdedwithbarbecuersseekingarespitefromtheurbanhustleandbustle.

HuXiaojun,managerofthecampsite,saidallthemotorhomeshadbeenbookedup20daysaheadoftheupcomingMayDayholiday.

ThoughnewtoChineseholidayers,campinghasseenexplosivegrowthinChina.DatafromresearchfirmiiMediaResearchshowsthatthecoremarketsizeofChina"scampingeconomyreached113.47billionyuan(about16.5billionU.S.dollars)in2022,upfrom74.75billionyuanin2021.Thefigureisexpectedtohitanewhighthisyear.

DaiBin,presidentofChinaTourismAcademy,saidleisuretourismisnowwelcomedbyagreaternumberofChinesepeopleasChinaentersintoamoderatelyprosperoussociety.

"Moreover,theepidemichasboosteddemandforlocalandshort-distancetravels,whichalsocontributestotheemergenceofnewleisuretourismsuchascamping,"saidDai.

PeopleenjoycampingattheDonghuLakescenicareainWuhan,centralChina"sHubeiProvince,Nov.5,2022.(Xinhua/SunRuibo)

NEWDESTINATIONS

Chinasawnearly1.22billiondomestictouristtripsinthefirstquarterof2023,up46.5percentyearonyear,accordingtotheMinistryofCultureandTourism.BoththeSpringFestivalandtheQingmingFestivalrecordedsignificantyearlyrisesinthenumberoftours.

ThenumberofinboundandoutboundflightsinpopulartouristdestinationssuchasHangzhou,Chengdu,SanyaandDaliroseby20percentinMarchfromthesameperiodin2019,accordingtotravelserviceproviderQunar.Inthefirstquarterof2023,hotelbookingsinpopulartouristcitiesgrewby60percentfrompre-epidemiclevels.

"Marchisusuallyanoff-seasonfortravel,butthisyearthetourismmarkethasseenbetter-than-expectedrecovery,"saidGuoLechun,viceheadofthebigdataresearchinstituteofQunar.

Themarketreboundisalsoreflectedbythenumberofnewlyfoundedtourism-relatedcompaniesinthefirstthreemonthsofthisyear,whichaccordingtoQichacha,aleadingplatformofferingcompanyinformationinquiryservices,reached79,900.

Theongoingtravelfrenzyhascreatedunlikelytouristhotspots.Zibo,anindustrialcityinShandongProvince,hasbecomeoneofthemostpopulartouristspotsinChinaafteritsiconicbarbecue,whichwrapsgrilledmeatincrispypancakes,madewavesonthesocialmedia.

ThesuddeninfluxoffoodiesfromacrossChinahasreportedlyoverwhelmedlocaleateriesandpromptedlocalauthoritiestoaddtrainsandtemporarybusroutes.

TouristshavealsoswarmedintoJiangmen,acoastalcityinthesouthernprovinceofGuangdongwherethepopularChineseTVseries"TheKnockout"wasfilmed.Accordingtothelocalgovernment,thenumberoftripsintothecitybetweenJanuaryandFebruarysurgedbyabout68percentyearonyear.

PeoplevisittheHongKongpavilionduringthe2ndChina(Wuhan)CultureandTourismExpoinWuhan,centralChina"sHubeiProvince,April22,2023.(Xinhua/WuZhizun)

OverseasdestinationshavealsobeguntofeeltheexcitementripplingfromChina"sfast-recoveringtourismmarket.

Thailandforinstancesaw269,745ChinesetouristarrivalsinMarch,a70-percentincreasefromFebruary,accordingtotheTourismAuthorityofThailand.DuringthefirstfourdaysofApril,thecountrywelcomednofewerthan8,000Chinesetouristsperday.

AttheWuhanexpo,officialsandtouristpractitionersfrom15countriesandregions,includingtheUnitedStates,France,GermanyandSerbia,werepromotingtheirproductsandseekingcooperationwithlocalpartners.

"WearefocusingonpromotingSerbiaasatouristdestination,anddevelopingmorebusinessrelationswithChinesetravelagenciesduringtheexpo,"saidVladimirKoricanac,managingpartnerwithSerbiaTourOperationGroup.

"China"stourismindustryisreboundingnow,andIbelieveitwillberenewedinfullcapacitythisyearasitwasbefore,"hesaid.

(ReportingbyTianZhongquan,WanPengqi,XuPenghang,YuPei,YaoYuan;Videoreporters:PanZhiwei,YuGuoqing,FangYadong,WanPengqi,DengNan,YuPei;Videoeditors:LiuYutian,HuiPeipei)