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reprint | city reading studio

in the past two years, people have witnessed the grand revival of the cultural tourism industry.

in 2023, traveling has become a common thing. "going out for fun" is no longer "out of reach". people travel as they please and enjoy a life of "going wherever they want".

changes in this trend have gradually affected the tourism pattern.

first, there are changes in travel methods, from citywalk to special forces, from stamped check-ins to reverse travel. the traditional "get on the bus to sleep, get off the bus to take pictures" method of travel has long been unable to satisfy today's young people's pursuit of novelty.

then, cities were “rediscovered” one after another.

just take last year as an example. at the beginning of the year, it was jiangmen, in may it was zibo, in summer people went to guizhou to watch the village super market, and in tianjin to watch uncles diving. in winter, harbin became the most popular tourist city in the country, and internet celebrity cities began to appear at an unprecedented speed. in front of people.

the influx of tourists has brought about earth-shaking changes to the city. the original niche attractions were crowded with "assembly line princesses" taking photos and checking in. the small restaurants hidden in the downstairs of residents became internet celebrity restaurants that had to queue for hours to eat. the local government optimized various services and "pampered" guests.

at the same time, attracting traffic and quickly getting out of the circle have become the goals that local governments are chasing. at a time when new economic growth points are hard to find, everyone hopes to achieve economic transformation and upgrading with the help of the revival of the cultural tourism industry.

in 2024, internet celebrity cities are still emerging, but a question is attracting more and more attention: when the life cycle of internet celebrity cities continues to shorten, how will traffic reflect the true value of the city for the city?

internet celebrity cities take turns to be out of the circle

if 2023 is a test year for internet celebrity cities, then 2024 will be a year to test the attractiveness. although it has become easier for cities to break out of the circle, it has become increasingly difficult to create a sensation.

at the beginning of 2024, harbin continued the popularity of the previous winter and became a popular tourist destination in the country.

during the new year's day holiday, harbin received a total of 3.0479 million tourists and achieved a total tourism revenue of 5.914 billion yuan, both reaching historical peaks. on social platforms, the amount of discussion on topics such as "harbin digs out one's heart and lungs and one's family wealth" and "erbin favors guests" remains high.

△ harbin source: photo network 500663832

in order to continue this popularity, the local government continues to improve services and facilities, further fueling consumption momentum. during the spring festival, harbin’s travel booking orders increased by more than 14 times year-on-year, exceeding twice the national growth rate. until the end of february, a large number of tourists still went to harbin to experience the charm of ice and snow.

by march, the heat in harbin had not completely calmed down. tianshui, gansu province in the northwest quickly became famous with its bowl of spicy hotpot.

in a short period of time, this small town in the northwest opened a "mala tang special line", strengthened supervision, provided free tickets to tourist attractions, and citizens voluntarily provided free transportation services. it also held a malatang food festival. according to china gansu network, in the first 20 days of march alone, tianshui city received 2.36 million tourists, with comprehensive tourism revenue of nearly 1.4 billion yuan.

the young people who had left the scene began to "roll" to the next destination - kaifeng, henan. at the end of march, kaifeng became a hot topic due to "wang po's matchmaking". in the name of love, it attracted a large number of single young people to the blind date scene, which not only increased the popularity of the long live mountain scenic spot, but also made kaifeng cultural tourism popular again.

during the tomb sweeping day holiday, kaifeng city's cultural tourism market continued to be hot, receiving a total of 2.3639 million domestic tourists and achieving domestic tourism revenue of 1.26 billion yuan, an increase of 28.96% and 51.8% respectively over the same period in 2023, and an increase of 134.2% and 138.8% respectively over the same period in 2019. .

however, although the number of cities that will leave the circle in 2024 will increase, it is worth noting that the cycle from online popularity to calmness is getting shorter and shorter. netizens lamented: how quickly it became popular, how quickly it was forgotten.

the baidu index shows that starting from march 13, 2024, the baidu search index and information index of tianshui malatang began to rise. on march 18, the search index of tianshui malatang reached a peak of 14554, and then both the search and information indexes began to decline. , by march 30 the search index had dropped to 3492.

compared with the months-long search popularity of zibo barbecue last year, the search popularity and duration of tianshui malatang are not as good as that of zibo barbecue. there is obviously a lack of follow-up motivation. entering may, heze, who was accidentally ignited by a song, quickly subsided in just ten days and became silent.

it’s easy to attract attention, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to retain attention. this has caused many cities to start thinking about how to keep internet celebrity cities popular for a long time. facing the end of the mid-autumn festival holiday and the approaching national day holiday, we seem to be standing on the threshold of the birth of a new round of internet celebrity cities. this is not only an opportunity, but also a challenge: how to cultivate lasting attraction in a short-lived craze has become the key to future development.

economic indicators are not everything that measures a city

since this year, some people have noticed that the economic performance of cities that once became popular on the internet, such as zibo, harbin and tianshui, does not seem to be as hot as imagined.

taking harbin as an example, this city that became famous in the winter of 2023 had a gdp of 249.260 billion in the first half of 2024, an increase of 2.5%, ranking last in the "northeast f4". in tianshui, which became popular for its bowl of spicy hotpot in early march, the city's gdp in the first half of the year was 39.622 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.8%, lower than the provincial average of 5.8%. even zibo, which has been popular all year long, has a gdp of 456.1 billion yuan in 2023, an increase of 5.5%, which is lower than the average growth rate of 6% in shandong province.

for a time, a view emerged on the internet: the cultural tourism industry has not brought real economic changes to these internet celebrity cities.

this view seems to ignore the nature of the cultural tourism industry. in fact, the role of cultural tourism is more to promote consumption and enhance the image of a city, rather than directly replacing traditional manufacturing. real economic development requires a diversified industrial structure and long-term strategic planning.

so, is becoming an internet celebrity city really useless to the city’s economic development?

this is not the case. many cities have achieved economic transformation and upgrading through the vigorous development of the cultural tourism industry.

for example, after xi'an became an internet celebrity city, it attracted a large number of tourists and cultural tourism consumption surged, which directly promoted the growth of hotels, catering, transportation and other related industries. at the same time, xi'an's history and culture have been better protected and inherited, improving the city's overall image and attracting more investment.

looking at changsha again, with its rich cultural resources and delicious food, it has successfully held a number of music festivals and cultural activities, attracting young people to come and spend money, and promoting the recovery of the local economy. in addition, changsha has also enhanced its external visibility through the "internet celebrity" effect and created a good environment for attracting investment.

the rise of the cultural tourism industry is not only part of the economic "digital game", it is also a manifestation of soft power, which can stimulate the vitality of the city, attract more young people and investment, and promote the transformation and upgrading of the industry. if a city has a young, friendly atmosphere and a proactive government, it will naturally become a hot spot for attracting investment and promoting industrial development.

nowadays, young people consider increasingly diverse factors when choosing a city to settle in. they not only value job opportunities and salary levels, but also the city’s cultural atmosphere, quality of life and space for personal growth.

to judge the quality of a city, we may no longer rely solely on economic data, but instead focus on human touch and happiness. a city must not only meet basic living needs, but also soothe people's souls.

in the future, the evaluation of whether a city is excellent will be more reflected in its unique cultural charm and the happiness of its residents. such a city can not only meet people's material needs, but also touch the depths of the soul and provide spiritual comfort and a sense of belonging. such cities are often “internet celebrity cities” that can resonate and attract attention on the internet.

internet celebrity cities have become popular precisely because they inadvertently show this kind of humanistic charm and happiness in life. whether through food, beauty, cultural events and urban stories, they have succeeded in capturing the public's attention and making people yearn for them. the reason why these cities have become internet celebrities is precisely because they provide economic development while not neglecting the cultivation of urban soft power.

therefore, over time, those "internet celebrity cities" that can continue to maintain popularity, attract talent and investment are likely to become real urban developments due to their excellence in providing high-quality life and rich cultural experiences. model. they can not only support people's bodies, but also soothe people's souls, becoming an ideal place in people's minds.