Holiday Economy: Internet celebrities help holiday resorts attract tourists

World
Europe

02:47

The National Day holiday may be winding down, but many Chinese resorts are making one final push to attract tourists. And they're turning to internet celebrities to help promote their destinations. CGTN's Ning Hong has more.

Beaches, yachts, young ladies hosting live broadcasts. When five-star reviews aren't enough to attract guests, many holiday resorts now use internet celebrities.

Those with over a hundred thousand fans are good bets for boosting business. (And with live streams and short videos, these celebs are sharing their resort experiences with fans.)

WINNIE INTERNET CELEBRITY "I do my best to show my fans the good aspects about this place, but I won't lie to them about the bad aspects, because without my fans, I am nobody."

While enjoying a good holiday, web stars like Winnie get paid to promote places like Tangshan International Tourism Island. And as more people try to become internet celebrities, the trend is changing the marketing tactics of many traditional industries, like tourism.

NI JIANZHONG, EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT CHINA MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION "Every internet user has the potential to become a communicator, a salesman, et cetera. It's helping the tourism industry to reach precision marketing."

XIANG LIGANG, CHAIRMAN INFORMATION CONSUMPTION ALLIANCE "It is estimated that there are five million users of online broadcasting services, and the market value could reach a hundred billion yuan in the future."

Many resorts like Tangshan report extra profit thanks to plugs from internet celebs. Others have succeeded thanks to their unique features. Case in point - the architectural style of a commercial district in Chongqing resembles scenes from the movie Spirited Away, another trend re-shaping the tourism industry.

NING HONG TANGSHAN "Tourism sites are trying to cater to the tastes of citizens, and they believe that by building facilities like this, they can gain popularity by attracting more internet celebrities."

Tourism projects, especially those resorts and scenery spots providing high-quality services are gaining more popularity.

YANG LISHUN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR TANGSHAN INTERNATIONAL TOURISM ISLAND " High-quality tourism is now needed in China. So resorts and destinations need to keep improving the quality of their tourism projects."

The seven-day National Day holiday in 2017 saw about 600 billion yuan in tourist spending. With many willing to travel and spend, resorts will now compete even more aggressively to attract more tourists. Ning Hong, CGTN, Tangshan.