On March 20, 2023, the "China Research Travel Development Report · Shaoxing Release" conference was held in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, co-sponsored by China Tourism Academy, Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and Shaoxing Municipal People's Government and undertaken by Shaoxing Cultural, Radio, Film and Tourism Bureau. Dr. Zhang Yang, Institute of Industry, China Tourism Academy, on behalf of the Research travel Research group, released China Research Travel Development Report 2022-2023, sharing the core views and main data of the annual report from five dimensions: evolution, catalysis, persistence, focus and thinking.
Since the Opinions on Promoting Postgraduate Travel for Primary and Secondary School Students were jointly issued by the Ministry of Education and other 11 departments in 2016, people's cognition of postgraduate travel is not unchanged, but constantly evolving and deepening. The participants of research trips have expanded from the narrow sense of primary and secondary school students to include preschool children, college students, adults, the elderly and other life-cycle groups, showing a broader space for development.
Policy dividends related to study travel continue to be released. At the national level, more departments pay attention to and support research travel, higher-level policies are constantly introduced, more support is provided in terms of time, space and resources, and research travel is more forward-looking and instructive on the whole. At the provincial level, research trips and labor practices have become an important part of the 14th Five-Year Plan for cultural tourism and education. The integration, linkage and collaboration of relevant functional departments in base camp evaluation, research course construction, instructor training and other aspects are being strengthened. Provincial policies are more granular and smaller. It is noteworthy that Sichuan, Hubei and other provinces have made innovative breakthroughs in further promoting the construction of special policies for research travel.
Under the influence of the epidemic, the persistence, innovation, entry and exit of research enterprises occurred at the same time. In general, in 2021-2022, the number of enterprises carrying out research business is still increasing, the main body is more diversified, but the increase of the number of newly registered enterprises narrowed. The distribution of research-related enterprises in East and Central China is more concentrated, especially in Hunan, Jiangsu and Shandong. The number of market players basically reflects the active degree of research industry in the region. The regional distribution of bidding projects is highly correlated with the clustering degree of existing research enterprises.
During the epidemic period, the business of research enterprises decreased and the operating pressure increased. Natural ecology, scientific and technological innovation, national defense science and industry, traditional culture, safety and health, red culture are popular product themes, and the product theme preferences of team, parent-child, base camp show a high degree of isomorphism.
While the epidemic has sustained a blow to research and education travel, it has also stimulated the internal driving force of the industry and promoted the continuous transformation and upgrading of enterprises. No matter how difficult the market environment is, some enterprises still insist on winning space through innovation and seeking opportunities through breakthrough. The practical constraints of shorter travel distances and smaller groups in the face of the epidemic have made research enterprises more focused on the systematic development of courses, focusing on local research and even product innovation of "downstairs research". Community studies, "school bus studies" are active attempts in this respect. China Road Transport Association urban passenger Transport Branch held a national school bus travel research conference in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province.
As the core carrying space of research travel, the construction of national research base camps is in the expansion and growth of "horse racing" style, and theme camps in the fields of sports, culture, culture and industry are growing significantly. As camp construction accelerated, so did camp organizations.
The trend of direct connection between school and base camps has been the focus of the industry. From the survey data, most intermediary travel service providers have thought about this, or are making corresponding adjustments and layout. On the one hand, the role of research service providers in the middle and long distance research travel is irreplaceable. On the other hand, for local and surrounding research institutes, research service providers are also constantly improving their product research and development capabilities, and at the same time extending to the operation business of the base camp by means of professional technology, channel cooperation and investment.
The public welfare of research travel is the need of education, but also the requirement of policy. From the central government to local governments, from the government to enterprises, from public welfare funds to foundations and other relevant entities have launched a series of special awards and subsidies policies and special "beneficency" activities in research practice, public welfare research, ticket exemption and personnel training.
The competition for research destinations has become more intense, more complex and more comprehensive than ever before. Relevant measures include not only supporting and encouraging policies and transportation subsidies, but also incentives for the construction of destination factors and the number of people who organize receptions. They also include measures to attract investment and optimize the business environment.
The release of local domestic demand is the basic plate of destination construction. The characteristics of high frequency, large quantity, easy activation and deep experience of local research can effectively promote the interaction of various subjects and links of research travel, promote the iteration and upgrading of research courses, and enhance the ability of professional talents, so as to form high-quality research supply.
The key to the development of research travel lies in the cultivation of talents. From the opening of the new major of travel management and service to the birth of the new profession of travel guidance, all reflect the realistic dilemma of talent shortage and its transcendental path. The cultivation of new professional talents will inject new momentum into the high-quality development of research travel.
The digital construction of the industry not only enables the development of the industry in terms of system construction and integrated management, but also contributes to a new operation mode. The launch of the multi-cross application 2.0 project of "One Thing for Research Tour" in Shaoxing City is a landmark event in the construction of research digitization. The combination of online and offline "cloud research" launched by research institutions and cultural venues makes it possible for thousands of people to attend a class at the same time.
Focusing on the future development of research travel, the research group asked "Is research travel, as a market segment, different from other parallel market segments only customer groups?" And the main point of view is put forward.
Channels are important, but more important in the future will be courses and products. For research service providers, product strength is the core competitiveness, quality research courses are endless, research and development process should adhere to the integration of knowledge and practice, stop at the best.
Research travel is not only a market segment, but also the forefront of leading the transformation of the production mode of tourism products. It can drive the improvement of the product research and development mode and service mode of the cultural and tourism industry.
The innovation driving force of research travel market should be both internal and external. It is necessary not only to dig deep advantageous resources, but also to integrate advantageous industries, but also to create advantageous talents in various fields.
Study travel is not only a niche market, but also a new business card of the city. Study travel can become the magnifying glass of the city's advantageous industries, the converter of the city's industrial advantages and local tourism consumption, and the fixed star of the city's strong brand.
