Editor's note: tourism consumption in China is becoming more personalized and diversified, Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, said in an interview on March 4. Dai Bin believes that tourism is once again "off to a good start".

Q: At the beginning of the New Year, we see more and more people from "heart" to "action", began to go out of their homes or even abroad to travel. As an expert in the tourism industry, can you talk about the current characteristics of our tourism development? How to treat the prospect of our tourism development?

Dai Bin: Thank you for your question. Tourism carries people's longing for a better life. After this year's Spring Festival, a set of statistics hit the screen: China's domestic tourism made 308 million trips, tourism revenue 375.8 billion yuan, the tourism industry ushered in a "good start" again.

In the north and south of the Yangtze River, in and around the Great Wall, and all over China, people can be seen traveling with family members or friends, enjoying the magnificent mountains and rivers of the motherland and the charm of its splendid culture. In Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and other countries, more than 20 first group of outbound tourists were warmly received, including the Watergate ceremony and high officials. Not long ago, visa exemption between China and the Maldives came into effect. China has concluded visa exemption agreements with 150 countries. The value of Chinese passports is getting higher and higher, and people are going to more destinations on demand.

Since the "National Day Golden Week" in 1999, Chinese tourism consumption has been growing continuously, and the new era 10 years is accelerating into a new stage of all-round development of mass tourism. In 2019, more than 6 billion domestic trips and 155 million outbound trips were made. Tourism has entered the daily life of urban and rural residents. We will fully implement the Party's 20 major plans, continue to use literature to shape tourism and tourism to complement literature, and promote the deep integration of culture and tourism. With the in-depth implementation of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the adjustment and optimization of epidemic prevention and control policies and measures, a new situation will be opened up for the revitalization and development of China's tourism industry.

Compared with macro analysis, a "small town traveler" makes me directly feel the potential of tourism revitalization and development. Huang Zhanfei, a 20-year-old from Xingning, Guangdong Province, bought his first ticket on a travel platform at the age of 20, flying from Shenzhen to Kunming on his own. During his college years, he earned travel expenses by taking wedding photos. He spent winter and summer vacations walking the Qingzhou-Gansu Grand Ring Line, cycling around Qinghai Lake, visiting cities and villages, looking up at mountains and star rivers. It has become the pursuit of many young people to read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles to enrich and improve themselves.

Nowadays, the average age of the main group buying their first ticket has sunk to 20-25 years old. Tourists come from urban and rural areas, covering 1,827 county-level cities. It also means that more and more urban and rural residents have the willingness and ability to go to faraway places to enjoy different scenery and experience high-quality life.

With the entry of the post-00 generation, and accelerating aging, tourism consumption is becoming more and more personalized and diverse in our country. We can see that red tourism is flourishing, rural tourism is in the ascendant, culture and tourism are developing together, people are appreciating the beauty of nature, feeling the beauty of culture, and cultivating the beauty of the soul. New forms of tourism consumption, such as health Tours, recent outings and research Tours, are developing rapidly.

Tourism is a window, directly showing a country's level of coordinated development of material civilization and spiritual civilization. We not only have rich natural and cultural tourism resources, but also advanced and perfect infrastructure and green and intelligent travel services.

I believe that more and more people will go out of their homes, from Huangshan to Yellow River, to enjoy the magnificent mountains and rivers of China; From the Book of songs to the Dream of the Red Chamber, read the elegant and colorful China; From Daxing Airport to Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, witness China's national rejuvenation; From square dancing to self-driving Tours, feel the happiness of the people of China. The Asian Games will soon be held in China. We welcome friends from all over the world to join us and experience the dynamic China.