Three Gorges tourism welcomes spring again, and tickets for Three Gorges cruise ships may be difficult to obtain

At the Chongqing Tourism Development Conference held on the 16th, Chen Min'er, the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, emphasized the need to take Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as guidance, fully implement the General Secretary's requirements for Chongqing's "two-point" positioning, "two places" and "two highs" goals, make every effort to upgrade the development of Chongqing's tourism industry, build a world-renowned tourist destination, make Chongqing's tourism prosperous, sing the song "City of Mountains and Rivers, Beautiful Place", let tourists from all over Chongqing "travel thousands of miles", and truly realize that tourism makes people's lives better. The Three Gorges tourism was once a "trump card" of Chongqing tourism, with strong influence in international tourism. For more than 20 years, the Three Gorges tourism has gone through ups and downs, and now it has once again ushered in spring. Why is the Three Gorges tourism recovering, how can the cruise industry "phoenix rebirth", what new products are available in the counties along the Yangtze River, what shortcomings still exist in the Three Gorges tourism, and what experiences can be learned from neighboring provinces and cities... These issues are worth investigating and researching. In order to thoroughly implement the spirit of the city's tourism development conference, play the "Three Gorges" tourism card well, and in accordance with the requirements of "jointly grasping big protection and not engaging in big development", let the thousand year old beautiful scenery of a clear river and green mountains on both sides shine with new charm, Chongqing Business Daily today launched a special report "Three Gorges Tour, Return!" to show you a Three Gorges tour that has returned again.

Sichuan tourist Yao Li plans to visit Chongqing in late May and plans to take a luxury cruise to the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, but she has contacted multiple travel agencies but has not been able to buy a single ticket. Since last year, there has been a tight supply of tickets for Three Gorges cruise ships. According to travel agencies and cruise companies, booking tickets now requires at least one or two months in advance. The shortage of ferry tickets reflects the increasing number of tourists, and industry insiders generally believe that this is the most prosperous time for Three Gorges tourism in the past 15 years. After years of ups and downs, Three Gorges tourism has shown a comprehensive recovery for the first time.

Current situation of Three Gorges cruise ships: tickets are difficult to obtain, and tickets for Three Gorges cruise ships are sold out one or two months in advance

Li Ying, the general manager of Chongqing Chunjiang International Travel Agency Co., Ltd., introduced that since last year, there have been signs of "difficult to obtain tickets" for Three Gorges cruise ships. The tickets we have on our behalf are almost sold out one or two months in advance, "she said. We have already pre sold the tickets for inbound tourists until October this year, "the person in charge of Century Cruise told reporters. From January to April this year, the total number of tourists received by Century Cruise was nearly 30000, with a passenger occupancy rate of 87%, an increase of 5% year-on-year. Nearly 70% of the shipping slots in June have already been sold, and June has always been the off-season for Three Gorges tourism due to the impact of the middle and high school entrance exams. Nearly 60% of the ship slots were sold throughout the year. It can be seen that there is almost no difference between peak and off peak seasons for the Three Gorges tourism now, and it is very popular all year round, "the person in charge said. The person in charge of Golden Cruise stated that since March and April last year, almost every "Golden" series cruise ship from Chongqing to Yichang has been fully booked. Last year, the annual passenger capacity of Golden Cruise reached 170000, with sales exceeding 400 million yuan and an average passenger occupancy rate of over 82%, compared to around 60% in many previous years.

Farewell to Silence: Three Gorges Tour sees its most prosperous scene in 15 years

In the early 1990s, the gimmick of "primitive Three Gorges tourism" emerged in China, and "Three Gorges tourism" was highly praised. In 1997, the Three Gorges Dam was closed, and the Three Gorges received more than 1.26 million tourists throughout the year. There were over 100 cruise ships on the Chaotianmen Pier in Chongqing. But in 1998, the number of tourists sharply decreased by 20% compared to the previous year. Since then, tourism in the Three Gorges has been in a slump and only recovered in 2000. In 2002, the first phase of the Three Gorges Project was filled with water, and some travel agencies launched related Three Gorges tourism plans. Tourists flocked to the Three Gorges, with over 1.45 million visitors from home and abroad that year, reaching its peak. Afterwards, the Three Gorges Dam once again slid to the bottom of the valley, leaving more than 50 cruise ships with an average of less than one trip per day, making it difficult to even maintain daily expenses. Liu Yan, the president of Century Cruise, has been engaged in the tourism industry for nearly 30 years. She believes that after 2002, the overall tourism industry in the Three Gorges was bleak, although there were occasional brief periods of recovery. For example, in 2007, it was better, but in 2008, the number of tourists sharply decreased; It started to improve in 2012 and fell to freezing point again in 2016. Since last year, the market has recovered, "Liu Yan said. According to industry statistics, the total number of tourists received by the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River last year was about 800000. In the first half of this year, based solely on the reception volume of Century Cruise, it has already reached the level of last year's entire year. She believes that this should be the most prosperous period for the Three Gorges tourism in nearly 15 years.

Reason: The increasing influence of tourism brands has brought renewed attention to the Three Gorges from the outside world

What makes tourists choose Three Gorges tourism again? Looking into the reasons, the heads of multiple cruise companies and travel agencies unanimously believe that the continuous improvement of Chongqing's external image promotion and tourism brand influence should be attributed, especially Chongqing's becoming an internet famous city, which has also stimulated tourism in the Three Gorges. According to the person in charge of the Municipal Tourism Development Commission, in recent years, relevant departments have organized dozens of tourism activities inside and outside the city every year, effectively marketing Chongqing's tourism brand. The Three Gorges Dam itself is the most distinctive tourism resource in Chongqing and has attracted the attention of domestic and foreign tourists.

Jiang Zongjin, Chairman of Chongqing Yangtze River Golden Cruise Co., Ltd. and President of Chongqing Waterway Transport Industry Association, believes that in addition to the unique resource and brand advantages of Yangtze River Cruise, as well as a solid market foundation, relevant departments along the Yangtze River also attach great importance to the development of Yangtze River cruise tourism in the construction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Chongqing, Hubei and other places have successively introduced a series of supporting policies to encourage tourism development. In addition, the close cooperation between ships, scenery, and society, as well as industry associations' efforts to integrate resources, unify product models and operating methods, and promote industry self-discipline, have also brought new opportunities to the Three Gorges tourism market on the Yangtze River. In recent years, the improvement of infrastructure and service capabilities, as well as the rectification of tourism order, have gradually had a positive impact on Three Gorges tourism, "said Liu Fang, Chairman of Chongqing China Travel Service Group. With the increasingly sound upstream and downstream industry chain of inland waterway tourism, the tourism experience along the river is connected, and the tourism projects on ships and banks are more abundant, making Three Gorges tourism no longer as" lonely "as before.

Not limited to the Three Gorges themselves: luxury cruise ships bring disruptive experiences

The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River is the only Grand Canyon in the world that can be visited by luxury cruise ships. Nowadays, the Three Gorges tourism is no longer limited to the Three Gorges itself, and the experience of Three Gorges tourism has spread to cruise ships. At present, the cruise itinerary for the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River is generally 4 to 5 days. Tourists' entire meals and accommodations are on board, especially five-star cruise ships, which offer luxurious suites, Chinese and Western cuisine, and abundant entertainment facilities, providing them with a great leisure experience. Even if you don't get off the boat to visit scenic spots, staying on the boat for several days won't be boring, "said Zheng Xi, a Chongqing tourist who only finished swimming in the Three Gorges last week. Spa, fitness, swimming, KTV, and other amenities are all available on the boat. The person in charge of Golden Cruise introduced that luxury cruise ships have brought disruptive experiences to Three Gorges tourism, carrying not only sightseeing functions, but also more attractive characteristic experiences.

Future: Three Gorges tourism is a long-term upward trend, retaining prosperity requires supporting upgrades and upgrades

Is the current situation of 'hard to get one vote' a temporary prosperity or a normal trend in the future? The person in charge of Golden Cruise believes that overall, tourism in the Three Gorges should be a long-term upward trend. The current recovery is only due to the good market and the improvement of cruise ship quality. However, there is still a lot of room for improvement in the infrastructure of the Three Gorges riverside areas, especially the upgrading of docks and barges. "Liu Yan, the president of Century Cruise, said that after the cruise ships enter the docks of the Three Gorges riverside areas, there are not enough berths, almost all of them are docked by ships, and there are not enough barges. It is very inconvenient for tourists to disembark, and such reception conditions are very incompatible with luxury cruise ships. Not only the districts and counties, but also the docks at Chaotianmen Port are not satisfactory. The bus has no parking space, and tourists need to walk for more than 10 minutes to board, "Liu Yan said. He hopes that the relevant departments can renovate Chaotianmen Pier in the next step, as it is the starting point of the Three Gorges and Two Rivers tours, and also the business card of Chongqing. Liu Yan believes that in order to make the prosperity of the Three Gorges tourism a norm, the improvement of these infrastructure facilities is essential.

The stage play 'Returning to the Three Gorges' will start in October, and more cultural and tourism products can be further developed

In recent years, some districts and counties in northeastern Chongqing have launched new tourism products. For example, the large-scale water performance "The Three Kingdoms of Smoke and Fire" created by Zhongxian County has added a new experience to the Three Gorges tourism. Two years ago, we included the live water performance of "The Three Kingdoms of War and Smoke" in our tourism itinerary, and the response from tourists was also very good. "The person in charge of Golden Cruise said that around October this year, Fengjie will also launch a live performance of" Returning to the Three Gorges "in Kuimen, and the Three Gorges tourism will usher in a new climax. Liu Yan believes that many tourism construction projects in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River are still relying on old capital, and there is a significant gap in construction speed compared to downstream areas. The best tourism resources on the Yangtze River are in the Three Gorges area, but the construction of some classic scenic spots and attractions has not made much progress in the past decade. We need to further improve the level of tourism reception and the development of cultural and tourism products. "She said that some downstream provinces and cities have also vigorously developed Yangtze River tourism in recent years. For example, Zhangjiagang has vigorously built two riverside attractions, Shuangshan Island and Xiangshan. It is reported that due to the limited number of scenic spots and cultural tourism products on the waterway from Chaotianmen to Fengjie, some travel agencies have launched a combined water and land transportation method to visit the Three Gorges. Passengers can directly take a bus from Chaotianmen to visit attractions such as Changshou Ancient Town by land, and then take a cruise to Wanzhou and Fengjie to connect the scenic spots along the river and in the hinterland.