Travel agencies banking on tickets to ride

Outbound struggles

However, people who make a living through outbound tourism have had to make even greater efforts to stay in the game after a dominant narrative emerged about the inexorable downward slide of the sector, given that the pandemic is still wreaking havoc in many countries.

For them, the worst part is the uncertainty about when a ban on overseas travel, imposed by the ministry, will be lifted.

Last year, 155 million Chinese headed overseas, a rise of 3.3 percent from 2018, according to a report released by the China Tourism Academy in March. In this sense, a single day of inactivity could lead to the loss of about 425,000 outbound tourists.

For the past six months, Lei Lei, product manager at a branch of China CYTS Tours in Beijing that organizes outbound trips, has been at a loose end.

"Domestic tours were able to resume once the virus had been brought under control. As for outbound travel, it's all down to the epidemic situations in other countries," she said, adding that she is sure outbound tourism will be the last on the resumption list as authorities look to protect people's safety.

Since there is no way the company can restore business anytime soon, it has turned to a long-term bailout plan.

It is offering free online courses about famous historical relics, topnotch museums and niche tourist attractions－such as Palma Cathedral in Mallorca, Spain, and a skiing resort in Georgia－to attract customers and maintain a relationship with them.

The company has also invited well-known history and art experts to provide in-depth, interesting stories behind relics and artworks.

The courses－in which one of the experts livestreams for 30 minutes a day－are available to everyone who joins the company's WeChat groups.

While the courses are no substitute for the experience of visiting museums and galleries in person, from Lei's perspective they may help take people's minds off the outbreak for a while and provide useful knowledge for future trips.

Though only a few hundred people joined in the early stages, after months of persistence the company has set up about 100 such WeChat groups. Each has over 300 members, and numbers are growing as news spreads by word of mouth.

Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, said just as brochures and videos have been used for years to instill a sense of wanderlust in potential tourists, a deeper understanding of a destination will probably encourage a closer connection with such venues and most people will not be satisfied with simply experiencing them virtually.

When the turning point comes, the epidemic will gradually become history and China's tourism industry will witness a huge rebound.

By targeting users' travel needs in advance through online courses, platforms and businesses will enjoy greater profits during the rebound, he added.

Lei's company has also gone to great lengths to diversify its survival strategy, including teaming up with hotels and resorts at home and abroad to promote products and travel packages.

"Though the earnings are not all that good, we are at least making some progress and trying to stay alive," Lei said.

"In times of crisis, confidence is always more important than gold, and hard work will always pay off in the long run."

Lei firmly believes that the coronavirus outbreak will end eventually, so platforms and businesses need to build momentum to generate a quick rebound and even faster growth when things return to normal.