As the May Day holiday approaches, the new season of the "Jiangsu Super League" is in full swing, driving a continuous surge in cultural and tourism consumption across Jiangsu. At the Suzhou Science and Technology Museum, parents guide their children through exhibition halls, exploring the endless mysteries of the micro world. In the Changzhou China Dinosaur Park, visitors board motion seats in the 4D cinema to "travel" back to the Cretaceous period and "interact" closely with prehistoric giants. On Yangzhou's canal cruise boats, tourists immerse themselves in nighttime light shows and live performances, experiencing the profound historical and cultural heritage of the "World Canal Capital." Aboard Nanjing's Yangtze River cruise ships, passengers enjoy cool river breezes while marveling at the majestic Yangtze River Bridge, always hoping for an encounter with finless porpoises.
Stimulating consumption serves as a crucial lever for expanding domestic demand, with cultural and tourism consumption being a significant indicator of consumption upgrading. In the term "cultural tourism," culture comes first as the soul, while tourism follows as the vehicle. The timeless verse by Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai, "Setting off for Yangzhou in the third month of blossoms," transformed Yangzhou into a poetic symbol that has attracted countless literati throughout history. Currently, promoting the deep integration of culture and tourism represents both the necessary path for high-quality development of modern tourism and an essential means to unleash consumption potential and meet people's aspirations for a better life. Only by insisting on using culture to shape tourism and tourism to highlight culture can we achieve cultural enhancement of tourism's内涵 and tourism's activation of cultural resources.
In igniting new momentum for cultural and tourism consumption, Jiangsu's practical explorations in recent years have proven quite successful. The comprehensively popular "Jiangsu Super League" stands as a typical case study. Fans and tourists follow the matches across regions, engaging in cross-regional mobility and cross-sector consumption, forming a pattern of "sports events driving visitor flow, cultural tourism consumption realizing value." With the boost of numerous viral trends, through low-ticket pricing strategies and mass participation, the "Jiangsu Super League" has achieved a leverage effect where "1 yuan ticket price drives 7.3 yuan in peripheral consumption," effectively converting traffic dividends into significant local economic growth.
Following the lead of the "Jiangsu Super League," other regional football leagues like "Jiangxi Super League," "Hunan Super League," and "Sichuan Super League" have successively joined the landscape of mass football competitions. In recent years, various local cultural tourism initiatives have frequently gained viral popularity. However, transitioning from being an internet sensation to maintaining long-term popularity, and converting temporary traffic into sustained visitor retention, proves challenging. Pursuing sustainable and healthy development paths represents a common goal for cultural tourism industries across regions. This requires continuously enriching the内涵of cultural tourism products and enhancing the quality of cultural tourism services.
Taking China Dinosaur Park as an example, it has not only accommodated the massive visitor flow brought by the "Jiangsu Super League" but also seized the opportunity to launch celebrity dinosaur characters like "Jiaojiao" and "Jiangjiang," developing series of IP merchandise such as "Dinosaur Sister," while using digital technology to reconstruct blended virtual-real experiences. By actively creating diverse contextualized cultural creative consumption scenarios, it has achieved transformation from "ticket economy" to "full industrial chain" operations.
Many regions possess distinctive natural landscapes and cultural characteristics. Converting these into lasting tourism吸引力 requires adaptation to local conditions. Precisely refining regional cultural symbols, fully activating their contemporary value, and dynamically integrating narratives into present-day life can help further diversify cultural tourism formats, create premium cultural tourism brands and routes, and avoid homogeneous competition.
Yangzhou has cultivated canal culture for many years, launching the "Grand Canal Yangzhou" ancient canal walking boat performance project in October 2024. The show has now exceeded 4,000 performances, with tickets becoming difficult to obtain during peak seasons. Through segments like "Entering Yangzhou's Dream," "King Wu Opening the Canal," "Sui-Tang Canal Initiation," "Kang-Qian Grand Canal," and "Lasting Good Fortune," the performance condenses Yangzhou's 2,500-year history. Innovative cultural tourism formats create visual feasts that refresh traditional cultural IPs while unlocking new consumption scenarios.
When exploring cultural tourism integration paths, regions must particularly handle the relationship between cultural heritage protection and activation. Historic urban districts and traditional villages with historical cultural value represent irreplaceable precious resources. As the saying goes, "One Guangling Road contains half of Yangzhou's history." As the inaugural project of the Guangling Road renewal initiative, the "Gangling Has Salt" block's successful experience in protecting and utilizing cultural heritage buildings like the Erfen Moon Tower undoubtedly offers valuable lessons. The block completely preserves the ancient city's fabric and salt merchant heritage while injecting contemporary public services and commercial functions into old buildings, reintegrating historical remains into the daily lives of residents and tourists, effectively driving cultural tourism consumption upgrades.
Tourists' cultural tourism experiences not only concern local image but also relate to high-quality cultural tourism development. When visitors feel the warmth of being treated as honored guests, they spend money more satisfied and comfortably. As the "smallest sponsor" of the first "Jiangsu Super League" hosted in Changzhou, "Dongha·Northeast Street Barbecue," though a small establishment, has gained widespread fame. Proprietor Zhang Jingyu's statement perhaps reveals the secret: "Many friends from other cities come to our shop to check in. We hope to serve them with our best efforts." Once reputation is established, visitors from all directions will keep coming continuously. Providing consumers with better experiences remains an ongoing process without conclusion.
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