As a well-known cultural tourism expert and chairman of the National Arts Zoomlion, Liu Bing is well aware of the important role of the cultural tourism industry in rural revitalization. In recent years, he has led a number of projects that demonstrate the potential to transform local specialties into tourism resources. In an interview, Liu Bing shared his insights on how to develop unrecognized local specialties into well-known tourism products to promote the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas.
Liu Bing pointed out that many local specialties have the potential to become tourism products because of their unique quality and geographical advantages. For example, saffron from Chongming Island in Shanghai, salmon and white shrimp from Yuncheng in Shanxi, and olive oil from Longnan in Gansu Province are not only of excellent quality, but also rich in local characteristics. However, these specialties are often not widely recognized due to insufficient publicity. "We need to discover these treasures that have been buried everywhere and bring them into the public eye through creativity and innovation," Liu said. "These specialties are business cards in their own right, and can be an important element to attract tourists."
Liu Bing emphasized that if you want to develop undiscovered specialties, the first step is to deeply study the historical and cultural background of the specialties, dig out their unique stories, and carry out creative planning in combination with modern tourism needs. "Good planning and design can inject soul into a specialty product, so that it is no longer just a commodity, but an experience with a story and culture," he said. "We want to use various forms of display, such as visiting corridors, production process demonstrations and interactive experiences, so that visitors can not only see the specialty, but also learn more about the story behind it."
Liu Bing mentioned that exhibition and experience are the key to transforming local specialties into tourism products. By designing a special tour route and exhibition space, visitors can experience the charm of souvenirs in all aspects. For example, a tour channel is set up in the production base to show the production and processing process, and a tour guide is arranged to explain in detail, so that tourists can experience the uniqueness of the specialty products during the tour. "We want to let tourists feel the charm of the specialty, not just see the finished product," Liu said. "Through hands-on experience, visitors are able to understand the value of specialty products more deeply, so they are more willing to buy and advertise them."
Commercialization and tasting are important aspects of Liu Bing's promotion of the development of specialty products. He pointed out that wineries and food production sites in many countries offer tastings to attract tourists and increase sales. Liu Bing suggested that domestic specialty bases should also learn from this model and set up tasting areas for tourists to decide to buy after tasting. "Tasting can visually show the quality of the specialty and make tourists more eager to buy," Liu said. "At the same time, by selling high-value-added specialty products, we can also increase income and promote local economic development."
Liu Bing believes that successful publicity and marketing is an important guarantee to ensure the effectiveness of special product development. He stressed that in addition to traditional advertising, it is necessary to pay more attention to the word-of-mouth effect of tourists. By providing high-quality experiences and products, it wins the praise of tourists, thus forming a word-of-mouth effect. "A good reputation is worth a thousand words," Mr. Liu said. "We want to win the recognition and recommendation of tourists by continuously improving the quality of our products and services, so that more people can know about these local specialties."
When talking about specific cases, Liu Bing specifically mentioned the "Xiangxi Sleepless City" project of the National Arts Zoomlion. Located in Jishou City, Xiangxi Prefecture, Hunan Province, Xiangxi Sleepless City is a cultural and tourism block that integrates the cultural characteristics of Xiangxi. Through the unique cultural scene design and rich performance programs, the project closely combines local specialties with tourism resources, attracting a large number of tourists to come and experience.
With "Xiangxi, Hunan Love, and Hunan Charm" as the core, Xiangxi Sleepless City provides a variety of cultural tourism formats such as characteristic experience, intangible cultural heritage, high-quality cultural creativity, local specialties, and Xiangxi cuisine. There are 11 special stages in the block, and the actors bring more than 100 cultural performances throughout the day, and combine the regional customs of Xiangxi to create original performances such as "One Thousand Years Side" and "Secret Xiangxi", which immersively convey the regional characteristics and culture of Xiangxi. Through the deep integration of history and culture and modern fashion, the project deeply integrates commerce, culture and tourism, forming a cultural and tourism pedestrian block with unique Xiangxi characteristics.
In particular, it is worth mentioning that Xiangxi Sleepless City has set up a special product exhibition area, so that tourists can fully understand and experience the unique specialties of Xiangxi, increase their desire to buy, and promote local economic development. This project not only showcases the unique charm of Xiangxi culture, but also successfully transforms local specialties into well-known tourism products through innovative display methods, injecting new vitality into the local economy.
Liu Bing believes that through scientific planning, creative design, experience display, commercialization and effective publicity and marketing, more local specialties can be developed into well-known tourism products. "What we need to do is not only to develop tourism resources, but also to revitalize these specialties through culture and creativity, and become a dual driver of local economy and culture," Liu said.