Requesting information about sports tourism

The "Century Olympics" has huge business opportunities, and Beijing's tourism industry has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

When it comes to the Olympics, what will it bring to the host city? In addition to rapid changes, advanced sports venues, and world-renowned reputation, we immediately think of travel. As we all know, during the Olympic Games, the host city will welcome tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world. This huge business opportunity from the Olympic Games has always attracted everyone in the tourism industry.

As the 2008 Olympics approaches, how big will this cake be? Who will make it, how, and what will it taste like? Regarding these issues, we invited Beijing Municipal Tourism Bureau, travel agencies, travel enthusiasts and experts in the tourism industry to discuss: What impact will the Olympic Games have on the tourism industry?

Moderator: Hello, Teacher Xu. As far as you know, what plans does the International Olympic Committee have for developing the Olympic tourism market?

Director Xu Da (hereinafter referred to as Director Xu) of the Information Center of the Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games: As far as I know, after Rogge took over as the chairman of the International Olympic Committee in 2001, he made no plans for the development direction of the Olympics. He has made appropriate adjustments. One of the bigger changes is that he pays more attention to in-depth research on the Olympic movement. One of the problems faced by the Olympic Organizing Committee now is that the scale of the Olympic Games is getting larger and larger, and to some extent it has become rich. This makes it more and more difficult for the Olympic Games to be held in developing countries and countries with relatively weak economic strength. Therefore, Rogge established an "Olympic Research Committee" and spent more than a year. At the end of 2002, he proposed a research report - the "Olympic Weight Loss Plan". The plan proposed that the scale must be controlled to ensure the healthy development of the Olympic Games. .

Moderator: So what does this plan include? What impact will it have on the Olympic Games?

Director Xu: In the plan, it was mentioned that the "Century Olympics" has left a precious legacy to mankind, as well as the Olympic Games' impact on the host city or host country.

It summarizes five aspects that reflect the main functions of the Olympic Games: first, establishing the international image of the host city and country; second, leaving behind sports venues and professional talent teams; third, enhancing It increases people's love for sports and lays a good foundation for people to establish a healthy lifestyle; fourth, it enhances the centripetal force and cohesion of a country's people; fifth, it promotes the development of tourism.

The Research Committee of the Olympic Committee regards tourism as one of the five legacies of the Olympic Games, which shows its status and importance. Judging from the countries and cities that have hosted the Olympic Games, I think there are three cities where the Olympic Games have a very typical effect on tourism development: One is Barcelona, ??which has increased the city's popularity by hosting the Olympic Games. It cannot be denied that the Olympic Games have a great impact on Spain. The tourism economy has played a driving role; the second is Sydney, Australia is one of the first choice destinations for people to travel, and the Sydney Olympics has played a big role; the third city is Seoul, not only the Olympics, but also the Olympic Games since the 1980s. In the 1990s, South Korea established its international image by hosting various large-scale sports events. South Korea's approach to promoting economic and tourism development through large-scale sports events is worth studying. Through these examples, it can be seen that the impact of large-scale sports on the economic development of a region is obvious.

Host: So specifically speaking to the tourism industry, what impact have the Olympic Games had on it?

Director Xu: First of all, the Olympic Games itself is an exciting point, a hot spot. During the Olympic Games, it is the center of the world. Affected by the focus psychology, people are naturally willing to go to lively places. This is the Olympic Games itself. secondly, the Olympic Games are large-scale and have heavy reception tasks, which are a test for the host city’s infrastructure, tourist hotels and other basic urban services. In many cities that have hosted the Olympic Games, investment in the hotel industry has significantly increased since they won the right to bid.

Beijing may be an exception, because we have repeatedly reminded investors that there is no problem that Beijing’s hotels and restaurants can meet the needs of the Olympic Games. If you invest blindly, it is easy to form a bubble economy, which will not be beneficial to the sustainable development after the Olympic Games. Third, the general level of tourism facilities must be improved. Now the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee has signed agreements with 108 hotels, aiming to control prices, improve grades, and create long-term joint effects to promote post-Olympic tourism.

Host: It can be seen from this that the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee has begun to work on Beijing’s tourism industry to prepare for the Olympics. So what other actions or plans will we have before 2008? ?

Director Xu: In order to successfully host the 2008 Olympic Games, the State Sports General Administration began to strive for international individual sports events as much as possible a few years ago to compete in Beijing in 2006, 2007 and the first half of 2008. The purpose is to warm up and to test whether our venues meet the needs of the International Olympic Committee.

The unique charm of the Olympic Games itself and the corresponding large-scale event organization format are closely related to tourism.

The Olympic bid was successful. We formulated a plan for the Beijing Olympic Village in accordance with the requirements of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government. The Tourism Bureau also has a plan. By 2008, it is predicted that there will be 4.63 million overseas tourists. If we are more optimistic, it may reach 5 million. Estimated income 2 billion US dollars is equivalent to the total funds for the entire Olympic Games. This is also an important reason why the Olympic Games bid is becoming more and more popular. It drives the comprehensive benefits of a city, the most direct and effective of which is tourism. I also hope that the experts and scholars here can jointly study how to seize the tourism opportunities around 2008 and bring new prosperity to Beijing's tourism market. Including how to further transform tourist attractions, how to launch high-quality tourism products, and how to improve the level of tourism and services.

Host: The Olympics can bring us business opportunities, but it can also present us with many problems. Next, I would like to ask Mr. Fang Zehua, Director of the Planning and Statistics Department of the Beijing Municipal Tourism Bureau, what kind of preparations is Beijing making for the tourism reception of the 2008 Olympic Games?

Fang Zehua, Director of the Planning and Statistics Department of the Beijing Municipal Tourism Bureau (hereinafter referred to as Director Fang): The Beijing Municipal Tourism Bureau has a plan for reception. In 2005, Beijing currently has 100,000 star-rated rooms. By 2008, Our commitment to the International Olympic Committee was to reach 130,000 hotel rooms in 2018, and there are still 400,000 hotel rooms in Beijing that are not included in the star-rated management track. The International Olympic Committee proposed that accommodation facilities should not rely on expansion and new construction to meet the 130,000-room requirement, but rather rely on updating and renovation to explore existing potential, so that some hotels and guest houses can reach star standards through renovation and upgrading. From the perspective of Beijing's hotel development industry, this capacity is completely achievable.

In 2005, the number of overseas tourists visiting Beijing reached 3.15 million. As the Olympic Games approach, the number of overseas tourists will increase by 8% every year. By 2008, there will be a large number of athletes and officials As well as people coming to Beijing to watch the game, so in addition to the annual growth rate of 8%, it is expected that there will be an increase of nearly 300,000 people. Judging from the accommodation facilities, there is not much pressure.

Currently we are facing two weaknesses. One is that the infrastructure is not sufficiently in line with international standards, such as whether the information service system and city guidance system can be very accurate in accordance with international practices, such as common characters and languages. Expressions and symbolic expressions, etc. The second is to eliminate language barriers before the 2008 Olympic Games.

Now these works have begun. For example, the recent development plan for tourism together with the Municipal Development and Reform Commission and the construction of public facilities are very important, including signage. The information system includes increasing the environmental protection of scenic spots, and a plan has been developed and will soon enter the implementation stage. The previous period of work was the renovation of toilets in tourist areas, and 700 star-rated toilets were built in 200 scenic spots. After strict grade assessment, the toilets will be renovated according to the grade of the scenic spot. Complaints from foreign guests about tourist toilets have been greatly reduced compared to the past. A German media once went to Beijing for an interview to see what Beijing had actually done for the Olympics, and even went to the scenic spot to see the toilets. At its most basic level, Beijing is already taking action.

Moderator: Will there be some volunteers to help the hotel do something by 2008?

Director Fang: That’s for sure. The government will definitely mobilize a large number of volunteers to help with the work. Now we have started to do this work.

Moderator: Before 2008, will we organize some activities to slow down the heat of the Olympics and wait until the temperature reaches 100 degrees during the Olympics?

Director Fang: We have plans in this area. First, we hold relevant activities every year, such as visiting Olympic venues and cultural relics in Beijing, and conduct publicity based on these themes; second, In one year, we invite 100 tourism agents to come to Beijing to see our attractions and infrastructure, promote the preparations for the Olympics, and invite more media to report on this. Every year, some international mainstream media are selected to visit the country for inspection and publicity and reporting. Make different publicity and launch different products for different markets. The charm of a city must be reflected through everyone's attention.

Moderator: From a tourism perspective, what do you think is your biggest worry? Including the Athens Olympics, what lessons can we learn from when hosting the Olympics?

Director Fang: Now when looking at the Olympics from a tourism perspective, the focus is not very large, and the considerations are not very comprehensive, such as post-game experience and how to implement it, which requires an effective system to implement it seriously. This work.

Most of the tourists who come to Beijing are elderly, and many of them come from the south. There is a proverb that says that in Beijing, you can visit temples during the day and sleep at night. It means that the nightlife in Beijing is relatively boring. Mr. Wang, what do you think of this?

Mr. Wang Qun (hereinafter referred to as Mr. Wang) from the Beijing Tourism Research Institute: The lack of rich nightlife in Beijing is an old problem. It is much better now than before. There are also some entertainment activities in the evening, but in general He said that we mainly lack high-quality products, such as some Western performance groups, which definitely serve tourists. Beijing has not grasped the difference between tourism entertainment products and general entertainment products. It is only good at starting from its own culture, but it does not know what the audience wants to see.

The difference between tourism and entertainment products and general entertainment products is: firstly, they must be entertaining, secondly, they must be participatory, and thirdly, they must be artistic. And we just reversed the order. Nowadays, the must-sees in Beijing are Peking opera and acrobatics.

There are also events like the Yunnan Song and Dance Dinner that combine local characteristics with catering and entertainment. Therefore, the main creative staff must design the program from the perspective of tourists.

The Olympic Organizing Committee must control ticket distribution, make it consistent internally and externally, and make reasonable arrangements.

Mr. Guo Ming (hereinafter referred to as Manager Guo), general manager of China Travel Service Hong Kong International Citizen Tourism Headquarters: We have been doing outbound business since we officially came into contact with the Olympic Games in 2000 and have actual experience in two Olympic Games.

As our own service provider, we do have to pay attention to some things in 2008. The first is tickets. The Olympic Committee has a very clear ticket allocation principle, and all member countries of the Olympic family will have corresponding tickets. The form of matching the first, second and third category tickets does not mean that all tickets are sold according to the number of reservations. For China, our domestic control over tickets will be relatively strong, and it is also in line with Chinese characteristics. Domestic demand is greater than abroad. The second is the problem of customer sources for tourism companies. The development and reception of high-end customers require travel agencies to have strong public relations capabilities. , our tourism business can no longer just stay at the reception level, we are also cooperating with some foreign sports companies to do some business development activities. As the world's largest festival, the Olympic Games will also be planned with foreign travel agencies, which requires a strong team and strong planning capabilities, as well as a long accumulation period. If the tourism industry wants to make big profits during the Olympics, it needs to extend traditional things.

Moderator: Today we not only invited officials, experts, and operators from the tourism industry, but also a tourism enthusiast who once participated in the Athens Olympics. It can be said that all the work done by everyone here is to serve him in the future. So Chen Ying, you have been to Athens, talk about your feelings.

Mr. Chen Ying, a travel enthusiast: What impressed me most is that the local subway is very user-friendly, with elevators for disabled people at each station; larger tourist attractions are integrated with the subway; and there are free ones at the airport. The road guide is convenient for travel; the service system is small, and the people on the street are all volunteers. They can communicate in English very well and there are no obstacles; the people are very enthusiastic, the service is good, and they always have a smile on their face.

The overall impression is very good and I am willing to go again. The reception for reporters was also in place, and a lot of publicity about the city and tourism was done. We must combine culture and sports to create a cultural Olympics.

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A brief discussion on the relationship between sports and tourism

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Sports travel is increasingly becoming a new journey for travel enthusiasts. People increasingly feel that sports should be naturally added to our lives and the fun of sports should be filled with life. In every corner of the hotel, let us enjoy the fun of "body" and "leisure" in life from sports and tourism. The mutual penetration, mutual integration and mutual expansion of sports and tourism are the strategic choices for sports and tourism to accelerate their cooperation.

1. The outward expression of sports and the inner experience of tourism are the unity of spiritual entertainment

No matter how exciting and full of hardships the training and competition of sports may be, Its outgoing personality and radiant tension will bring super entertainment to the participants and the audience. And the relief of travel. Relaxation, enjoyment and enrichment of knowledge are a mature inner experience and a great spiritual need. It is also an entertainment need for people to return to the basics of life itself. Therefore, no matter how different the concepts of sports and tourism are, their identification with each other is extremely strong. That is: 1. Experience the special value of tourism in sports activities; 2. Feel the benefits of mental and physical health while traveling; 3. Although the expressions of sports and tourism are very different, the entertainment pleasure people get from them is the same.

Therefore, if you travel a long distance and participate in an event in a targeted manner, the relationship between sports and tourism will gradually become consistent. Their combination of sports and entertainment gradually became one. Like adventure. Hiking, kayaking, rafting, golfing, etc.

As sports tourism is recognized, accepted and developed creatively by the general public, sports tourism has become a fashion and an indispensable and beautiful content in people’s lives. And the fashionability brings great potential business significance.

2. The scale effect of commercial significance is the life of the tourism industry, and the scale of sports provides the source of this life need. Any kind of sports events, especially outdoor large, medium and small Sports activities will bring about large-scale tourism effects. In addition to its own requirements, its entire activity content covers the six elements of food, accommodation, transportation, travel, and shopping. These six needs are a consumption need, an economic need, and a travel need away from home. The tourism industry, which requires becoming bigger, stronger and more lively, finally achieved huge commercial scale effects through sports. For example, every Olympic Games and the recent World Cup football tournament held in South Korea have attracted many fans and tourists and generated local business revenue reaching tens of billions of dollars in a few days.

In the 2008 Olympic Games hosted by China, the commercial value of just one badge reached 100 million yuan, and from the moment the bid was successful, it attracted thousands of tourists from all over the world to China for sightseeing. Therefore, the scale and collective nature of sports solve the problem for the ultimate appeal of tourism. That is: 1. Sports activities lead to large-scale gatherings of people: 2. Group consumption brings real business benefits; 3. High-speed financing and short-term concentration of interests satisfy the boom in tourism; 4. The economies of scale in tourism are rapidly gathering in sports activities.

Therefore, tourism can take advantage of the scale of sports to achieve rapid development and scale effects in the tourism industry.

3. The diversity of tourism methods has adjusted the internal structure of sports and broadened the way for sports to continuously adapt to the requirements of the times and develop itself

After tourism becomes a popular demand, it also It comprehensively adjusts people's living conditions and lifestyles, and broadens their horizons for people's spiritual needs. Sports, as the most challenging event among people's activities, rise from the challenge of physical extreme capabilities and the appreciation of the beauty of sports to the embodiment of collectivism and heroism through competition. For this reason, the continuous gradual change of the meaning of sports gradually deepens into a spiritual meaning. This spiritual meaning further enriches the spiritual connotation displayed by the tourism industry. With the continuous development of the tourism industry, the sports industry has accelerated its pace. The adjustment, enrichment and improvement of the internal structure of the enterprise, namely: 1. With high-quality economic development, tourism has gradually become a common need in people's lives; 2. In order to adapt to this demand, sports gradually enrich and improve their connotation; 3. The adjustment of the structure of advantageous sports projects has been strongly promoted; 4. Due to the development of tourism, sports have received unprecedented innovations.

In the future historical process, the entertainment value of sports and tourism will be greatly enhanced. Because sports and tourism have not yet been fully integrated, there is still huge space and opportunities for cooperation, penetration, and integration. Sports is a performance without a script, while tourism is a spiritual need without a license, but both include all human performances and entertainment. The essence of enjoyment brings people a colorful life. This is the inevitable mutual strategic choice between sports and tourism.