Will the next popular tourist city be discovered by young people themselves?

Nowadays, there are many tourist cities, but how did these niche tourist cities become popular? What ideas were used to explore them?

"Shou County, a place that does not require a guide", "I have tried it for everyone, and reverse travel is really fun", "A truly unpopular county town, with no one"...

After City Walk, a group of young people fell in love with experiencing the life of "small town youth". According to Ctrip data, during the May Day holiday this year, the tourism market in fourth-tier and lower-tier cities grew significantly, especially county town tours. From the previously popular "lying flat tours", "bad tours", "temple tours", "special forces tours", City Walk to the now popular "reverse tours", young people's travel needs are becoming more and more diversified and immersive. They are not deliberately rebelling against "popularity", but rather than going to the "crowded" Internet celebrity attractions to check in, they want to "travel conveniently".

As a result, a group of young people have set their sights on "unpopular county towns", and travel bloggers and IDs with "local" identities on major social platforms have become their main "strategists" for planting grass or avoiding spoilers. Behind these IDs are countless individuals who want to contribute to their hometowns, "When will this overwhelming wealth come to my city?"

In fact, the sinking of cultural tourism and the consumption upgrade of county towns are inseparable. In recent years, the sinking market, especially the third- and fourth-tier cities, has become a new battlefield for major brands to compete, such as new tea drinks, hotels, etc. In addition, the popularity of Zibo, Harbin, Kaifeng, Tianshui and other places has unlocked the traffic code for the explosion of niche cities, namely:

(Fireworks + cost-effectiveness) × video

Next, a group of young people who want to escape from the city will follow this traffic formula to find their next travel destination.

From this point of view, after Tianshui, the next tourist city to become popular will most likely be discovered by this generation of young people themselves.

1. From City Walk to Anti-Popular Tourism

"I'm a prophet. County tours will become a trend in 2024..." This is the content of a highly praised note on Xiaohongshu. In this note, a blogger shared his hometown, Dingzhou, Hebei, which not only has a 2,600-year history of city construction and countless historical sites, but also has "traces" of the Northern Song Dynasty poet Su Shi. "Yang Shiqi" said that Dingzhou used to be just a "safe haven" for him to escape from big cities. He always used holidays to lie down and never took a good look at his hometown.

Source: Xiaohongshu

Earlier this year, she experienced her hometown in an immersive way through the City Walk. After slowing down, she began to find that the scenery in her hometown was "always glowing." She further said: There must be countless unknown but glittering small towns like Dingzhou hidden in China.

So, she wrote this note inspired by her feelings, which soon resonated strongly among netizens. They all said that there are still many small places in China that are not inferior to any major attractions, and we need to take the initiative to understand and discover them.

The "explosive period" of seeking niche city tourism occurred during the May Day holiday this year. In mid-April, Xiaohongshu launched the theme activity #I want to travel in reverse#, calling on everyone to hand over their own unpopular treasure tourist destinations to unlock the sense of relaxation during travel. As of now, the topic has been viewed 94.493 million times. A user shared his visit to Longyou, a comfortable county town during the May Day holiday. The word "no one" instantly attracted many people to plant grass, and a group of "locals" appeared in the comment area to plan the travel route for the next visit.

Source: Xiaohongshu

In fact, this kind of reverse tourism "operation" has already appeared. Young people have long been tired of the "crowded" popular attractions, so a wave of new travel methods "came one after another". For example, the previously popular lying-down tour, even without a guide, sleeping until waking up naturally every day, or even lying down in the hotel, many young people are very "enjoyed". Some netizens said: "This kind of travel without rushing to check in and sleeping until full every day is a fulfilling trip."

After that, niche travel methods such as bad travel, temple travel, special forces travel, and City Walk continued to emerge. The reverse travel that everyone is talking about now can actually be seen as an upgraded version of City Walk, both of which are based on slow travel and focus on immersive experience.

2. What is the traffic code for reverse tourism?

On major social media platforms, most people seeking reverse travel destinations have very clear demands, namely "delicious food and low prices".

The "delicious" here does not only refer to the taste, but also to the atmosphere of each place. Nowadays, more and more young people, like Mr. Wang Zengqi, experience the atmosphere of a city through travel. Some netizens said: When they go to a new place, they like to visit the vegetable market and museums, so as to quickly experience the living habits and customs of the locals.

Source: Xiaohongshu

"Low prices" means cost-effectiveness. When everyone is surrounded by news about skyrocketing air tickets and hotels, high-priced food in scenic spots, and extra charges for diving, the advantages of small cities with cost-effectiveness are fully demonstrated. For example, the Northeast Morning Market, which was very popular before, has attracted many Russian friends to "check in" in Heilongjiang after the visa exemption. So far, the food videos related to the morning market posted on Douyin are still very popular. Among them, the video "Do you also like this kind of Northeast Morning Market full of fireworks" shot by @沛沛同学 has received millions of likes.

The popularity of niche cities such as Zibo, Harbin, Kaifeng, and Tianshui is inseparable from the dual blessing of fireworks and cost-effectiveness. The traffic formula of these places can be summarized as follows:

(Fireworks + cost-effectiveness) × video

Take Zibo as an example. Why is barbecue popular in all places but only in Zibo? From the timeline, the first wave of popularity in Zibo was brought by college students. Content related to a group of college students going to Zibo to eat barbecue frequently appeared on major social platforms. College students, who won by quantity, brought hundreds of millions of views to topics such as "Zibo barbecue", making Zibo the center of traffic.

The reason why college students spontaneously recommend Zibo is because they felt the humanity and strong atmosphere of Zibo people during the epidemic. During the epidemic, Zibo not only prepared rich meals for college students, but also booked all barbecue restaurants to bid farewell to college students after the epidemic ended, and gave everyone a small gift. So, the seeds of the story slowly sprouted over time. Afterwards, @B太, a blogger with millions of fans, went to Zibo to survey 10 barbecue stalls and found that none of them was short of weight, pushing Zibo's cost-effectiveness and sincerity to a new height again, and "Zibo Barbecue" has become the latest top-tier food on the Internet.

Nowadays, young people who are keen on reverse tourism are trying to replicate a new "niche treasure city" according to this formula.

It is worth mentioning that "few people" has become one of the criteria for young people to choose reverse travel destinations. However, the "few people" here does not refer to the population and land area of ​​the destination. In the context of the Internet, it means a "not popular" place. However, "few people" is uncertain. For example, the flow of people will be different on holidays and weekdays, weekdays and weekends.

Therefore, one netizen shared her "exclusive tips" for finding reverse travel destinations on social platforms. She said that in order to avoid being crowded in unfamiliar places and thus affecting her travel experience, she would search for accommodation when the holidays were approaching. "If the hotels here are also cheap during holidays, it means that this is an unpopular tourist destination."

In addition, following favorite bloggers to discover "treasure tourist destinations" is also a way for young people to find reverse travel destinations. Previously, travel blogger @银行兄弟's video "Go to Quanzhou! While it's not yet popular" brought a wave of popularity to Quanzhou, and many fans went there to play.

3. “Lowering expectations” makes reverse travel more enjoyable

Although major consumer brands and hotels and other facilities have turned their attention to the sinking market, providing a wealth of consumer options for reverse tourism, some of the problems that come with it cannot be ignored. In some areas with inconvenient transportation and relatively backward infrastructure, tourists may face problems such as poor accommodation and traffic congestion.

Some netizens shared their experiences on social platforms: when they went to a county town for tourism and encountered rainy weather, the taxi queue was more than 200 that day. Some netizens also said: "There are many people in the county town, how can there be a peaceful life, it all depends on the good filters." Some netizens have even begun to "advise" everyone not to blindly follow the trend. Some netizens said: According to their own observations, it is best not to travel to small places during the holidays, such as islands, small county towns and remote attractions. Because small places have poor ability to receive tourists, a little more people will cause "traffic paralysis."

Source: Xiaohongshu

However, these problems have not dampened young people's enthusiasm for reverse tourism. On the contrary, many people prefer to regard this "inconvenience" as a challenge. In their view, travel is no longer just about arriving at a place and taking a few photos, but a cultural exchange, story discovery and self-realization.

Luo Xiang once said: "There is no perfect place in this world. No gold is pure, and no scenery is perfect. All beautiful scenery has its shortcomings. I have been to many beaches. What I want to do is to drink cold beer and read novels comfortably on a beach chair, but every time, the sun is too strong or mosquitoes bite people. Most of the time, reading becomes a decoration and I can't stick to it for long."

For the tourism industry, the rise of reverse tourism is both a challenge and an opportunity. In the future, more "secret gardens" drawn by young people will emerge on social platforms. These places may not have luxurious facilities or convenient transportation, but they have unique natural scenery, rich cultural heritage and simple folk customs. These "secret gardens" marked on social platforms will attract more and more people to explore, and they will share these places with more people through their own personal experiences.

The next "Tianshui" may be born quietly between your fingers and mine. Who is the "Tianshui" in your mind? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss.