Thai international student Wang Jianing (middle of the front row) leads a tour group for a trip.

Travel Agencies from Harbin is promoting tourism in Thailand.

This summer, Wei Hongli, the manager of Harbin Sightseeing International Travel Agency Co., Ltd., is much busier than previous years. "In the past, Southeast Asian tourists only came during the ice and snow season. In May and June of this year, group orders continued to increase. Last ice and snow season, Harbin 'made itself well known' to Southeast Asian countries, driving our cross-border summer tourism to become popular."

From "one peak season" to "all peak seasons", Ice City not only attracts foreign tourists to travel "out of season", but also forms a tourism hub centered on Harbin and radiating to other scenic spots in the province. Faced with the new market "cake", travel agencies actively "go out" to strengthen overseas promotion, and continuously improve their reception capabilities to tourists after arrival in terms of bilingual services, accommodation and catering, and so on.

Harbin’s tourism market is expanding from "peak season tourism" to "all-time, all-season, and all-region tourism"

Ice City also "made itself well known" in summer

Southeast Asian tourists come for out-of-season tours

Harbin Sightseeing International Travel Agency Co., Ltd. is mainly engaged in international tourist reception services in Harbin. In the same period of previous years, Wei Hongli and her team did little business.

Southeast Asian tourists yearn for ice and snow, and prefer to come to Harbin to enjoy ice and snow in winter. "Last year, the team received more than 6000 tourists, mostly concentrated in the ice and snow tourism season from December last year to February this year." Wei Hongli said, "In the summer, big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai are preferred for foreign tourists on their trip to China, followed by well-known scenic areas in the south with many scenic spots and historical sites. Therefore, cross-border tourism to Harbin in May and June usually enters the off-season."

However, Wei Hongli was caught off guard by quite a few groups coming to Harbin in May and June this year. From May to now, the travel agency has received 8 Southeast Asian tourist groups to Harbin, with approximately 150 visitors, mainly from countries such as Thailand and Malaysia. It is not an exaggeration to describe the arrival of Southeast Asian tourists as "flying over thousands of miles". "From south to north, there is a transfer midway, and if there is not enough attraction, tourists will not want to be tired of traveling." Orange Holiday Travel Agency also experienced a significant increase in international tourists, Deputy General Manager Wang Xiangbo told reporters, "Compared to last year, Southeast Asian tour groups have increased by about 20%. The majority of tourists are from Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand."

As soon as the plane landed in the evening, Li Ziyang, the tour guide of the Sightseeing International Travel Agency, took the tourists to eat Russian style Western cuisine, and then marked on Central Street and the Architectural Art Square. "Last year during the ice and snow season, Harbin made itself well known, and these scenic spots became destinations that tourists anxiously longed for." Li Ziyang said, "A Malaysian tourist tells that his wish to come to Harbin with his family to take photos and mark has finally come true. Even if he has been on a plane for a whole day, he still needs to go take photos of the night scenery at night and then follow the group for a 'deep tour' the next day."

Falling in love with Harbin's cultural charm

International students work part-time as tour guides

Thailand is an important destination for Harbin people to travel abroad, and Thai people are the most fond of Harbin tourism among Southeast Asian countries. Last year, more than 40% of the over 6000 Southeast Asian tourists received by Sightseeing International Travel Agency Co., Ltd. came from Thailand. Some Thai international students studying in Harbin seized this opportunity to serve as volunteers with the group. "Not only did I improve my Chinese language skills, but I also fell in love with Harbin and felt honored to recommend it to friends around me," said Ke Wanli, a Thai international student who had lived in Harbin for two years.

During her studies in Harbin, Ke Wanli often posted pictures of her life and the beautiful scenery of Harbin through social media. Especially during the last ice and snow season, Harbin, which made itself well-known, also gained popularity in her social circle. Her family and friends in Thailand have asked her to share more photos and videos to satisfy their curiosity about the cultural atmosphere and scenery of the "Kingdom of Ice and Snow". When she learned that Sightseeing International Travel Agency had been cooperating with Thai international students for many years and had provided them with volunteer practice opportunities, she decided to volunteer as a tour guide in her spare time to receive Thai tour groups.

She also volunteered with another Thai international student Chen Tianfu. "Not only do we need to communicate with people from our hometown, but there are also many opportunities to use Chinese to gain a deeper understanding of the local customs and traditions of Harbin. If you don't see him, you won't even hear that Chen Tianfu comes from Thailand. "In airline companies, hotels, restaurants, and scenic spots, we participate in the entire communication process and provide bilingual services. "Last winter, a Thai tourist fell and injured in a Snow Village. Chen Tianfu took the tourist to seek medical treatment." Doctor’s consultation and tourist’s chief complaint needs accurate translation. With me as the translator, things can be resolved smoothly, "Chen Tianfu said.

Travel agencies go abroad to promote brands

Practice "internal skills" to excavate service details

"At first, when we occasionally received request requests for Thai language tour guides from travel groups, we could only employ them from Beijing or Guangxi. There were many Thai tourists there, together with guides who were proficient in Thai." Wei Hongli later found that whether the employed Thai language tour guide or the Thai tour guide accompanying the group, they actually did not know Harbin. "Thai students studying in Harbin are different. They have lived here for a period of time, and understood the city, so they can better explain its cultural characteristics, historical characteristics, and customs."

Since 2017, Sightseeing International Travel Agency has attempted to collaborate with international students. So far, Wei Hongli has collaborated with nearly a hundred international students who usually studied in Harbin for one to two years. After returning to China, they engage in different professions and actively promote Harbin as their "second hometown". Thai international student Wang Jianing, who had been studying in Harbin for two years, said that when someone around her wanted to travel to China, she immediately introduced Harbin.

International students serve as a link to promote Harbin, and the travel agency also goes abroad to introduce Harbin and attract business orders. Starting from 2023, Wei Hongli will once again "visit" Southeast Asia after a gap of three years, attending various tourism promotion events in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore... "We mainly liaise with local travel agencies to introduce the characteristics and projects of Harbin." Wei Hongli said, "In April of this year, she went to Thailand again during the Water Splashing Festival, and clearly felt that their attention to Harbin was increasing. They not only inquired about winter tourism matters, but also showed great interest in summer tourism."

In addition to promotion of good projects, and when tourists come, it is even more important to provide high-quality services. While doing a good job in tourist attractions, Sightseeing International Travel Agency also pays attention to service details. " Through Thailand students who study in China, we have learned about the habits of tourists. Especially in terms of catering, proper arrangements are necessary to avoid" pitfalls ". Wei Hongli said that Thai tourists like to eat hot pot, but do not like to eat beef, mutton, and viscera. When choosing a group meal, they will arrange a chicken hot pot." In addition, Thai tourists are not very fond of "stewed in iron pot" and will inquire in advance when arranging meals. The most special thing is that Thai tourists believe that dumplings are a dish rather than a staple food, so before returning to their home country, when arranging "dumplings for seeing off", the travel agency communicates with the restaurant to serve the dumplings with rice.

Intensively cultivate the content to "well play" all-time and all-region tour

Consolidate the position of Ice City as the first foothold

In winter, if you come to Harbin for tourism, there will be the Ice and Snow World, the Sun Island Snow Expo, and you can also go to the Snow Village and Yabuli... How to plan the itinerary for summer tour groups in Harbin? This year, Wei Hongli encountered the "troubles of happiness", and more exciting programs enriched the tourism projects of the Ice City &Summer Capital, supporting Harbin to play a all-time and all-region tour.

"For example, the first day's itinerary focuses on the Central Street and Architectural Art Square area, and then going to the riverbank in the evening," said Wei Hongli. Night tour of Songhua River, flood control memorial tower square to watch light shows, also a large-scale river reality performance show called "Meet in Harbin" on Sun Island, and the Harbin Ice and Snow World Dream Ice and Snow Museum that is about to welcome guests... This summer's tourism projects are added to the itinerary one by one, and sometimes it's really not easy to make choices." Wei Hongli said, "Traveling in Harbin is not just about taking photos and marking, but also about allowing tourists to come in and see, with more experience and immersion, in order to achieve 'all peak seasons'."

The role of Harbin as the top destination for tourism is becoming increasingly important. Harbin has a significant effect on attracting foreign tourists, driving tourist resources to radiate to other scenic spots in the province. Overseas groups usually have an 8-day itinerary, staying in Harbin for 2 to 3 days, and then going to places such as Yichun, Mohe, and Jingbo Lake. "Compared with neighboring provinces, the attractiveness of Harbin has become increasingly apparent." Wei Hongli said, "Due to the long distance, Southeast Asian tourists used to preferably land in Shenyang, Dalian, and other places. Now, the number of tourists choosing to enter from Harbin and then going to Shenyang, Dalian, and Changbai Mountains is gradually increasing, forming a pattern of tourism travel centered around Harbin and radiating to the three northeastern provinces."

In the face of the "all-time and all-region" tourism market in Harbin, international travel agencies in Harbin are also preparing. "In fact, foreign tourists also avoid our peak season, such as when China enters the summer peak in July and August, foreign tourists actively stagger the peak." Wei Hongli said, "May, June, September and October usher in the peak season for foreign tourists". From "one peak season" to "all peak seasons", she can no longer just make reservations before peak hours like before. "Based on the annual passenger flow, she should prepare her itinerary, accommodation, and travel reservations in advance. First, she should be prepared to pick up the tour, especially for the reserve and training of tour guides. If there are no personnel available now, there may be no one to lead the tour group". Wei Hongli believes that the upcoming winter tourism in Harbin will definitely be popular, which is also push back the travel agency to prepare for the entire process of group reception.