——A survey report on the tourism operation of Xiangxi Prefecture in Central China under the influence of the epidemic
In recent years, according to the development orientation of all-for-one ecology, all-for-one culture, all-for-one health, and all-for-one tourism, the cultural tourism industry has become a pillar industry in the prefecture. Since the beginning of this year, the local new crown pneumonia epidemic has rebounded frequently, and the epidemic prevention and control situation has been complicated and severe, which has caused a significant impact on the tourism industry. In order to fully understand the operation of the tourism industry in the Prefecture and the current difficulties, in late April, the Xiangxi Statistics Bureau conducted a special survey on some scenic spots, enterprises above designated size, and tourism industry authorities in the Prefecture. 
The results show that: in the first quarter, the epidemic has repeatedly hit the tourism market in the Prefecture, with a sharp drop in corporate operating income, serious tourism brain drain, difficulties in corporate financing, and heavy operating costs. At the same time, I learned that: in order to help market entities overcome difficulties, the Prefecture, Hunan Province, and Xiangxi Prefecture have intensively introduced relevant support policies, and the tourism industry in the whole prefecture has seized the "gap period", increased project construction, scenic spot renovation, brand creation, and promoted tourism. The quality of scenic spots has been upgraded, new tourism production capacity has been accelerated, and the trend of deep industrial integration is obvious. To help the tourism industry survive the "cold winter" and boost the recovery of the tourism industry, government departments at all levels need to implement precise policies and strengthen their internal strength.
1. The basic situation of the Prefecture's tourism industry
(1) The tourism market fluctuates significantly
In the first quarter, the main indicators of the tourism economy in Xiangxi Prefecture showed a trend of high opening and low decline. From January to February, the tourism market in the prefecture started well and operated steadily, and the tourism market recovered strongly. Since March, affected by the nationwide epidemic, cross-regional travel has been restricted, and the main indicators of the tourism economy have fallen sharply. In the first quarter, the Prefecture's tourism received 6.92 million tourists and realized tourism revenue of 6.15 billion yuan, down 44.2% and 41.6% year-on-year respectively. The number of tourist arrivals and ticket revenue of 38 A-level tourist attractions decreased by 84.8% and 93.9% respectively year-on-year.
(2) Accelerating the accumulation of industrial kinetic energy
In the first quarter, 47 prefecture-level key cultural and tourism projects planned to complete an investment of 7.99 billion yuan, of which more than 80% of the Prefecture's key cultural and tourism projects have started construction, with an investment of 620 million yuan. 12 key cultural and tourism projects, including Xiangxi Tonghe Garden Art Cultural Tourism Valley, Shibadong 5A Tourist Scenic Spot Improvement Project, and Yongshun County Furong Town Scenic Spot Tourist Infrastructure Construction, have started construction, with a total investment of 3.87 billion yuan, and are scheduled to be completed throughout the year. The investment is 1.51 billion yuan. The "Zhangjiajie City-Xiangxi Prefecture Cultural Tourism Market Law Enforcement Cooperation Agreement" was signed, and a joint law enforcement cooperation mechanism was established to jointly regulate the cultural tourism market order. Organized and carried out the 2021 winter tour of Xiangxi in 2021, including "People from Western Hunan Travel to Western Hunan" and "Tour to Western Hunan to Seek the New Year", and launched a series of preferential activities for high-speed rail tourism; launched a series of publicity and marketing activities for "Mysterious Western Xiangxi, Walk in Spring", and launched 5 spring tourism boutique routes. ; Increase resource integration, establish a joint tourism promotion and marketing platform, and continue to empower the recovery and development of the tourism industry.
(3) The trend of deep industrial integration is obvious
In the first quarter, Xiangxi Prefecture launched intangible cultural heritage exhibitions such as "Qianzhou Spring Exhibition", "National Style Hanfu Show" and a series of folk cultural activities such as "My Chinese Dream Culture Entering Thousands of Homes", creating "Mountain Style and Ancient Charm" and "Blossoming Lotus Flowers". And a number of cultural tourism performances with distinct themes and distinctive features, the integration of culture and tourism is more closely. Aizhai Wonder Tourist Area, Xiangxi Global Geopark Museum, Laosicheng Site and Museum were selected as research tourism bases in Hunan Province, and research tourism continued to heat up. Erzhuo Valley Rural Tourist Area in Guzhang County and Huasheng Farm in Longshan County have been successfully established as five-star rural tourist areas in Hunan Province. Rural tourism has become a new engine for tourism development across the Prefecture.
2. Difficulties and challenges faced by the tourism industry
(1) Market entities have been severely impacted
This year, with the spread of a new round of new coronary pneumonia, especially the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's "circuit breaker mechanism" for inter-provincial tourism and the strict prevention and control measures of various provinces and cities, inter-provincial group tours have been completely suspended, and tourists in major scenic spots in the Xiangxi Prefecture. Continued reduction, and related enterprises such as hotels, catering, performing arts, and travel agencies have difficulty operating. Judging from the statistics of the state's service industry above designated size in the first quarter, 23 service industry enterprises above designated size involved in culture and tourism achieved a total operating income of 47.997 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 39.8%, of which 8 enterprises' operating income decreased by more than 50%. The operating income of the above-scale service industries in the state involving culture and tourism all showed low-speed growth or negative growth year-on-year. The business service industry increased by 0.7% year-on-year, the public facilities management industry, radio, television, film and recording production industry, culture and art industry, and entertainment industry operating income increased by -23%, -19.1%, -25.8% and -0.2 respectively. %. Due to high operating costs, some performing arts companies must reach a certain amount of traffic before they can operate, and have not opened since the beginning of the year. From January to March, among the service industries above designated size, the business service industry and the public facility management industry lost 11.811 million yuan and 8.653 million yuan respectively. Among the 23 cultural and tourism enterprises above designated size in the service industry, 16 are loss-making enterprises, accounting for 69.6%, and the loss of enterprises is relatively large.
(2) Industry confidence has dropped significantly
Since March this year, the domestic and provincial epidemic prevention and control situation has been severe, tourists' willingness to travel has decreased, and industry confidence has suffered a serious blow. Judging from the survey of grass-roots enterprises, most enterprises lack confidence in development, and it is expected that the annual revenue will decline year-on-year. According to the quarterly business climate survey questionnaire, 87.5% of travel-related companies are not confident in their later development.
(3) Enterprise development is facing the loss of talents
With the continuous rebound of the epidemic, the operating pressure of tourism-related enterprises has increased, and the brain drain of tourism-related enterprises has been serious. From the statistical data of the service industry above designated size, the Prefecture's public facilities management industry, culture and art industry, and entertainment industry are involved in cultural tourism. At the end of the period, the number of employees decreased by 30.4%, 10.3% and 20% year-on-year respectively. According to the survey, most companies implement job rotation, job waiting, layoffs and other methods to reduce operating costs, some companies are unable to afford the wages of employees due to operational difficulties, and have been on vacation, and some employees directly resign due to reduced wage income, the company is stable. The difficulty of employees has increased, resulting in a serious loss of talents and personnel in travel-related enterprises.
(4) Corporate financing needs continue to increase
Since the outbreak of the current round of the epidemic, the Prefecture's travel-related enterprises have generally faced the problem of tight cash flow. On the one hand, facing the impact of the epidemic, the tourism market is less active, and there are fewer tourists, but the rental of scenic spots, daily operating costs, and equipment maintenance costs , The labor cost is still high, and the business operation has suffered major setbacks. On the other hand, it is limited by the fact that the tourism companies’ own income is difficult to continue to make profits and is not favored by capital. Some scenic spots and hotels are characterized as real estate and it is difficult to issue bonds, and corporate financing is hindered. The difficulty of obtaining loans has increased, and the funds to maintain normal operations are in short supply. Some enterprises face the risk of breaking the capital chain.
3. Opportunities for the development of tourism in Xiangxi Prefecture
Affected by the repeated epidemics in the past two years, the tourism industry in the Prefecture has been hit hard, but the fundamentals of the long-term improvement of the tourism industry have not changed. For a considerable period of time, the repeated intertwining of epidemic prevention and control and resumption of work and production will still be the main theme of the tourism market. The recovery of the industry will show a spiral upward trend. With the change in the structure of tourism consumption, the upgrading of scenic spots, and the improvement of traffic conditions, the development of tourism in the Prefecture is facing new opportunities.
(1) The holiday tourism market is heating up
Before May Day, the "Mysterious Xiangxi" tourist train of Changsha Metro Line 3 was put into operation, accurately connecting to the Changsha tourist source market in the form of subway and thousand-screen publicity. Held the first "Xiangxi People Traveling in Xiangxi" themed travel notes collection event, mobilized the masses to participate widely, and fully warmed up the tourism market. During the "May 1st" holiday, tickets for 34 A-level tourist attractions in the Prefecture are free, which stimulates tourists' willingness to travel and releases the potential of tourism consumption. During the 5-day "May 1" holiday, the Prefecture received 579,000 tourists, and achieved a tourism income of 590 million yuan, respectively recovering to 79.3% and 89.9% of the same period last year. Among them, tourists in Hunan Province accounted for 91.3%. Traditional sightseeing and leisure vacations and rural eco-tourism have become the first choices for tourists. Compared with before the festival, the proportion of tourists spending on scenic tours decreased, and they spent on homestay experience, food tasting, shopping, etc. higher. From the perspective of tourist source and consumption structure, the new consumption pattern of tourism in the Prefecture is accelerating, and the holiday tourism market is heating up.
(2) Traffic conditions have been greatly improved
In December 2021, the Zhangjihuai high-speed railway was officially opened for operation. In February this year, the construction of the terminal building of Xiangxi Biancheng Airport started, and it is planned to be completed and open to navigation within the year. The high-speed rail and airport not only facilitate the travel of Xiangxi people, but also inject unprecedented vitality into the tourism development of Xiangxi. On May 1, the country's first maglev sightseeing express line was opened for trial operation in Fenghuang County, Xiangxi Prefecture. The project is the first in China to create a "Maglev + Culture + Tourism" model, taking "traffic into experience, sites as attractions, and tickets into tickets" as the business philosophy, connecting "points, lines, surfaces", and the existing ancient city and mountains of Phoenix. The colors echo each other, create a comprehensive tourism brand that integrates "maglev transportation, tourism and leisure, cultural performances, and popular science research", and further build the Phoenix landscape axis, ecological corridor and cultural corridor, providing tourism and rural areas in Western Hunan. Revitalization injects new blood and kinetic energy.
(3) Intensive introduction of support policies at all levels
In order to actively respond to the impact of the epidemic on the tourism industry, in 2020, the Xiangxi Prefecture government issued the "Implementation Opinions on Doing a Good Job in "Six Stability" Work and Implementing the "Six Guarantees" Tasks", and in September 2021, the Prefecture government issued "On Active Response." Several measures to promote the recovery and development of the cultural tourism industry affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic” has a total of 16 measures. Since the second half of 2021, the Prefecture government has arranged a special fund of 10 million yuan to support the recovery of the cultural tourism industry. In February this year, 14 departments including the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "Several Policies on Promoting the Recovery and Development of Difficult Industries in the Service Industry", proposing 43 policy measures in 3 aspects. In March, Hunan Province issued "Several Policies in Hunan Province to Promote the Recovery and Development of Some Difficult Industries in the Service Industry", which proposed 5 aspects and 36 policy measures. All levels and multiple departments have formed a joint force to effectively relieve the difficulties of tourism enterprises.
4. Countermeasures and suggestions to speed up the recovery of tourism
(1) Strengthen organizational guarantees and do a good job in the planning and layout of the tourism industry
Implement the work promotion mechanism of party and government leadership, departmental linkage, and market operation, establish a Prefecture-level cultural tourism development group, establish a "one game of chess" development idea for the development of the Prefecture's cultural tourism, and enhance the Prefecture's tourism industry planning and layout, investment and financing, market promotion and other capabilities . Seriously prepare to hold the first Quanzhou Tourism Development Conference, and promote the comprehensive improvement of the tourism industry, ecological restoration, human settlements, spiritual civilization, etc. Take advantage of the current "gap period" of the epidemic, turn crisis into opportunity, make layout with forward-looking and creative thinking, use technology assistance, industrial integration, Internet marketing, project route planning, etc. to empower the cultural tourism industry, and further improve the basic supporting facilities of scenic spots Build and improve the level of tourism intelligence, innovate new tourism formats, benchmark and improve the quality of the construction of scenic spots, do a good job in the "tourism +" big article, and promote the continuous innovation and steady progress of the cultural tourism industry in the whole prefecture.
(2) Accelerate the implementation of policies and boost the recovery of the tourism market
In March this year, Hunan Province issued the document "Several Policies in Hunan Province to Promote the Recovery and Development of Some Difficult Industries in the Service Industry", in which Articles 12 to 24 listed the preferential policy support for enterprises directly involved in the travel industry; In September 2021, the Xiangxi Prefecture Government issued "Several Measures on Actively Responding to the Impact of the New Coronary Pneumonia Epidemic and Promoting the Recovery and Development of the Cultural Tourism Industry" to support the recovery and development of the cultural tourism industry in many ways; since the second half of 2021, the Prefecture government has arranged a special fund of 1,000 10,000 yuan will be used to support the recovery of the cultural tourism industry. The cultural and tourism department of Fenghuang County has also issued "Several Supporting Policies in Phoenix County to Promote the Recovery of the Tourism Industry in 2022". However, in the enterprise survey, some enterprises still reported that the policy publicity was not in place, the detailed rules were not clear, and the policy was difficult to implement in practice. Enterprises hope that the government can help negotiate to reduce the rent of business premises, postpone or reduce the payment of employee social security, some taxes, cut interest rates, postpone or reduce the rent of office space, reduce or exempt water, electricity, and gas costs, and reduce operating costs; hope that the government will organize relevant The functional departments will discuss the difficulties in the tourism industry, introduce targeted support policies, and implement the policies in the scenic spots as much as possible. It is hoped that the government will issue preferential policies for tourism consumption to stimulate and release tourism consumption demand and restore the vitality of the tourism industry. In response to policies and corporate demands at all levels, all functional departments should actively respond, timely and proactively do a good job in policy publicity, interpretation, implementation, and fulfillment, strengthen research on market players, identify pain points and blocking points, implement precise policies, and speed up the release of various We will try our best to make good use of the policy to support the development of the high-level tourism industry, and promote the orderly recovery of the Prefecture's tourism market.
(3) Strengthening financial relief to help enterprises develop steadily
Under the continuous influence of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, most travel-related enterprises are facing cash flow constraints, corporate financing is blocked, funds to maintain normal operations are in short supply, and some enterprises face the risk of capital chain breakage. It is necessary to increase financial relief support through various measures, solve the problems of enterprises, help enterprises to overcome difficulties and develop steadily, and promote the recovery of the tourism market. First, continue to expand credit supply, give priority to supporting the cultural and tourism industries, reduce loan interest rates and entry barriers, and increase inclusive financial support for qualified and expected tourism-related enterprises; second, actively promote the financial system to reduce fees and give profits , to guide financial institutions to reasonably reduce the interest rate of newly issued loans, to take the initiative to grant profits to travel-related enterprises affected by the epidemic and have difficulties in production and operation, and to help enterprises solve the problem of loan blockages; the third is to formulate a recommended list of key travel-related enterprises and projects for financial support to guide financial Institutions increase their support for travel-related enterprises and projects, and improve the financing convenience of travel-related enterprises.
(4) Coordinate prevention and control and development to boost confidence in the development of the industry
The first is to fully do a good job in epidemic prevention and control and safety production in scenic spots in the whole Prefecture, and restore orderly in strict prevention and control, so that the opening of scenic spots and safety assurance can be handled with both hands, and the situation of epidemic prevention and control is stable, and tourism demand is gradually released; Second, on the premise of strictly implementing epidemic prevention and control, orderly promote the resumption of work and production for the main players in the tourism-related market, promptly announce the current situation of epidemic prevention and control, and guide public opinion on epidemic prevention and control. Safe territorial management ensures that tourists feel at ease and travel comfortably; the third is to continue to strengthen publicity and guidance, focus on improving the quality of tourism services, optimize and improve reception capacity, and ensure a safe and orderly recovery of the Prefecture's tourism market under the normalization of epidemic prevention and control.
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