What is the potential for sustainable development of my country’s tourism industry after the World Expo?

⊙Wei Guofu Sun Guangxiang It has been more than a month since the Shanghai World Expo closed. The number of visitors to this World Expo has reached an unprecedented 73 million, bringing the development of my country's tourism industry to a new level. Throughout the history of World Expos, the post-Expo effect after the successful hosting of the World Expo will continue to produce considerable economic benefits in the host country and host place, and its social benefits are also developing in depth. Therefore, it is of great significance to study and explore the impact of the post-Expo effect on my country's tourism industry. Tourism potential in the post-Expo era During the Shanghai World Expo, the number of tourists received in our country reached a new height. This World Expo will have a lasting and far-reaching impact on our country. Later, the Expo's role in promoting China's tourism industry gradually became apparent. 1. Tourism economic effects According to Shao Qiwei, director of the National Tourism Administration, the direct economic benefits brought by Expo tourism are estimated to exceed 80 billion yuan. According to Chen Xinkang, dean of the World Expo Economic Research Institute at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, the incremental consumption of the Shanghai World Expo is 46.864 billion yuan, and the output impact is 79.477 billion yuan. Its economic benefits are 3.49 times that of the Beijing Olympics. In addition to the direct income from tourism, the benefits from the development and utilization of the Expo site will also reach hundreds of billions of yuan. It can be seen that the subsequent economic benefits that the Shanghai World Expo will bring to Shanghai and the country are difficult to estimate for the time being. Regarding the significance of hosting the Shanghai World Expo, Zhong Yanqun, full-time deputy director of the Shanghai World Expo Executive Committee, once said, "The hosting of the World Expo will lead to the improvement of the environment and people's living conditions, the upgrading of enterprise development space and technology, and the optimization of supporting facilities and infrastructure. More importantly, the 2010 Shanghai World Expo will have a great potential to promote economic construction in the entire Yangtze River Delta region and even the country, and this positive impact will last for more than ten years, or even decades." 2. Tourism brand effect The World Expo is not only a gathering of the latest civilizational achievements and human wisdom in each era, but also the best opportunity for the host country to comprehensively display its social, economic, cultural achievements and development prospects to the world. It is a symbol of national strength and international An important sign of status improvement. According to Jin Canrong, deputy dean of the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China, “China’s GDP has grown very rapidly in recent years. Compared with the rapidly growing material power, the demand for soft power to rise is more obvious and urgent. By holding iconic international events The event marks the rise of a country's international status and can seek further international respect. The Shanghai World Expo is an excellent opportunity for China to enhance its international image and enhance its soft power after the Beijing Olympics. "The 2010 Shanghai World Expo showed China to the world. The tourism industry has also rapidly moved towards the world, further shaping the international brand of China's tourism industry, fully integrating China's tourism products and tourism services with the international standards, and improving the competitiveness and popularity of the tourism industry in various parts of our country at home and abroad. It shows the charm of Chinese tourism brand. 3. The radiation effect of tourism "City, Make Life Better" - the theme of this World Expo prominently reflects mankind's beautiful expectations for urban life. The Chinese government took the Shanghai World Expo as an opportunity to improve the comprehensive transportation network in the Yangtze River Delta region, such as the Hangzhou Bay Bridge, the highway network, the Shanghai-Hangzhou and Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railways, etc. The Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration has initially realized a three-hour economic circle, making communication between cities more convenient, which in turn provides favorable conditions for the optimal allocation of industries and resources, and promotes the rise of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, making it one of the six largest cities in the world. One of the groups. In the post-Expo period, it will more effectively promote the sustainable and healthy development of Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. Since the hosting of the World Expo has accelerated the establishment and improvement of the transportation network between Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region, Shanghai, the leading city in the Yangtze River Delta, has become more closely connected with the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. The convenient networked modern transportation facilities have further promoted the development of Shanghai's tourism industry. It has further radiated to tourist resorts in the Yangtze River Delta and even famous tourist attractions across the country, exerting a strong tourism radiation effect. According to statistics, of the more than 73 million visitors to the Shanghai World Expo, about 35% continued to visit the Yangtze River Delta region and other tourist attractions in China, which greatly improved the tourism economy of Shanghai's surrounding areas and our country. According to preliminary calculations by the China Tourism Academy, the World Expo generated more than 80 billion yuan in direct tourism revenue, which has a particularly obvious driving effect on tourism and related industries in the Yangtze River Delta region. During the Expo, the number of tourists and income in major surrounding cities showed high growth, which also led to a growth rate of more than 20% in tourism-related industries such as roads, railways, air passenger traffic, accommodation and catering industries. Based on the above analysis, the World Expo has a significant driving effect on the tourism industry, and the linkage effect between economic benefits and social effects is obvious. It is of far-reaching significance not only to Shanghai, but also to the development of the whole country. Judging from the development experience of cities hosting World Expos in various countries, the effects brought by the Shanghai World Expo are to a greater extent reflected in the subsequent development and impact, and the "golden effect" of subsequent World Expos is immeasurable. Therefore, how to seize opportunities and maximize China's image and Shanghai's influence is the key to successful future development. Post-Expo tourism sustainable development strategies 1. Rational development of tourism products and further optimization of product structure. As a global event, the Shanghai World Expo has left behind tourism products of infinite value. For example, tangible venues and service facilities, intangible services and culture, etc. These tourism products will serve as new starting points and bring new development opportunities to my country's tourism industry.

Therefore, we must give full play to the role of these tourism products, further exert the post-Expo effect, conduct scientific research and exploration, and achieve scientific management and planning. First, give full play to the role of permanently reserved venues. These reserved venues should be organically combined with the cultural landscape and natural scenery of the Yangtze River Delta region and incorporated into tourism projects to enrich tourism products with regional characteristics and improve the structure of tourism products so that tourists’ leisure and entertainment needs can be met and the venues can be realized The rational use of the permanently reserved venues will make them become new landmarks of Shanghai tourism. For example, the Expo Axis, which is the largest single building in the Expo Park and has a total construction cost of 3 billion yuan, can be further developed for commercial, catering, entertainment, exhibition and other service projects, making it one of Shanghai's landmark buildings. Second, actively promote the development of trade, exhibition and tourism. As the host city of the World Expo, Shanghai occupies a favorable position with the right time, location, and people in the development of post-Expo business, exhibition, and tourism. In particular, the development focus of Shanghai, a metropolis, is the modern service industry, and the trade, exhibition and tourism industry is a representative of the emerging modern service industry. Organizing various trade, exhibition and tourism activities is a "booster" to enhance the development of various industries in Shanghai. Although the influence of the trade, exhibition and tourism industry has slightly weakened during the Shanghai World Expo, the development and development of my country's trade, exhibition and tourism industry in the post-Expo era will rely on the strong east wind of the World Expo to demonstrate its unique charm. Third, seize the opportunity to launch sightseeing tours, cultural exploration tours, low-carbon environmentally friendly ecological tours and other products, and constantly improve various special tourism projects, so as to achieve the purpose of innovating tourism products and increasing tourism products. The Shanghai World Expo provides my country's tourism industry with a once-in-a-lifetime development opportunity. Post-Expo China, as a tourist destination, should not only use the reserved venues in the Expo site as new tourist attractions, but also make full use of the Expo's role in reshaping my country's overall tourism image and introduce high value-added tourism products to tourists at home and abroad. , to attract more tourists. Fourth, strengthen international tourism cooperation and actively explore the international tourism market. Our country's tourism industry must seize this favorable opportunity, optimize the allocation of tourism resources in a timely manner, integrate tourism resources, and display China's rich and colorful natural and cultural tourism, folk customs, leisure vacations, and special tourism from multiple perspectives and fields. Tourism resources and profound history and culture enhance the international competitiveness of my country's tourism products, make my country's tourism industry among the world's tourism powers, and ensure the sustainable development of my country's tourism after the World Expo. 2. Strengthen regional tourism cooperation and form a post-Expo tourism economic circle. The hosting of the Shanghai World Expo provides huge development space for regional tourism cooperation. The tourism industry in the Yangtze River Delta region should work together to create a regional tourism circle with the World Expo venue as the core, launch tourist routes with "post-Expo" characteristics, and establish a development idea with Shanghai as the core and surrounding cities as the main line. , exerting the radiation effect of Shanghai on tourism in its surrounding areas. At the same time, governments at all levels in the Yangtze River Delta region and even across the country should actively build corresponding supporting projects suitable for tourism development, fully absorb the "radiation effect" of Shanghai, and promote the formation of tourism circles in my country's Yangtze River Delta and other regions. 3. Improve the overall quality of the tourism industry and pay close attention to service quality. Relevant managers and organizers of the tourism industry must make full use of the Shanghai World Expo as a lever to cultivate a healthy image of my country's tourism industry, improve the overall quality of our country's tourism industry, and create a better future for China. The sustainable development of Expo tourism will lay a good foundation. my country's tourism industry should use the World Expo as a driving force to promote the regularization and professionalization of international tourism promotion. According to the theme of "Better City, Better Life", we advocate a modern tourism concept of low-carbon life and implement a low-carbon green management system certification system in tourism enterprises and tourist attractions, thereby enhancing the image of China's tourism industry. 4. Establish a post-Expo tourism management information system. The tourism information system should generally include tourism product information, tourism transportation information, catering information, accommodation information, entertainment and shopping information, etc. Our country's tourism industry should establish and improve a tourism information network, selectively collect, provide, analyze, publish and disseminate the above information in accordance with unified standards, and output tourism information through GIS, both through the Internet to face potential tourists, through cities and tourism The district's tourist information service center and the information consultation system set up by hotels and restaurants provide assistance to tourists and stimulate the travel motivation of potential tourism consumers. Different product contents and services should be provided according to different cultural backgrounds and travel interests in foreign markets; the domestic market should also be segmented according to different regional characteristics and groups of people. By establishing and improving the post-Expo tourism information system, we will improve the information asymmetry in the tourism market and increase market transparency. 5. Strengthen the construction of the legislative system of the tourism industry and regulate the tourism market. In the post-Expo period, some policies and measures that are not suitable for the development of the times should be revised based on my country's tourism development measures, combined with the development status of the tourism industry, and absorbing international advanced management experience. At the same time, we will formulate policies and regulations in some vacant areas in a timely manner, improve the construction of the tourism industry management system as soon as possible, establish and improve the tourism laws and regulations system, and standardize the order of the tourism market. To sum up, it is a relatively long process to realize the economic effects of post-Expo tourism.

(Author’s affiliation: School of Management, Shanghai University)