East China’s Jiangsu province has introduced a series of targeted measures to accelerate the recovery of cultural and tourism enterprises and continue to enhance their confidence in development. The tourism industry was hit the hardest in the recent round of COVID-19 resurgence in some parts of the province.
Shecun Village in Jiangning District of Nanjing is known as "the first village of Jinling ancient style". It was almost deserted a few months ago, but now it has gradually regained vitality. With more tourists, tourism operators have become more confident.
"Hello Madam Wang,what time do you come here in the afternoon.Okay, do you need to book dinner with us."said Lu Di, Operator of an B&B in Shecun Village
Lu Di runs a B&B homestay that focuses on the exotic experience of Southeast Asia. More than a month ago, she was worried over the business as she could do nothing but to looking at the quiet village and the green hills outside the homestay. Fortunately, the epidemic prevention and control began to be relaxed and more and more tourists came to experience the homestay.
"The order volume can reach 70% per week.The occupancy rate has improved compared to the previous year."said Lu Di, Operator of an B&B in Shecun Village
The impact of the epidemic since March has forced homestays to suspend business. Villagers have lost their income and have to bear various expenses such as water, electricity, and rent.
Lu Di, Operator of an B&B in Shecun Village
The government introduced policies to reduce social security premiums and postpone payment, and tourism operators were relieved of their worries.
Lu Di believes that in order to quickly resume operations, price concessions are not the ultimate goal, and only differentiated and featured products can capture the hearts of tourists.
"For example,we can teach tourists to learn how to make Thai food,teach children to make sticky rice with mango,use plantain leaves to make some dishes,and serve them to their mothers.We will hire fitness instructors to teach you how to do aerobics to ensure that visitors can laugh,sing and dance to the fullest."said Lu Di, Operator of an B&B in Shecun Village
Since the resumption of business, the homestay has developed new Southeast Asian cuisines, launched a Thai spa experience, and optimized and upgraded the courtyard landscape and hardware facilities such as the gym, swimming pool, and children's playground, bringing tourists a brand new travel experience.
"I feel relaxed by spending the time here."said A foreign Tourist.
"I feel thrilled with the environment here and when I get here.I feel like a life situation has been completely switched."said Resident of Nanjing.
Shecun Village has also built a 2,300-square-meter homestay base, surrounded by farmhouses, amusement parks, ancient buildings of Ming and Qing Dynasties to form a complete tourism chain integrating eating, living, entertainment, shopping and traveling.
During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, Jiangning District, Nanjing, where She Village is located, reported a comprehensive tourism income of 135 million yuan by receiving a total of 690 thousand tourists and tourism income recovered to about 95% of the same period in previous years.
Rural tourism received a total of 178.8 thousand tourists, an increase of 38% over the same period of previous years. Cultural tourism projects such as ecological villages, intangible cultural heritage, and outdoor camping are very popular.
Right now, tourism operators are planning to build a number of selected rural tourism routes and launch "micro-vacation" destinations to ensure that the tourists will stay longer, which means greater consumption.
Ding Yiting, Deputy General Manager of Nanjing Dongshan Investment Development Group Co., Ltd.
"We have customized parent-child tours and tours for the elderly,and worked out different routes according to the different needs of one-day or two-day tours,hoping to improve the experience of tourists."said Ding Yiting, Deputy General Manager of Nanjing Dongshan Investment Development Group Co., Ltd.
