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From the “not-so-city” cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to the picturesque Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, the east wind of inbound tourism continues to blow this year.

Data from the National Immigration Administration showed that from January to July this year, 17.254 million foreigners entered the country through ports, a year-on-year increase of 129.9%. 846,000 port visas were issued, a year-on-year increase of 182.9%. Data from Ctrip showed that as of mid-June this year, the number of inbound tourism orders increased by more than 150% year-on-year.

Recently, following the explosion of popularity of “China Travel”, “China Hotel” has also quickly swept foreign social platforms and become a new Internet buzzword.

01

China Hotel is popular

Foreigners who come to China record their travel experiences in China in videos and post them on social media platforms. These videos can be said to have subverted the image of China created by foreign media, and hundreds of millions of people have come to know the real China. More and more tourists embark on a trip to China with the mentality of "verifying" themselves.

As the first stop for foreigners coming to China, China Hotel brings them unexpected surprises.

First of all, there are smart facilities and equipment everywhere in the hotel.In the video of the Spanish guy Oliver, he repeatedly exclaimed "Amazing" when faced with the smart facilities in Chinese hotels, such as automatically opening and closing curtains, intelligent voice control systems, wireless charging, and food delivery robots.

After receiving a takeaway from the hotel robot, the famous NBA star Marbury also said: "I like this robot so much. It even asked for a photo! I have never seen one in the United States. I heard that there are many of them in China."

Foreigners are also impressed by the service in Chinese hotels.A netizen from Italy said that the Chinese hotel he stayed in was clean and tidy, and the service attitude of the staff was very enthusiastic. "When I stepped into the room, fruit and milk were prepared for me on the table, and the hotel staff also showed me the location of the restaurant."

What fascinates foreigners is the Chinese aesthetic that is cleverly integrated into Chinese hotels.Shiloh from Poland excitedly showed the hotel she stayed in Shaoxing. The simple wooden windows, delicate hollow screens, and unique Chinese arched roof structure exude the quaint charm of Chinese culture everywhere. "This may be the most beautiful traditional Chinese hotel in China! I think it is obvious that this is a real ancient building, and then it was transformed into a hotel."

In addition, high cost-effectiveness is also the key to the popularity of Chinese hotels.A foreign tourist said frankly that his accommodation experience in a Chinese hotel was beyond his expectations. "It is hard to imagine equating such a hotel with the money I spent!" Compared with hotels of the same grade in many countries, Chinese hotels have significant advantages. With a lower price, you can enjoy more spacious rooms, more convenient digital facilities and more comprehensive services.

It can be said that whether it is the hotel's intelligent facilities, unique cultural elements, thoughtful and considerate services or excellent value for money, Chinese hotels have brought some "small shock" to foreigners. More and more foreigners have become China's "strongest mouthpieces" and "wild spokespersons" for China Travel and China Hotel.

02

Why is China Hotel so popular?

Interestingly, in the eyes of Chinese netizens, these places that amaze foreigners have long been the basic operations of Chinese hotels. However, if we look back at the timeline, the development history of China's hotel industry is relatively short, and in the early days it more or less followed the path of imitating international hotels. So why is China Hotel so popular today and in turn surprised foreigners?

On the one hand, it is becoming increasingly convenient for foreign tourists to find accommodation in China.

Just a while ago this year, the topic of "foreign tourists being refused accommodation in hotels" was still a hot topic. Due to the issue of foreign-related qualifications, many hotels were unwilling to accommodate foreigners. And earlier, foreigners also complained that they could only stay in expensive five-star hotels in China: "This greatly increases the travel budget!"

However, the introduction of many measures has solved the problem of accommodation difficulties for foreign tourists. Since the beginning of this year, the scope of application of the 144-hour visa-free policy has been continuously expanded, driving a surge in the number of inbound tourists. On July 25, the Ministry of Commerce and seven other departments issued a notice on several measures to facilitate accommodation for foreign personnel, so that foreign tourists can enter and stay.

On the other hand, Chinese hotels are really popular.

In the era of experience economy, consumers are increasingly focusing on personalized experience, emotional connection and cultural identity. "Price/performance ratio" is no longer enough, and now the competition is about who has a better "quality/price ratio". Therefore, the "battle" among Chinese hotels is very fierce, both in terms of price and service.

When it comes to specific hotel stores, in order to better capture the popularity of inbound tourism, each hotel has incorporated its own clever ideas.

To address the language barrier, many Chinese hotels have prepared Chinese and English city guides for foreign tourists. Hotel signs, menus and promotional materials also have Chinese and English versions.

In an interview, Elong Hotel said: "According to the needs of foreigners, some of our stores have also added visa assistance, airport pick-up and drop-off services and other services." Nanjing Jinling Hotel pays attention to the different cultural backgrounds and dietary taboos of foreign tourists and provides targeted food and services. Wanxin Zhige Hotel provides foreign tourists with adapter sockets and also demonstrates the enthusiasm and meticulousness of "Chinese service" to foreign tourists by performing hotel robots delivering items.

03

Fire fast

It will last longer.

The National Immigration Administration predicts that the enthusiasm of foreigners to visit China will continue to rise in the second half of this year, and my country's inbound tourism will enter a new stage of normalization. In this trend, how can China Hotel stay popular for a longer time?

First, the service level and foreign reception capacity of some hotels need to be improved.Some hotels have been widely recognized for their foreign reception, especially large chain brands or hotels located in popular inbound tourism cities. However, with the popularity of county tourism, some foreigners have also set foot in small cities with beautiful scenery but underdeveloped economy. At this time, language barriers, imperfect registration procedures, and lack of service awareness have become obstacles.

Secondly, Chinese hotels need to improve a comprehensive and in-depth smart hotel ecosystem.This covers the intelligent innovation of hardware facilities and the intelligent upgrade of software services. Take Xiaodu as an example. It recently released the English version of Xiaodu AI Hotel, which for the first time realized the full English interaction of smart hotel services. Foreigners can use English to control the smart devices in the guest room without any obstacles.

At the same time, the information security issues brought about by digital development are also worthy of attention.Shen Xueting, general manager of Nanjing Jinling Hotel, once said: "Inbound tourists pay more attention to privacy information."

Industry insiders believe that "ensuring the security of guests' information is the primary task of hotels in their information work. Hotels should make sufficient investments in information security, continuously strengthen technical prevention, improve data management systems, improve employee quality, establish emergency response mechanisms and other aspects to ensure the security of guests' information."

Finally, Chinese hotels may take this opportunity to expand overseas.The popularity of the topic "China Hotel" has brought a huge amount of discussion and a wave of "tap water" to Chinese hotels. Taking advantage of the rising popularity and international favorability, local hotels can not only warmly entertain foreign tourists at home, but also consider going overseas and bringing high-quality, standardized services to the world.