Scenic spots keep locals coming back

Although the country's tourism has hit a roadblock due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many tourism players have managed to maintain business growth through innovating the services they have to offer.

Tsingtao Beer Museum in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, has seen the number of its visitors steadily on the rise since 2020, says Yuan Weiwei, the museum's channel operation director.

"At the same time, an increasing number of young people are coming to the museum for new projects, such as theater tours, and they take the opportunity to learn about Tsingtao beer and Qingdao," Yuan says.

The museum was built by Tsingtao Brewery and is located right at the site of its old brewery. It exposes visitors to the country's beer culture.

In 2020, the museum joined hands with the country's major online travel agency Trip.com Group to roll out different packages that integrate a light show, a tour guide and beer tasting for visitors to choose from when booking tickets to the museum.

New products ranging from special wine, beer bread and tea drinks have been developed.

Both parties have also jointly launched a drama tour that has proved a hit.

The goal is to spice up visitors' experiences in the museum, so it is not simply about sightseeing, Yuan says.

The ticket-plus packages have enjoyed brisk sales among visitors, especially those in their late 20s, Yuan says.

The museum is one of many destinations exploring ways to further tap into their fragmented resources to attract multiple visits by local residents, who have become a major driver of business during the pandemic.

Bookings by local residents to tourist spots accounted for nearly 80 percent of all ticket sales during the National Day holiday from Oct 1-7 this year, Trip.com Group reports.

The agency has worked with many destinations across the country to launch the ticket-plus programs, whose bookings have grown by 186 percent during the holiday compared with the same period of last year. Tourism income rose by 130 percent in the same period.