Recently, the 2023 China Night Economic Forum was held in Sanya, Hainan. The forum is co sponsored by China Tourism Research Institute, Hainan Provincial Tourism and Culture Radio, Television and Sports Department, Sanya Municipal People's Government, etc., aiming to better promote the development of night economy and play a leading role in innovative cases and benchmark projects of night tourism. During the period, the 2023 China Nighttime Economic Development Report (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"), 2023 Nighttime Economic Emerging Ten Cities, 2023 Nighttime Economic Innovation Ten Enterprises and 2023 Nighttime Economic Innovation Cases were released.
1. Full recovery of night consumption
60% of residents' consumption occurs at night. Night consumption is not only an economic phenomenon, but also to meet the people's yearning for a better life. The Report points out that the consumption demand at night has fully recovered. The nighttime economic market has a solid foundation, and the public's willingness to travel at night has reached 95%. In the first eight months of this year, the average monthly night travel frequency of tourists was 3.27. Among the 363 cities monitored by the Night Tourism Research Group of China Tourism Research Institute, in the first eight months of this year, the number of night tourists in the top ten cities accounted for 21.4% of the total number of night tourists in China.
According to statistics, the amount and proportion of tourists' consumption at night have exceeded 2019. More than 70% of tourists spend more at night than in 2019.
The demand for night tour products has increased. According to Ctrip's data, the sales of summer night tour products this year increased by 692% compared with the same period in 2019. New night tour methods such as climbing up to watch night scenes, night light and shadow shows, cruise ships, street view night tours, performing arts performances, food bars, museum night tours, etc. are popular among tourists. According to the data of Mommy Donkey's travel website, in the first eight months of this year, the number of people who booked night travel products exceeded 20% in the same period of 2019.
Scenic spots are still the main scene of night tours. According to the Report, the night opening rate of 5A scenic spots will be 56.74% in 2023, more than twice that in 2020. The normalization demand of night tour in cultural venues has become prominent. On the May 18 Museum Day in 2023, 1/3 of the first-class museums will extend their opening hours at night. The Report predicts that the size of the national night tour market will reach 1.57 trillion yuan this year.
2. Continuous enrichment of consumption scenarios
Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Research Institute, pointed out in his keynote speech that night leisure and consumption activities have existed since ancient times, but it has not been nearly five years since the concept of night tourism and night economy was formally introduced and the practice jointly promoted by the market and the government was formed.
In the past five years, night tourism has achieved an innovative process from concept introduction to social practice, from theoretical exploration to policy implementation to market practice of night leisure. The demand for cultural leisure and tourism consumption at night has begun to be awakened, satisfied and created. The period from 18:00 to 22:00 is called the "golden four hours" of night economy. With the accommodation place as the center, the surrounding 6km blocks, business districts and cultural and museum venues are called "Silver 6km". The consumption scene at night continues to be rich. In addition to KTV, catering and shopping, new experience projects such as immersive performance, script show, light show, music festival, Han suit garden, etc. have emerged.
In the past five years, from cities, blocks, business districts, to rural areas, scenic spots, and holiday resorts, a number of night economic clusters with distinctive cultural characteristics have been formed. There are 243 national night culture and tourism consumption clusters.
The Report points out that in the past five years, night travel has become the main position to boost local consumption by promoting high-quality development of tourism with new scenes, new products and new business forms at night.
3. Wide space and promising future
The night tour products with rich cultural connotation are popular. The Report points out that the increase of food night markets, cultural restaurants, music festivals, night boats and art festivals is a significant feature of the experience of night travel products in 2023. Block business districts, urban night scenes, cultural relics and art places, scenic spots and holiday resorts are the areas where tourists think there will be more innovation in nighttime leisure in 2023.
The future of night economy is foreseeable. Dai Bin believes that the future night tourism should meet the new needs of tourists and urban and rural residents, and better serve the national strategy and local economic and social development requirements. The night economy is not only about eating, drinking and entertainment, but also about shopping, sightseeing, watching dramas, reading at night and socializing. It requires both high-quality material satisfaction and high-level spiritual enjoyment. It is suggested that all regions should focus on cultivating a multi-level, multi type and diversified night tour industry system, and create a batch of landmark projects and phenomenon products with strong radiation and driving force.
