The future of tourism live-streaming as a marketing model in China after the COVID-

19

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Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic started back in November 2019 and spread around the globe at a

rapid pace. To prevent the spread of the virus, majority of the countries implemented

lockdown and international travel restrictions. The lockdown situation impacted different

sectors including the tourism sector. According to the UN, the revenue generated by the

tourism sector globally fell by $910 billion to $1.2 trillion (CGTN, 2021). Due to

international travel restrictions, the tourists could not actively take part in tourism, but the

substitute for active tourism was the usage of technology such as social media platforms and

other web platforms to broadcast a live stream of different tourism places.

Live streaming allows the user to share and watch the real-time video on an internet-enabled

smart device (tablet, smartphone, laptop, etc.). During COVID-19, the concept of live

streaming has been integrated in the tourism sector, where different tourists are sharing real-

time video with their viewers over different applications/internet platforms. It was back in

2020 when Boracay Iceman live-streamed his trip to a crocodile park in the Philippines

(CGTN, 2021). And it was more interesting to see that hundreds of his fans were viewing the

stream and even asking questions to him regarding crocodiles, the Philippines, fruits, etc. So,

Boracay Iceman was playing the role of an online tour guide showing his viewers different

aspects of the crocodile-themed park (Zhang & de Seta, 2021), (CGTN, 2021).

The same concept is now used by the Chinese tourism industry especially museums,

historical sites, and aesthetically sound sites are rolling out a series of sound live streams and

online videos for the tourism lovers around the globe stuck at their homes due to the global

pandemic (Zhang & de Seta, 2021). Although, visiting a tourism spot provides an enhanced

experience in terms of aesthetics, but due to international border closure, the tourists are

unable to visit different spots in person. That is where, the live streaming is creating value for
the consumers by providing a substitute leisure activity. According to Zang Yue who himself

is involved in live streaming different tourist places during the pandemic, most of the live

streaming audience is from South Korea and mainland China (CGTN, 2021). It is because he

is using a Chinese ecommerce application for live streaming the tourist places in China and

the Philippines.

The COVID-19 cases in China are declining but the travel restrictions have not been lifted

completely. So, the international and local tourists are still relying upon livestream tourism to

visit different tourist spots in China virtually (CGTN, 2020). It is to be noted that the tourism

and associated sectors are under huge financial pressure so online streaming is a method to

rebuild the tourism lovers and charge them for using online streaming platforms. The online

tourism streams are mostly available for a cost, so the tourism stakeholders such as resort

owners, travel vloggers, etc. are trying to regain financial stability (CGTN, 2020). According

to CGTN, (2020), the coordination between live streamers and famous corporation Marriot

has brought around 10 million yuan of transactions in China through live streaming (Ying et

al., 2021). Most of the live streams in China are available through the Fliggy Livestream

platform. The statistics illustrate that there were around 30,000 tourism live streams in 2019

and a new record of 6 million live views was set on one particular Livestream (CGTN, 2020).

This illustrates the interest of the local and international audience in the concept of e-tourism.

Yen, (2021), further reported that Livestream is a great way to maintain the interest of the

travel audience in different tourism spots. A special tour guide lives streaming the video can

reveal different aspects of a tourist spot that cannot be observed by the tourists themselves

even when they are at that place in person (Yen, 2021). The Patola Palace is a trademark

tourism spot in Tibet, China that also started live streaming tourism sessions, and the total

views exceeded 900,000 (CGTN, 2020). This is double the number of tourists that this place

receives annually. Only on the Fliggy platform, there are around 130 live broadcasts daily,
where more than 200 travel guides are live streaming different tourism spots from over 30

countries around the globe. This is creating value for the audience stuck at home that is

enjoying the scenic beauty of different travel spots around the globe (Yen, 2021).

Research Objectives

Following stated are the research objectives of this research:

i. What were the major factors that impacted the usefulness of live streaming before

the pandemic?

ii. What is the prospect of live streaming the tourism sector once the pandemic is

gone and the travel restrictions are alleviated?

These two research questions will be researched in this dissertation. The first research

question is about the less impact of Livestream tourism before the pandemic situation. An in-

depth analysis will be performed to analyse the prospects of livestream tourism before and

after the pandemic situation. Secondly, the COVID-19 situation is being controlled and there

is a sharp decline in the cases around the globe after rolling out of different vaccines. So, this

raises an important question in the context of tourism streaming that is that whether

Livestream tourism will have the same impact in the upcoming future, where the travel

restrictions will be eased or not.

Research Significance

This research is significant because it will provide an insight into the need of the livestream

travel industry in China. A few statistics have been shared in the section above, but the in-

depth analysis will further tell about the importance of this sector and its perceived usefulness

in the eyes of travelers. Furthermore, it is important to analyze the factors that were

impacting its influence in the past. We have seen that the influence of Livestream tourism

increased during the pandemic and before the concept didn’t exist or was not common in

China or other parts of the world.

It is also important to analyse the financial implications of livestream tourism model that will

give an insight that whether this model will be preferred in the future or not. For this purpose,

in-depth research is necessary that will be performed and answers to these critical questions

will be sought.
Literature Review

i. Importance of Tourism

Tourism is a very difficult term to be elaborated but in general, it can be defined as the

department that is responsible to guide families and foreigners about the enchanting and

informative places where one can visit and enjoy leisure time along with gathering the

historical and ancient information. Thus tourism is a wide term and it is difficult to elaborate

the topic within simple words (Camilleri, 2018). It is considered the tourism industry is one

of the most expanding industries across the globe (Davidson, 2012). In other words, the

tourism industry is defined as the interlinked organizations and they must provide affordable

packages to the people so they can visit different places and areas to enjoy the holidays

within the reasonable package (Aldebert et al., 2011). Thus, the tourism industry promotes

the packages within a city, country. Also, the international packages are sponsored by the

tourism industry. Tourism itself does not have any proper definition yet but it was elaborated

by the World Trade Organization and the United States in 1994 (Aldebert et al., 2011).

According to their definition, tourism is defined as a process where one individual moves

outside from their local residential area for a certain time (Arunmozhi & Panneerselvam,

2013). The main purpose of this traveling is to have a break from the daily tough routine of

life and to enjoy it for a certain period of time. Moreover, tourism can be planned for

business meetings and activities (Camilleri, 2018). According to Matheson, tourism is simply

defined as moving to another place for a short duration of time. Furthermore, according to

certain authors, it is difficult to define the definition of tourism but it can be understood

through three approaches. Firstly, tourism can be conducted as a business, or to collect the

information regarding the certain area or about their culture and to build memories (Aldebert

et al., 2011). Other than it Cambridge dictionary has defined tourism as the strategy to expand

the business of transport, travel agencies, restaurants, and malls. Moreover, it helps in
improving the economy of the entire country (Davidson, 2012). Tourism helps in providing

memories and entertainment to the individuals who are on vacation (Camilleri, 2018).

The tourism industry is the largest industry across the world and it involves further industries

such as the lodging industry, the transport industry, the travel industry, and the guiding

industry. Therefore, the tourism industry gives rise to many jobs which can improve the

overall economy of the country (Aldebert et al., 2011). Moreover, through tourism, foreigners

visit different countries to enjoy their holidays or for other purposes thus norms, cultures, and

religions are exchanged which promotes a healthy and progressive environment. Thus,

tourism activities give birth to various activities and jobs and the jobs are not only related to

the tourism sectors but also produce jobs in communication, health, transport, and

educational areas (Camilleri, 2018).

The government and the organizations that depend on the travel industry for a major level of

their income put a ton in the foundation of the country (Davidson, 2012). They need an ever-

increasing number of tourists to visit their country which implies that protected and

progressed offices are essential. This prompts new streets and interstates, created parks,

worked on open spaces, new air terminals, and perhaps better schools and medical clinics. s.

Also, local individuals experience a chance for financial and instructive development

(Arunmozhi & Panneerselvam, 2013). Moreover, many people visit different areas for

vacations and to experience the culture, norms, and lifestyle of the particular area, thus the

shopping malls, restaurants, and local markets earn the profit. The travel and tourism industry

makes a social trade among tourists and nearby residents. Displays, meetings, and occasions

generally help in grabbing the attention of the tourist (Aldebert et al., 2011). The tourist

industry is an incredible open door for outsiders to interact with another culture, yet it

likewise sets out many open doors for neighborhood residents (Davidson, 2012). It permits

youth to set up new businesses. Additionally, occupants experience the advantages that
accompany the travel industry happening in their own country. Thus, tourism gives rise to the

business.

ii. Types of Tourism

Tourism is defined as a temporary movement from one place to another for enjoyment and

business purpose (Camilleri, 2018). Therefore there are various types of tourism includes

domestic tourism, international tourism. Outbound, business, adventure, wildlife, medical,

cultural, dark, and educational tourism (Camilleri, 2018).

Domestic tourism refers to the movement of residential places from one place to another

place within a country for business and leisure purposes (Tureac & Turtureanu, 2010).

International tourism refers to the movement from one country to another country for

enjoyment or business reason (Csapo, 2012). This tourism requires a proper visa, passport

and the individual needs to contact the travel agent to buy a required package to avoid

complications in the future. Outbound tourism is similar to international tourism, but this type

of trip is especially for leisure and holiday purposes (Aldebert et al., 2011).

Business tourism is the movement from one place to another place to gather information

regarding any topic or to attend meetings. Thus, it is considered that business tourism plays a

vital role in reviving tourism (Aldebert et al., 2011). Moreover, this business tourism can

either be domestic or international depending upon the type of requirement (Davidson, 2012).

Thus, business tourism helps to expand the performance of the travel and hotels business.

Moreover, the other type also includes medical tourism. Medical tourism means movement

from one place to another area to get facilitated from the medical facilities. Like Business

tourism, medical tourism can also be both domestic and international tours depending upon

the requirement (Camilleri, 2018), (Csapo, 2012).

the wellness industry is a huge piece of the travel industry from antiquated occasions. This

travel industry for the most part draws in those sightseers who need to recover their
wellbeing. Wellbeing the travel industry will assist you with disposing of mental and

wellbeing stress.

Travelers recuperate their medical problems by doing physical, otherworldly, or mental

exercises. From one side of the planet to the other, there are a lot of objections which are

famous for further developing wellbeing (Csapo, 2012). “Mexico Temazcal Beach Resort

Spa, Caribbean health voyage, California weight reduction, and detox withdraws, Colorado

Hiking and Mountain Yoga retreat, China underground aquifer Resorts TCM” are the models

(Camilleri, 2018). Cultural tourism is very important to the type of tourism and it helps in

exploring the ancient buildings, norms, lifestyle of the area, therefore, many of the

individuals visit other places to enjoy their culture and lifestyle (Aldebert et al., 2011). Thus,

cultural tourism promotes the values of certain areas. If this cultural tourism is shared with

individuals through social media websites more and more individuals would get captivated by

the streaming thus, the tourism would get impacted positively. Therefore, all types of culture

are important and are promoted through the help of tourism (Camilleri, 2018).

At last, educational tourism is preferred by the majority of the population and they visit from

one area to another area. Like medical tourism, educational tourism can be both domestic and

international and students can visit from one place to another to explore the knowledge over

the various educational topic and their facilities (Csapo, 2012). Thus, tourism plays an

essential part that helps in improving the economy of the country as different people will

avail various facilities such as tickets, restaurants which will benefit the growth of their

business. Across the globe, the major part of the economy comes from tourism activities

(Davidson, 2012).

iii. Tourism in China

China is one of the world’s largest countries and is known for its tourism activities. It is

considered that the tourism activities in China are the major source of progress and the
economy of the city gets improved (Hoque et al., 2020). The tourism activities in China have

majorly increased during the past few years because of increase in the tourism activities.

Tourism doesn't need to involve the visit for the holidays and leisure rather the tourism can

be wellness tourism, education tourism, business, and health tourism (Polyzos et al., 2020). In

China, tourism has expanded due to the vast population and activities. As the educational

sector of China is advanced, so the majority of the students visit China to obtain higher

education thus the educational department and the traveling department are progressing

which rapidly helps in improving tourism and economical activities. According to analysis, it

is determined through analysis that China's progress is increased and they have become the

largest outbound tourist market (Hoque et al., 2020).

Moreover, through the same analysis, it is determined by the Euro International Market that

the increased tourism and exchange of materials will help China in becoming the world’s

largest tourist place due to their continuous efforts and progress (Hoque et al., 2020). Other

than the educational facilities, the Chinese rapid progress in the medical field is also

progressing and they are using the vast and technology-based equipment for the detection and

the treatment of the diseases. Therefore, many individuals across the globe visit China to seek

medical health which improves tourism in China. Hence, the economy of the country gets

improved. Other than educational and medical tourism, China consists of various vast and

beautiful buildings thus many individuals visit China to increase their knowledge and create

memories (Polyzos et al., 2020). A long wall of China, the Forbidden City and Imperial

Palace, and the terracotta army hold significant importance and culture. Thus, many tourists

visit this area to get detailed knowledge about the culture and past. Thus, tourism is playing

an essential role in the improvement of China’s economic sector (Hoque et al., 2020).
 iv. Impact of COVID-19 on Tourism Industry in China

China is one of the world’s largest countries and is known for its tourism activities. It is

considered that the tourism activities in China are the major source of progress and the

economy of the city gets improved (Nan, 2020). The tourism activities in China have

majorly increased during the past few years because of increase in the tourism activities.

Tourism doesn't need to involve the visit for the holidays and leisure rather the tourism can

be wellness tourism, education tourism, business, and health tourism. In China, tourism has

expanded due to the vast population and activities (Polyzos et al., 2020). As the educational

sector of China is advanced, so the majority of the students visit China to obtain higher

education thus the educational department and the traveling department are progressing

which rapidly helps in improving tourism and economical activities (Nan, 2020). According

to analysis, it is determined through analysis that China's progress is increased and they have

become the largest outbound tourist market. Moreover, through the same analysis, it is

determined by the Euro International Market that the increased tourism and exchange of

materials will help China in becoming the world’s largest tourist place due to their continuous

efforts and progress (Nan, 2020), (Polyzos et al., 2020).

Other than the educational facilities, the Chinese rapid progress in the medical field is also

progressing and they are using the vast and technology-based equipment for the detection and

the treatment of the diseases. Therefore, many individuals across the globe visit China to seek

medical health which improves tourism in China. Hence, the economy of the country gets

improved. Other than educational and medical tourism, China consists of various vast and

beautiful buildings thus many individuals visit China to increase their knowledge and create

memories (Nan, 2020). A long wall of China, the Forbidden City and Imperial Palace, and

the terracotta army hold significant importance and culture. Thus, many tourists visit this area
to get detailed knowledge about the culture and past. Thus, tourism is playing an essential

role in the improvement of China’s economic sector (Polyzos et al., 2020).

v. Livestreaming in Tourism

The tourism system consists of the following system i.e. consumers, traveling experiences,

Holiday experiences, and marketing experiences (Ying et al., 2021). Consumers are the most

essential part of tourism because due to the presence of the individuals the activities of

tourism take place. A consumer invests their time and income therefore the planners should

ensure to provide the facilities to the consumers (Csapo, 2012). For the planning purpose, the

individuals interact with the travel agent to decide the budget and to plan the holidays. Thus

the planning of the holidays includes the discussion with the travel agent so he can guide the

accurate and budget-friendly place to visit. Thus tourism planning helps the travel agent and

provides him the opportunity to earn a profit.

The holiday experience is at the point when buyers choose to take a specific kind of occasion,

they have assumptions for the experience they will have. This could identify with the nature

of convenience, administration, and food, or the reach and cost of exercises accessible,

assortment of shopping, bistro what's more, café opening times. Their fulfillment will be

founded on how well the occasion met their beginning assumptions or surpassed them. The

movement experience identifies with how the buyer goes to the objective and the encounters

they have a route. Travel decisions incorporate air, vehicle, boat, mentor, train, motorbike,

climbing, or a blend of the abovementioned (Ying et al., 2021). The method of movement

influences the kind of shopper experience, for the model, traveling to an objective is a

different experience to driving. At the point when transport choices, connections, and

backing administrations are restricted or underneath standard, the objective regularly endures

(Ying et al., 2021). Many issues influence the nature of the movement experience, including

the assortment of attractions, offices, and conveniently accessible on the way; the street
quality and signage; and the recurrence of transport administrations. Thus all the travel

experience and the holiday experience would be shared by the consumers through social

media platforms and this would create an impact on the agencies and planners on the other

public. Thus, their feedback would help in establishing the business so it is said that tourism

plays an important role in establishing the business and developing the economies of the

country (Tomasi et al., 2020).

To live stream tourism, social media plays a vital role. Thus for live streaming and the

promotion of successful planning (Fitzgerald, 2021). The captivating moments are shared

through the help of Facebook, Instagram, and other social media websites and this helps in

grabbing the attention of the other consumers and they would like to visit the area to feel

relaxed. This would promote the tourism activities thus more tickets and holiday packages

would be required (Fitzgerald, 2021). This helps in increasing the sales and profit would be

earned which as a result improves the economic conditions of different countries.

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