The first travel agency in my country’s history was born in

At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, my country's tourism industry was monopolized by a few foreign businessmen. Those who landed in Shanghai included the British Travelex, American Express and Japan's International Tourism Bureau, but their services were limited to Foreigners and white-collar Chinese.

Chen Guangfu has lived in the United States for many years and loves traveling. The reason why he decided to establish China's first travel agency was because, according to the oral description of Zi Yaohua, the former manager of the Tianjin Branch of the Bank of Shanghai (who served as the general manager of the Bank of Shanghai after liberation): "Shanghai The China Travel Agency run by a bank was the first one in my country.

Chen Guangfu’s motivation for founding the China Travel Agency was not as a business at the beginning, but to fight against foreigners and win glory for the country.

In the old days, Chinese travel agencies were run by foreign businessmen from the British, American, Japanese and other imperialists. When Chinese people wanted to go abroad, they had to go through all the travel procedures.

Foreign businessmen not only charged high fees, but also had arrogant attitudes. He was rude and looked down on Chinese people at all.

Chen Guangfu often went abroad and was often offended.

One time, a foreign businessman was arrogant and rude, which made him feel uncomfortable. Unable to bear it anymore, he argued with the other party for a few words. The other party sneered and said, "You are not satisfied, why don't you Chinese make one yourself?" Chen Guangfu was very contemptuous.

Chen was furious. , determined to establish a China Travel Service. "In addition to being patriotic and fighting for the rights to return to the motherland, Chen Guangfu also believes that in order to let Chinese people and people from all over the world understand China's ancient culture and historical sites, it is also necessary to establish and improve institutions to serve tourists. This is what he believes. Another reason to start a China Travel Service.

In April 1923, the Bank of Shanghai, with Chen Guangfu as general manager, formally submitted a request to the Ministry of Transportation of the Beiyang Communist Party to sell train tickets and handle travel business.

At that time, the Ministry of Transport was convening a national railway intermodal transport conference. Once the case was discussed, it was immediately opposed by foreign railway officials in important positions.

The superficial reason is that Britain, Japan, the United States, France and other countries all have travel agencies in China, and there is absolutely no need to establish new ones. In fact, they are worried that it will reduce the vested interests of foreign travel agencies in China.

Fortunately, the then Director-General of Transport, Ip Kwong-chuo, the Secretary for Highways, Lau King-shan, and Chinese members from all walks of life all gave their full support, so it was finally passed after intense debate.

On August 1 of that year, the Bank of Shanghai Travel Department was officially established.

This day is a day worth writing about in the history of Chinese tourism.

Because according to international practice, the emergence of commercial travel agencies is a symbol of the birth of a country’s modern tourism industry.

One month after the establishment of the Tourism Department, a branch was established in Hangzhou, and then the scale was gradually expanded. In 5 years, 11 branches were established.

In 1927, the Board of Directors of the Bank of Shanghai held a meeting to study and decided to invest 50,000 yuan (later increased to 500,000 yuan). The Ministry of Tourism set up its own business. On June 1, it was officially renamed "China Travel Service" and reported to The National *** applied for registration with the Ministry of Transport, and upon approval by the Ministry, it obtained the No. 1 Travel Industry License in January 1928.

"Customer first, serving the society" is the purpose of the company

As early as when he founded the Bank of Shanghai, Chen Guangfu put forward the business motto: "Serve the society, assist the industry and commerce, *** International Economic Aggression”.

China Travel Service inherits this slogan, takes "customers first, serves the society" as its purpose, and establishes the two missions of "carrying forward the country's glory, serving travel, promoting scenic spots, improving food and accommodation, committing to freight, and promoting culture" The fourteen-character policy started the journey of starting a travel agency.

At the beginning, the business of the travel agency was relatively simple, focusing on passenger transportation. It first sold domestic train and steamer tickets, and then negotiated with American and Japanese railway companies and American, French, British, Japanese and other steamship companies. , selling passenger tickets for foreign railway and steamship companies on behalf of foreign railways and steamship companies, and then selling air tickets on behalf of China Airlines after the establishment of China Airlines.

In order to accumulate experience, the first manager Zhu Chengzhang wore a receptionist uniform and went to the station to greet passengers many times or drove himself to buy tickets for passengers, and proposed a series of convenience measures.

China Travel Service suffered losses when it was first established, and it will not be profitable for a long time in the future. Therefore, many people within Shanghai Bank opposed this business, but Chen Guangfu always insisted on handling it.

He once said to everyone: "There is nothing in the world that is more important than money, and so is goodwill.

It is far better to get someone's goodwill than to get someone's money.

Today's travel agencies have won countless favors from the public, so why are their profits so good?" Chen Guangfu also believes that by accumulating experience, improving business management, and increasing service items, this "tangible loss" can also be transformed into " tangible surplus".

Chen Guangfu finally won the praise of many customers with his service attitude and practical actions of "people strive for short-term benefits, I strive for long-distance achievements, others find it trivial, and I would rather be cumbersome". The travel agency is also cooperating with foreign businessmen. It gained a firm foothold in the competition and gradually turned losses into profits.

In 1936, it made a profit of 600,000 yuan.

This is just as Mr. Hong Jiaguan, a financial history expert and vice president of the Shanghai Finance Society, said: The most important reason why Chen Guangfu finally created a successful miracle is that he put forward the concept of serving the society.

China's travel agency business has developed greatly

The most rapid development stage of China's travel agency business was from 1931 to 1937, when 45 branches and offices were successively added. Its expansion has one characteristic. That is to say, it is synchronized with the newly opened transportation lines in the country.

The business scope of China Travel Service is very wide, including passenger transport and freight transport; hosting guest houses, hotels, restaurants, and catering services on trains; organizing domestic tourism and overseas travel; It handles procedures for going abroad and issues traveler's checks; it not only sets up travel agencies to tour groups, but also directly invests in the development of scenic spots; and firmly seizes the opportunity of large-scale conferences to carry out business.

Organizing travel and excursions is the main business of China Travel Agency. The agency has a dedicated tourism department. Every spring, it negotiates with the railway bureau to open special trains for tourists to Hangzhou, and timely organizes tide watching in Haining, lake tours in Huishan, and plum blossom exploration in Chaoshan. , Fujiang Range Rover, and sightseeing tours of various places of interest. Among them, the longer itineraries were such as the 1933 tour of the Javanese Overseas Chinese Industrial Investigation Group to Beijing and Shanghai, and the 1937 organized tour group from the five provinces of Jiangxi, Fujian, Hunan, Guangxi, and Guangdong, all of which were well received by the public. .

Since August 1935, China Travel Service has also sponsored a regular travel group aimed at creating a collective tourism atmosphere and appreciating the scenic spots of the motherland - the "China Travel Service Tour Group". Participants can receive various Various discounts were provided, and a special room was set up in the head office for members to gather, relax and communicate. By the spring of 1937, the number of members had increased from 150 at the beginning to 900.

This kind of group plays a certain role in stabilizing and developing tourist sources and enhancing the cohesion of the tourism sector.

In 1929, the first West Lake Expo was held in Hangzhou, which was an unprecedented event.

China Travel Service organized groups from Hong Kong, Nanjing, Tianjin and other places to visit Hangzhou. It provided hotels, rental cars, hired guides, etc. during the conference. It also specially edited a book "West Lake" for distribution and communication on the Guide signs were erected along the way to the expo to provide tour guides for outsiders, which were generally praised by people.

Since then, there have been many important events such as the North China Games held in Qingdao in 1933, the 12th National Conference of the Chinese YMCA held in Shanghai in 1934, and the 6th National Games held in Shanghai in 1935. China Travel Service can be seen in meetings and events.

Even in 1932, the "League of Nations" (League of Nations, an international organization established after World War I and replaced by the United Nations after World War II) was sent by the "League of Nations" (League of Nations) due to Japan's invasion of the three eastern provinces. Named after the leader of the group, Sir Sir Lytton, an Englishman, it consisted of representatives from five countries including Britain, the United States, France, Germany, and Italy. At that time, he went to China to investigate the "September 18th Incident". It was also led by China Travel Service, a private enterprise. Responsible for reception and handling of all matters, which shows its high reputation.

In the late spring of 1926, China Travel Service organized the first cherry blossom viewing group trip to Japan.

Since then, overseas markets have continued to expand.

Since 1933, we have organized pilgrimage groups for Chinese Christian believers to Mecca every year; in 1936, we provided overseas procedures, ticketing and pre-departure guidance for China’s delegation and visiting group to participate in the 11th Olympic Games in Berlin. etc. are also handled by China Travel Service.

In the spring of 1931 alone, in cooperation with the Japan International Tourism Bureau, China Travel Service received more than 20 groups of Japanese tour groups with more than 3,000 participants. They spent more than 200,000 yuan in my country, which was a Pretty impressive numbers.

China Travel Service handles the procedures for going abroad and is very popular among overseas students.

Because from the introduction of the charter of famous European and American universities, to the registration list, application for study abroad certificate, overseas passport, entry permit, booking of space, exchange of foreign currency, until the other country sends personnel to greet you at the dock, and then sends you on the train Going to school to take exams or study abroad, all of this is handled by China Travel Agency.

As for the Chinese and foreign travellers’ checks issued by China Travel Service, it not only provided convenience for tourists, but also provided an additional demand deposit for the Bank of Shanghai. This is also worthy of a book in the financial history before liberation.

Strict management, publicity and education

China Travel Service has a strict management system and unique publicity and education methods.

Chen Guangfu once said to the travel agency staff: "There is something we must pay attention to. The purpose of our business is to assist industry and commerce in serving the society. We should be courteous and courteous in our dealings with others. We should be disciplined and strive to improve ourselves to please tourists. To win the goodwill of the society, I can almost live up to my original intention of starting a business." He asked customers to greet customers with a smile, dress neatly, and have clean hands.

All employees are recruited and hired. After training and internship, they will be assigned jobs after reaching a certain level. After working, they will work in various departments in turn. After many years, they will become a generalist in the tourism industry.

As for the promotion and promotion of personnel, they are all based on talent and knowledge, and academic qualifications are only used as a reference. However, tour guides are basically required to be university graduates in liberal arts. After taking up the job, they will be trained first, and some will be sent to the United Kingdom and the United States for further study. And often invite foreign experts to give lectures.

As soon as people come into contact with China Travel Agency, they can feel its difference everywhere.

The staff all wear iconic uniforms, and the reception staff at the car and boat terminal also wear special uniform hats. The "Brigade" logo on the hats shines brightly, and the five-pointed star flashes in red, which is eye-catching.

The staff are extremely attentive and do not judge people by their appearance.

In order to widely publicize the significance of travel to society and life, China Travel Service founded "Travel Magazine" in 1927. It was China's first travel magazine. It was initially a quarterly magazine and later changed to a monthly magazine. It was written by famous writers. Specially written and rich in content, each issue is printed with dozens of exquisite photos. It is published to the public and distributed to domestic and foreign transportation agencies and their senior staff, in order to enhance the impression of China Travel Agency on all sectors of society.

In order to strengthen its foreign publicity, in 1931, the China Travel Service sent 5,000 invitation letters to all walks of life in the United States through the news agency established in Seattle, USA. , which can be regarded as an excellent publicity.

In 1933, American journalist Snow was hired to write five English pamphlets about China's scenic spots, which were distributed to overseas agencies, shipping companies, railways and airlines.

At that time, many celebrities wrote to China Travel Service and praised it.

Chen Guangfu believes: "It is for social convenience and for the bank's publicity. This kind of publicity is very powerful. Everyone knows that there is China Travel Service, and they know that there is Shanghai Bank." He is indeed a shrewd financial person. entrepreneur.

Chen Guangfu pioneered the China Travel Agency, with the concept of serving the society, careful management and pioneering development, making it the first large-scale tourism service enterprise in the history of the Republic of China and ranked among the world-class travel agencies.

As China’s first formal travel agency in modern times, China Travel Service was established in 1923 and ended in 1953. With its extraordinary journey of more than 30 years, it has left for future generations valuable ideas and rich experience in serving the society. , worthy of reference and imitation by future generations.