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economic observer network luo tianhao and liu yaning/text the cultural and tourism industry is booming.

after the epidemic, with the resumption of global population mobility, the tourism industry has exploded. at present, china is the world's largest source of tourists and one of the world's most important destinations for tourism. the tourism industry has gradually grown into a strategic emerging industry.

at the same time, the tourism industry has not only reconstructed the industrial structure of the current society, but also changed the spirit and life of the chinese people. reading thousands of books is like traveling thousands of miles. it sometimes takes many years to cultivate an enterprise and see it blossom and bear fruit, but the tourism industry can produce results in the same year.

for each place, the tourism industry is also an industry with obvious and immediate effects. it blooms in the same year and bears fruit in the same year. local governments are paying more and more attention to the tourism industry, and even many directors of cultural and tourism bureaus have personally come to promote the local area.

after the extensive development stage, the tourism industry is also moving towards high-quality development. can it bring enough wealth and is it efficient enough?

to this end, we have launched the tourism "money-making" ability of each province in china to measure the efficiency of the tourism industry in each region. per capita tourism income reflects the efficiency and value of the tourism industry more than total tourism income, and also reflects the ability of the local tourism industry to create and absorb wealth. in addition, we will also analyze the "money-making" of each province in china from two aspects: the number of 5a-level scenic spots, the ticket prices of scenic spots, and the consumption of food and accommodation.

scenic spots are the first means to promote consumption

we found that the high per capita tourism consumption in some cities is due to the high ticket prices for scenic spots.

as the most "gold-making" province in the country, hainan has an irresistible attraction for mainland residents with the call of the ends of the earth.

haitang bay, wuzhi mountain, wanquan river, boao, are all top attractions and charming tropical scenery. data from the ministry of culture and tourism shows that hainan has 7 5a-level scenic spots, and the average ticket price of these 5a-level scenic spots is 128.6 yuan, ranking fifth in the country. among them, the most expensive scenic spot ticket price is hainan yanoda rainforest cultural tourism area in baoting li and miao autonomous county, where the adult package price of "tickets and round-trip cableway" is 200 yuan/person.

chi lechuan, under the yinshan mountains. in three seasons of the year, the inner mongolia prairie is golden. inner mongolia is particularly suitable for self-driving tours and open-air camping. there are hundreds of various campsites, and the total number of 5c and 4c self-driving rv campsites ranks first in the country. crossing the desert and galloping on horseback are the biggest highlights of inner mongolia tourism. in 2023, the total tourism revenue was 335.47 billion yuan, and the number of tourists received was as high as 230 million, both of which set new records for inner mongolia tourism.

inner mongolia is vast, stretching 2,000 to 3,000 kilometers from east to west. from the xilinge grassland, hulunbuir grassland, and greater khingan range in the east to the xilamuren grassland, qixinghu desert, and the yellow river in the west. inner mongolia has 7 5a-level scenic spots in the country, and the average ticket price ranks second in the country, reaching 144.2 yuan. the ticket price of scenic spots has raised inner mongolia's "money-making" ability, making it fourth in the country.

hunan is the fifth most "gold-absorbing" province in the country. in 2023, the total number of tourists in hunan was 657.8122 million, a year-on-year increase of 51.28%, and the total tourism revenue was 956.518 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 47.43%. the per capita tourism income was close to 1,500 yuan, with a fierce momentum. hunan women are passionate and hunan is colorful. hunan has 12 5a-level scenic spots, with an average ticket price of 136.2 yuan, ranking fourth in the country. similar to inner mongolia, hunan's "gold-absorbing" point is also the ticket price of scenic spots.

it is worth noting that shandong has 15 5a-level scenic spots in the country, with an average ticket price of 116.5 yuan per person, ranking seventh in the country. last year, zibo barbecue once warmed the hearts of young people and also made the name of "hospitable shandong". however, in the north where many scenic spots and historical sites are gathered, shandong's tourism industry is not prominent enough, and the cultural brand building efforts need to be further improved. as a province with a large population and economy, shandong's overall "gold-absorbing" ability has not entered the top ten in the country.

there are also some provinces that rely on rich and unique tourist attractions to attract tourists.

jiangsu is the province with the most 5a-level scenic spots in the country. in 2023, jiangsu's total tourism revenue was 1,202.27 billion yuan, ranking second in the country, and it received 940 million tourists, also second in the country. the per capita tourism income was 1,279.01 yuan, ranking eighth in the country.

jiangsu is the center of jiangnan culture, and has influence in both sides of the taiwan strait and hong kong. in addition, although shanghai is the economic center of jiangnan, from a geographical and cultural perspective, jiangsu is the center of jiangnan, with well-developed transportation, local prosperity, and good tourism services. the integration of the yangtze river delta has accelerated the development of jiangsu's tourism industry.

zhejiang is the most beautiful province in the south of the yangtze river. it is worthy of its reputation as a paradise above and suzhou and hangzhou below. in 2023, zhejiang's tourism revenue was 990.76 billion yuan, with 760 million tourists and per capita tourism revenue of 1,303 yuan, ranking seventh in the country.

zhejiang has the second largest number of 5a-level scenic spots in china, with an average ticket price of 107.6 yuan, ranking tenth in the country. what is most commendable about zhejiang is that the west lake, the core scenic spot in hangzhou, is free of charge. the west lake is free of charge, which is a visionary move. the surrounding areas of the scenic spots are considerate and convenient, and the business is prosperous, which has boosted the tourism of the entire city.

yunnan is the sixth most profitable city in china. in 2023, yunnan ranked first in the country in terms of total number of tourists and total tourism revenue, and ranked first in southwest china in terms of per capita tourism revenue, reaching 1,381.96 yuan.

yunnan is located in the southwest border, the main body of the yunnan-guizhou plateau, the main body of the hengduan mountains, the terrain is varied, and it has given birth to beautiful mountains and rivers. the grand canyon is magnificent, erhai lake is like a fairyland on earth, xishuangbanna is like a kingdom of animals and plants, the alleys of lijiang old town are crisscrossed, the jade dragon snow mountain is steep and majestic, and shangri-la is mysterious and holy. lugu lake is quiet and deep, and pudacuo national park has clear water and green mountains. kunming world expo park, yunnan folk village, etc. are also well-known. in addition to the rich and diverse natural landscapes, ethnic culture and folk customs have also attracted countless tourists. yunnan's 18 strange things, i want to come back when i go back.

experiential tourism becomes a new consumption format

in addition to the cost of scenic spot tickets, the consumption of accommodation and catering is also an indicator of increasing a region's tourism income. in 2023, the average room rate of star-rated hotels nationwide is 370.83 yuan per night, and there are 8 regions that exceed the national average, namely shanghai, hainan, beijing, guangdong, tianjin, jiangsu, tibet and fujian. in terms of per capita catering consumption, as of september 19, 2024, the average of 31 provinces and cities nationwide is 46.9 yuan per person, and there are also 8 regions that exceed the national average, namely beijing, shanghai, xinjiang, tibet, jiangsu, tianjin, zhejiang and hainan.

as a pillar industry in hainan, the tourism industry has strong ability to create wealth and tax revenue, but hainan's ability to create wealth through tourism is often accompanied by high costs. data shows that the average room rate of star-rated hotels in hainan is 641.89 yuan per night, ranking second in the country; the per capita catering consumption is 47.52 yuan per person, ranking eighth in the country.

another key point for hainan to attract so much money is that there are 12 duty-free shops on the islands of hainan, and duty-free shopping has also boosted tourism consumption to a certain extent. according to data from haikou customs, in 2023, haikou customs supervised a total of 43.76 billion yuan in duty-free shopping on the islands of hainan, an increase of 25.4% over the previous year; the number of shoppers was 6.756 million, an increase of 59.9%; the number of shopping items was 51.3 million, an increase of 3.8%; and the average shopping amount per person was 6,478 yuan. overall, scenic spot tickets, catering and accommodation, and duty-free shopping have become the pillars of hainan's "attracting money".

as the second most "gold-absorbing" city in china, beijing's catering industry brings together flavors from all over the country and provides comprehensive services. its per capita catering consumption ranks first in the country, at 109.97 yuan per person. of course, the extremely high hotel prices have also increased the average daily consumption of beijing's tourism industry. the average room rate of star-rated hotels in beijing is 598.87 yuan per night, ranking third in the country. overall, although beijing has many scenic spots and historical sites, the average ticket price is the cheapest in the country, so beijing's "gold-absorbing" point is still the high accommodation and catering.

shanghai is china's largest city, economic center, and also the most international city in china. similar to beijing, shanghai's "money-making" lies in catering and accommodation consumption. data shows that the average room rate of star-rated hotels in shanghai is 737.36 yuan per night, ranking first in the country; the per capita catering consumption is 71.58 yuan, ranking second in the country.

as a synonym of modernity and fashion, shanghai has two major flaws. first, there are no mountains and rivers, no majestic and heroic spirit. unlike beijing, xi'an, wuhan and chongqing, there are majestic mountains and rivers. second, there are not many places of interest. this has also reduced shanghai's ability to "attract money" to a certain extent. in 2023, shanghai's per capita tourism income was 1,249.09 yuan, ranking ninth in the country.

it is worth noting that as two western provinces, xinjiang and tibet have high hotel and catering prices, both exceeding the national average. this is because tibet and xinjiang are located in remote areas with inconvenient transportation, and food and building materials are transported from other places over long distances, resulting in increased costs. there are not many 5a-level scenic spots in xinjiang and tibet, and the ticket prices are also at a medium level in the country. the "money-making" aspects of these two regions are more in catering and accommodation.

another anomaly is jilin, whose accommodation and catering consumption and the number and ticket prices of 5a-level scenic spots are all at the middle and lower levels in the country, but its per capita tourism income in 2023 will rank third in the country and first among the three northeastern provinces.

in this regard, sun guangzhi, director of the jilin provincial department of culture and tourism, once publicly explained that compared with brother provinces in the northeast, jilin province has distinct characteristics in all-region tourism, holiday tourism, and long-distance tourism. ota platform data show that during the 2024 spring festival holiday, among the top ten popular destinations for ice and snow tourism, jilin province has 4 cases on the list, namely changchun, baishan, jilin city, and yanbian. and these four places are quite popular all year round. in addition, jilin province also has 4 national-level ski resorts, the number of which ranks first in the country. the proportion of holiday tourists and tourists from other provinces is relatively high, which has raised the average customer price in jilin province. in addition, jilin also has a hot spring experience with very good health and wellness effects, especially in winter. this extreme experience is difficult to achieve in many places. with the continuous improvement of the economic level of residents, having a good experience in tourism can indeed attract many tourists.

top-notch cultural and tourism resources, insufficient cultural and tourism products; high prices for food and accommodation, insufficient travel experience. every city has its own shining points, but also has many difficulties that need to be solved. how to strike a balance between increasing market diversity and satisfying tourists' experience value is the key to "attracting money" for each province.