Since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the No. 1 Document of the Central Committee of 2018 have successively mentioned the concept of rural revitalization, a wave of rural revitalization has been launched across the country. If there is a small ditch in the village, there will be a farmhouse, and if there are several acres of rapeseed fields in the village, a rapeseed flower festival will be held. It seems that rural tourism has become the only direction for rural revitalization. Investors from all walks of life also sensed unlimited business opportunities. They found a piece of land in the countryside and started developing it with great fanfare. But the problem is that not only most village officials do not understand tourism development, but investors also do not understand it, resulting in many rural tourism projects ending before they even begin. It not only destroys the original ecological environment of the countryside, but also wastes resources.
It stands to reason that rural revitalization is a key project supported by the country, and development should be smooth sailing. Why are there so many failed products? By analyzing those rural tourism projects that have failed to develop, we have summarized several failures. Reasons:
Mistake 1: Serious homogeneity
Anyone who likes to travel to ancient towns knows that many ancient towns across the country actually follow the same development model, with antique buildings and similar gameplay. , especially the ancient towns within a certain region are simply carved out of the same mold. For example, take the ancient towns in Guizhou Province. Because there are many ethnic minorities in Guizhou, and each ancient town has many ethnic minorities living together, the development of the ancient towns has fallen into a pattern: the same antique buildings, the same ethnic customs, except for the food that may differ from place to place. Even the so-called specialty products sold are the same.
At present, many rural tourism and ancient town tourism projects are similar. As long as there is a rural tourism project that is doing relatively well, subsequent development models will be based on its development model, or even completely copied, without considering its own actual situation and developing according to local conditions.
Mistake 2: Not enough cultural exploration
Many places develop rural tourism entirely because rural tourism is also developed in adjacent or not far away places. The conditions were almost the same. If they could do it, why couldn't we do it? So we didn't invite professionals to conduct on-site surveys and market assessments. We hurriedly attracted investment and financing and started it in a big way. Because we don’t have enough understanding of rural tourism, and we don’t even have a detailed understanding and exploration of rural resources, culture, customs, etc., most of the tourism we end up doing is just sightseeing, with at most a few farmhouses and a few This small inn only receives a few tourists every day. Moreover, the local people have poor service awareness and cannot form a good tourism reputation. There will be fewer and fewer tourists until it is eventually abandoned.
The project not only failed to increase farmers’ income, but also turned the good rural environment into a mess.
Mistake 3: Lack of tourism management talents
In order to reduce management costs, many rural tourist attractions recruit a few local people to manage and operate the scenic spots. Some even just a few people. Village management cadres are in charge, and some may even find a few low-income households in the village as temporary administrators to solve work problems for them. The intentions are good, but the results are often unsatisfactory.
Tourism management is a very professional subject and must be handled by professionals.
Mistake 4: Planning too uniformly
Isn’t it good to be uniform? It depends on the location.
When you go to some villages now, you can always see neatly-organized houses with the same color and style, and smooth and straight roads. It looks neat and beautiful, but in fact it is incompatible with nature and the original flavor of the countryside. For citizens who are used to seeing uniformity in cities, what’s the point of coming to the countryside to see the same replicas?
Mistake 5: Too high-end
The footing of rural tourism The point is the countryside. When tourists go to the countryside, they mainly want to experience the rural characteristics and customs. If the countryside is developed to be too luxurious and high-end, the meaning of rural tourism will be lost. When developing rural tourism, we must not abandon the simplicity and nature of the countryside.
Mistake 6: Ignoring the cultivation and development of modern culture
When it comes to creating tourism culture, we usually focus on the excavation of traditional culture and try to find the connotation of history. In fact, if we can work hard on the modern cultural and entertainment system, it can also generate huge attraction. In this regard, it is necessary to fully tap into and utilize various local cultural talents, such as poetry, calligraphy, painting, singing, dance, and other aspects.
Mistake 7: The entire tourism project has nothing to do with the villagers
This year’s No. 1 Central Document clearly stated that when developing the positioning of pastoral complex construction, it is necessary to ensure the fundamental principle of "surname farmers, for farmers" The purpose remains unwavering. On the one hand, this is because the purpose of developing pastoral complexes is to increase farmers’ income and provide them with real benefits; on the other hand, it is also because as long as farmers are the masters of their own country and regard rural tourism projects as their own, they will cherish them and make them their own. Only when you are motivated can you take the initiative to maintain the image of the scenic spot.
Mistake 8: The original flavor of the countryside is not enough
The original flavor of the countryside is not only the natural scenery, but also integrated into rural production and life, rural simple customs, and rural social governance methods. Especially the traditional governance methods, clan and family, including today’s village self-governance, village rules and conventions, etc. These original flavors should be combined with the reality of the countryside, rather than deliberately created, to form an authentic rural picture.
Mistake 9: Not knowing how to spread nostalgia
How to spread rural tourism? What to spread? In today's era, traditional media and new media have different advantages, especially new media. For quick, direct and distinctive composition, videos can arouse the interest of tourists. But the main content is the beautiful scenery, as well as fun and delicious things, which often pass by in a flash and are difficult to stir up people's inner feelings. So, how should the nostalgia and rural artistic conception that truly puts people at ease and pursue tranquility be spread? How should it be displayed? This is an issue that developers need to pay attention to!
Mistake 10: Neglecting soft environment management
When local governments focus on tourism, they often focus on the construction of the hard environment but ignore the management of the soft environment. For example, cheating and poor service are common problems in some large scenic spots, and they also appear in rural tourism that should be simple. This greatly ruins the scenery and loses the unique value of rural tourism.