How to get a travel blind box? What is a travel blind box?

In April 2021, a large number of travel blind box products will be launched. These are bundled planes that use extremely favorable prices to attract passengers to get cheap tickets. In this way, people can instantly have the urge and opportunity to travel.

The recent booming "blind box economy" has spread to the tourism industry. Online travel booking platforms and airlines have launched various types of blind boxes. Tourism products such as “98 Yuan Blind Box” and “199 Yuan Unknown Destination Blind Box” have appeared one after another. Every time they are launched on the market, there will be a rush to buy, and even the reservation system was paralyzed for a time. The reporter learned that the most frequently searched travel blind box products recently are air tickets, which are characterized by ultra-low prices and uncertain destinations. Some travel blind boxes also have flexible terms of "full refund without reservation".

However, due to the low threshold or threshold for blind box travel, many consumers participate with the mentality of joining in the fun and rushing to see it. Even if some of them succeeded, they chose to give up the trip due to limited use time and finally applied for a refund. The travel blind box looks lively, but the actual travel rate is a mystery. Some people in the industry believe that the marketing significance of travel blind boxes is stronger than stimulating consumption.

Phenomena: Travel blind boxes have become a phenomenon-level product, and merchants are busy promoting it.

Recently, a piece of news about “More than 10 million people rushing to buy blind box tickets for 98 yuan” appeared on Weibo’s hot search, attracting public attention to blind boxes for travel.

The so-called blind box means that consumers cannot know in advance which specific style of product is in the box. They only know what they have drawn after opening it. Because of this uncertainty, many young consumers are encouraged to actively participate.

The reporter learned that the current blind box products for travel are mainly air tickets. Merchants usually sell blind boxes at very low prices, but the destination of the ticket is unknown. Only after you grab the blind box and open it will you know your specific destination and departure time. Even though there is more consideration when buying travel products than when buying blind boxes for toys, blind box products, whether online travel booking platforms or airlines, have recently attracted a lot of attention because of their low prices and novelty.

As for the same-trip tour that launched the first "98 yuan blind fare box" before the Qingming holiday, it is said that the blind fare box is a new gameplay designed by the platform to meet the needs of young people. For 98 yuan, users can buy domestic one-way tickets to a designated departure point, any destination, and any date within the next 3-30 days. If the ticket they get doesn't meet expectations, they can get a full refund. After the event, many users reported that they wanted to participate in the air ticket blind box again, so from April 22 to April 26, a new round of upgraded version of the "air ticket blind box" was launched for the May Day holiday, which not only extended the sales time, but also set up Multiple links increase the probability of users purchasing blind boxes. After the first round of blind box air tickets sold out in 10 minutes, Nine Airlines launched three rounds of blind box sales for 199 yuan one-way air tickets in April. More than 30 city destinations departing from Guangzhou are blindly selected, and refunds are available if not redeemed. According to incomplete statistics, nearly ten companies have launched or are about to launch similar blind travel boxes this year. In the future, in addition to air tickets, there will be more travel blind boxes.

Survey: Travel rates are a mystery, making a fuss and grabbing a deserted spot.

“I also participated in the rush to buy a 98-yuan blind box ticket, but the display system was too busy and I couldn’t get it, so I felt lonely. Then I sent a message to my circle of friends to express my participation, and many friends in my circle of friends also rushed to buy it.” Qian Wen, a girl born in the 1990s, told reporters that the threshold of 98 yuan is low, and if you don’t go, you can get a full refund. She participated for fun. Qian Wen said that even if you grab a blind box, you still have to look at where the route is going and whether the time is right: "The blind box grabs a one-way ticket, and you have to include the cost of the return ticket and local accommodation. If the blind box is for the purpose If the place is not attractive, you won't go."

Chen Cheng is a loyal fan of the airline's "Fly as You Want" package, and she grabbed a ticket to Luoyang. She said the 98 yuan one-way ticket was a bargain. Last year, she used the air package she bought to travel to more than ten cities, and the one-way price was not as good as this. "My time is relatively free, so basically, if the ticket is correct, I can go." Chen said that this kind of blind box product has strict limits on the use time and cannot be changed, so time is the biggest obstacle to travel. The reporter learned that the platforms and companies that launched the blind box activities expressed inconvenience to disclose the actual usage rate and return rate. Industry insiders predict that compared with the bustling rush to buy, the actual utilization rate will not be too high.

Observation: The market needs more diversified ways to promote consumption

It is understood that most of the air ticket products in the travel blind box are tail cabin tickets, that is, the airlines follow the previous Tickets that are promoted based on their occupancy rate basically don’t have much profit margin for airlines and platforms. Industry insiders analyze that blind box tickets satisfy the excitement and adventure-loving psychology of young tourists. Through the guarantee mechanism of "not wanting a full refund", it gives tourists the feeling of "no loss anyway". Therefore, the event spreads quickly on social media, which is also valued by the merchants who launched the event.

Judging from previous blind box activities, this type of activity has the characteristics of fission communication and Internet celebrity marketing. After the blind box activity begins, many users can actively share their participation and "winning" experiences on many social media platforms, which can attract more users to participate and trigger phenomenal spread.

According to the person in charge of Tongcheng, after the first phase of the event was launched, the number of users participating in the Qingming Festival holiday reached 10 million. On platforms such as Weibo and Xiaohongshu, users spontaneously generate a large amount of graphic information with nearly 10 million views, while the number of video views on TikTok exceeds 200 million: “For tourists who buy blind box tickets, the joy of traveling is It starts from the moment you click on the blind box.” However, although blind box and other activities attract specific groups of people to participate through fresh gameplay, their real effect on driving travel demand is still limited, which also illustrates the mismatch between people’s travel needs and products. conflicts between partners.

Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, believes that under the new pattern of mass tourism development, the tourism industry should focus on diversified and quality consumer demands and continuously expand the total domestic tourism market. What is lacking now is not the stock and increase of tourism demand, but innovative products that can stimulate travel motivation and meet quality and diversified consumer needs. In the context of the recovery of cultural tourism, the market should dig deeper into tourists' tourism consumption needs and bring richer tourism services and product experiences to users through product design and marketing activities.