Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China's GDP grew by 5.5 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year. Among them, the growth of the service sector contributed more than 60 percent to economic growth. Tourism is an important part of the service sector. According to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, both the number of domestic tourists and their income increased significantly in the first half of this year.
The micro feelings of operating entities are no different from the aforementioned macro data. "Since this year, we have clearly felt the enthusiasm of tourists for travel." A relevant official from OCT Group, headquartered in Shenzhen, said: "In the first half of 2023, OCT received 72 million tourists, up 93% year on year, recovering to 148% of the same period in 2019; especially the theme park business, which received nearly 19 million tourists in the first half of the year, setting a new historical record." When the reporter visited several theme parks under OCT, it was found that the market was fully recovered, the scenic spots were full of tourists, the reform was steady, and the business vitality was bursting -- this half-year development scanning from the front line of OCT theme parks can give a glimpse of the business vitality and industry development prospects, and more demonstrate the resilience of China's economy.
Look at its "city" supply and demand work together to make the scenic spot popular
Since the beginning of 2023, the consumer market has returned to a hot situation, especially the intensive release of holiday travel demand, driving the release of domestic demand potential.
For example, Beijing Happy Valley has closely followed the market demand in recent years, tapped the potential of night consumption, and innovated and launched night performances such as "Return of the Playful Pet" and creative container food blocks, which greatly enriched the night tourism experience. It has been successfully selected as the second batch of national night culture and tourism consumption agglomeration areas, and ranked among the "Top 25 Global Theme Parks" in the "2022 Global Theme Parks and Museums Report" recently released.
Domestic demand needs to be driven, and supply needs to be given. The successful practice of Beijing Happy Valley is a vivid miniature of OCT maintaining strategic focus, deeply cultivating the main business of tourism, keenly capturing consumer demand and market trends, continuously promoting product innovation of its theme parks, consolidating and improving competitiveness. According toDomestic demand needs to be driven, and supply needs to be given. The successful practice of Beijing Happy Valley is a vivid miniature of OCT maintaining strategic focus, deeply cultivating the main business of tourism, keenly capturing consumer demand and market trends, continuously promoting product innovation of its theme parks, consolidating and improving competitiveness. According to incomplete statistics, since 2020, OCT has successively "promoted" Nanjing Happy Valley, Nanjing Maya Beach Water Park, Xi'an Maya Beach Water Park, Xiangyang Qiqu Childhood Parent-child Park and other "popular and popular" theme parks. At critical moments, excellent product strength has become the "stable anchor" of OCT to hedge risks, enabling it to stand firm in the rapids of the past three years. For the completed and opened theme parks, OCT has continuously renewed the consumer experience through gradual optimization. In the first half of this year alone, a number of new projects have been launched, such as Chengdu Happy Valley "cyclone rocket", Shenzhen Happy Valley "storm swing", Shenzhen Window of the World "hanging garden" sightseeing cable car, Wuhan Happy Valley "speed world area".
Play often and keep a strong attraction. It is summer now, and the national tourism market is fully developed, and theme parks have become hot spots. When entering the theme parks in OCT, new gameplays are emerging one after another. Music-themed activities such as Shenzhen Happy Valley Summer Wave Music Festival, Shenzhen Window of the World WoW Play Beer Music Party, Shanghai Happy Valley EV Music Festival, Tianjin Happy Valley HVE Electronic Music Festival, etc., attract a large number of young tourists. In the scorching summer, "summer vacation" caused by high temperature has become the keyword of this year's summer tourism market, and the Maya Beach Water Parks in OCT are favored by many tourists. In addition, theme parks such as Shenzhen Splendid China·Chinese Folk Culture Village and Yunnan Lufeng World Dinosaur Valley have launched water splashing carnival, dinosaur water world battle and other featured theme activities, providing more "opening methods" for tourists to enjoy water and relieve summer heat.
Splendid China in Shenzhen·Water-splashing Carnival of Chinese Folk Culture Village
Examine the "potential" within professional integration, accumulating new potential for development
Since 2022, OCT has anchored four main industries, namely culture, tourism, real estate and electronic technology, initiated professional integration, promoted the optimization of business layout and structural adjustment in an orderly manner, and proposed a new development pattern of "two cores, three dimensions and multiple points" for tourism business. Among them, the "two cores" are theme parks and natural and cultural scenic spots, which are the strategic focus and leading force of OCT's tourism business development.
The first step of professional integration is to "merge similar items". Take theme park business as an example. At the beginning of this year, heads of several theme parks under OCT gathered at Happy Valley Group in Shenzhen to attend the signing ceremony of professional integration of OCT theme parks. Through professional integration, more than 20 theme parks began to be collected in an orderly manner to Happy Valley Group, which will become an industrial group and centralized management platform for OCT theme parks.
Of course, the connotation of professional integration is far more than that. From more than 20 to 1, the seemingly simple numerical change is actually the change of internal texture.
Under the professional integration mode, the theme parks of OCT will implement integrated operation in asset management, financial control, brand marketing and other aspects. It is reported that OCT is relying on Happy Valley Group to coordinate the construction of operation, research and development, procurement, marketing, digital and other management platforms. The industry insiders pointed out that this move will promote the full sharing of technology, talent and other factors, improve business operation efficiency, comprehensively improve the professional ability of the whole chain of OCT theme park business, and then help the tourism business to grow stronger, better and bigger.
Through professional integration, a stronger market force is being formed. Insiders note that, since the beginning of this year, under the overall planning of Happy Valley Group, a number of theme parks have jointly expanded their foreign business with increasing frequency.
To "city" strong, new development momentum is saving. A group of data, its effect. "As a professional subsidiary of OCT theme park, Happy Valley Group in the first half of this year, the statutory holidays of tourist reception and operating revenue performance, are outperforming the national average level." Happy Valley Group related responsible person introduced, to this year's "May Day" holiday as an example, domestic travel 人次， tourism revenue respectively to the same period in 2019 119%， 101%， Happy Valley Group respectively to 144%， 163%.
Change is the eternal theme of development. As long as the market needs, the business subject should seek change. "For more than 30 years, OCT has not only adapted to the tourism market, but also led the development of China's tourism step by step." According to Dai Xuefeng, deputy director of the Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, "OCT has become a phenomenon in China." Nowadays, striving to become stronger in the "city" has become a new "phenomenon" in OCT's tourism business.
