Cultural tourism can be understood as "in-depth travel with humanistic stories". Its core is not merely visiting scenic spots, but revolves around resources with a "cultural core" such as historical relics, ethnic arts, and folk religions. It is like letting tourists immerse themselves in the "stories" of these humanistic resources and gain unique in-depth experiences.

The key to cultural tourism lies in "integrating the cultural and tourism industries for joint development", and it also has the "attribute of green economy": unlike traditional industries that may rely on high consumption, it drives development through cultural value. This helps optimize the structure of the service industry and promotes the transformation of the economic model towards a green direction.

The core purpose of cultural tourism is to experience and participate in the culture, history, traditions, arts, and customs of the destination, rather than engaging in a superficial "sightseeing spree".

Current Development Status of the Cultural Tourism Industry

With the advancement of globalization, cultural tourism has become one of the fastest-growing segments in the tourism industry. If the entire tourism industry is compared to a large market, cultural tourism is the "core popular segment" within it, directly accounting for approximately 40% of the global tourism market share—nearly two-fifths of the total market size.

Currently, there are 1,154 World Heritage Sites worldwide, covering three categories: cultural heritage, natural heritage, and mixed heritage, distributed across 167 member states. These heritage sites are like a "resource treasure trove" for cultural tourism, providing sufficient and diverse core materials for cultural tourism activities.

Upper Stream of the Industry Chain – Project Development and Construction

Cultural tourism developers act as the "exclusive stewards" of cultural tourism projects, responsible for operation and management, including organizing commercial activities, marketing promotion, and customer service. They often cooperate with local governments or developers to advance projects.

Contractors are like the "exclusive construction teams" for cultural tourism projects, primarily responsible for the project construction phase, including building infrastructure, arranging the environment, and implementing safety guarantees. They must complete the project on schedule in accordance with design requirements while meeting high-quality standards.

Middle Stream of the Industry Chain – Operation of Cultural Tourism Projects

The core of cultural tourism project operation is similar to managing a distinctive store that continuously attracts customers. The key lies in focusing on three aspects: tourist operation, content operation, and activity operation. Essentially, it first identifies the existing needs of tourists, then proactively creates experiences that meet their potential needs—centering on tourist needs throughout the process. Meanwhile, it integrates all links of the project smoothly through standardized and refined management.

Listed companies in China's cultural tourism industry mainly engage in two major types of businesses: first, cultural tourism performances; second, comprehensive tourist scenic spots. Among them, enterprises such as Qujiang Cultural Tourism and Xinhualian lead in terms of revenue scale, with annual revenues exceeding 300 million yuan. In contrast, enterprises like Songcheng Performance and Yunnan Tourism excel in profitability, with gross profit margins exceeding 20%.

The integration of culture, commerce, and tourism has accelerated the trend of "scene revolution". The core of the "New Vitality Lifestyle" (a concept emphasizing vibrant, community-centered living) is to build a "neighborhood-centered life" by uniformly managing blocks, preserving authentic daily life and culture, and meeting diverse needs—thus forming a new urban cultural tourism model and a key driver of visitor flow.

Lower Stream of the Industry Chain

When traveling in groups for cultural tourism, family trips with children are the absolute mainstay, accounting for the highest proportion in both domestic and outbound tourism. Post-80s and post-90s parents are the main consumers of parent-child tours, mostly from large cities such as Shanghai and Beijing. Nowadays, more and more families tend to spend holidays traveling with their children, making this parent-child travel trend much more prominent than before.

Development Trends

The development of the cultural tourism industry is like a "quality upgrading race". Its core is not simple expansion, but rather achieving a "qualitative upgrade" in industrial integration, product quality, and market management.

Digital technology is equipping the cultural tourism industry with a new "engine". Technologies such as big data and AI are no longer just "add-ons" but are deeply integrated into the industry.

Cultural tourism consumption is also evolving into a "combination package". It is no longer limited to visiting scenic spots alone, but integrates elements such as culture, sports, and cuisine.