By Yuling Chen, EDITOR
The brilliant night sceneries of Chongqing have been well-known for a long time. We will build Chongqing into an international consumption center, famous tourist destination, and a city with deep cultural contents. And utilizing the night-time economy is a must-have way for Chongqing to develop its economy.
Night view of Chongqing (Photo by Cui Li)
Night-time economy
In the 20th century, the UK defined the “night-time economy” for improving the empty nest phenomenon in downtown. It is an economic concept concerning the consumption in modern cities from 18:00 to 6:00 of the next day. The consuming subjects are local citizens and foreign tourists. And the primary types include leisure, tourism and sightseeing, shopping, fitness, culture, and catering.
People are eating hot pot at night. (Photo by Cui Li)
Chongqing has a great potential to develop its night-time economy
Qiu Yuelang, General Manager of Jiujie Cultural Industry Group, introduced the current condition. “Now, the visitor flow rate in Jiujie Street reached about 40,000 per day, and it exceeded 60,000 in festivals. Among them, 60% of visitors are from other places. In the 101 commercial tenants, over ten have foreign owners from France, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, etc. Jiujie Street is becoming a gathering destination for foreign friends to Chongqing.”
Families are enjoying the lighting world. (Photo by Cui Li)
Though opened in 2012, Jiujie Street saw its annual revenue exceeding over RMB 3 billion within several years’ of development. It has provided employment positions for over 10,000 people.
Nanbin Road, another destination with representative and characteristic landscapes of Chongqing, has formed a combined system. It integrates scenic spots, city parks, hotels, dining and entertainment, and cultural experience. In 2018, the sales volume of the major commercial complexes here reached RMB 1.438 billion. At that time, it has received 56.28 million visitors.
Wu Pu, Director of the Institute of Tourism Policy and Strategy Studies in China Tourism Academy, gave an introduction. He said, “If the daytime shows a part of the picture of Chongqing, then the nighttime will present another part.” In the mass tourism era, night tour has become an important way and content for visitors to experience their destinations.
Night sceneries are one of the trump cards of Chongqing. We also have a feasible measure to turn the landscape resources into economic drivers.
Four aspects to improve Chongqing's culture and tourism
Qin Dingbo, Deputy Director of Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development, expressed his opinions on this regard.
In this year, Chongqing will make efforts on the four aspects: First, Emphasizing the effective supply of products and promoting more high-quality performances with strong influences in the tourism market. Second, highlighting the public service on culture and tourism and carrying forward the convenience and availability of public service facilities. Building a series of libraries in round-the-clock operation. Promoting the opening of such public cultural facilities as cultural centers, libraries, museums, memorial halls, and art galleries to tourists. Third, stressing on the optimized development of industries. Fourth, implementing programs effectively and striving to build the sightseeing boats of “water bus”. It will also develop “tourism +” and “+ tourism” products and clusters.
Source: Chongqing Daily
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