Luxury train "test water" high -end game: Is it worth 10,000 yuan votes?

High -end train tour is a novel product that meets needs

But most of the domestic tourism ranks mostly

Stay at the level of integration of primary and rough

Sitting on the driving train, the grasslands, lakes, euphratica, Gobi Xu Xu passed by the window, and the scenery of oil painting was in front of the eyes; inside the window, there were delicate decoration and delicious meals. This is Meng Tian's imagination of luxury tourism.

In June of this year, she and her mother got on the Xinjiang Express in Xinjiang, purchased "Upgrade Blue Diamond" at a price of 30999 yuan/person -a double -person carriage made after folding the original four -person compartments and making it. Essence A total of 17 days, from the north to southern Xinjiang, China's largest inland freshwater throughout the lavender flower sea, the lavender flower sea of ​​Narati, the strange Tianshan mysterious Grand Canyon, the restaurant with the Western region, and the Tajik people can sing and dance well. The men and women all made Meng Tian feel "there is no regret in this trip."

Meng Tian stayed in the New Oriental Express's "Upgrade Blue Diamond" compartment, and the trainer introduced her. Photo/Interviewee provided

The natural beauty of Xinjiang left a deep impression on Meng Tian, ​​but she felt that the tourist line was more like a means of transport. Foreign abroad is a common way to travel. The California Breeze in the United States and the four seasons of Japan are well -known luxury trains. In China, there are also prices such as panda trains such as thousands of dollars, but high -end train tours are lacking.

The New Oriental Express created by the Urumqi Railway Bureau was put into operation from 1999. It has previously been opened to overseas tourists and has only opened its domestic markets in recent years. Qian Japanese, the person in charge of the New Oriental Express Operation Fang Huayun Cultural Tourism, told China News Weekly, "New Oriental Express has been sold in October, and the itinerary of October has not yet been introduced, but the" golden diamond "compartment of 64 seats in total is booked. More than 40 places. "

On July 3rd, another high -end tourist train Hulunbuir first launched from Harbin. The five -day and four -night trip covered the grassland, forests, and volcanic landscapes. It was only 44 people and the price was 20999-26999 yuan/person. The founder Liu Jianbin on the ship took the Hulunbuir at the end of June. He believed that the high -end train tour was an innovation, but the details of the itinerary still needed to be polished.

The domestic tourism industry has rebounded recently, and high -end tourism has also risen rapidly. Zhou Mingqi, the founder of Jingjian Think Tank, the industrial economic consulting agency, told China News Weekly that the tourism industry has been more bleak in the past few years. Luxury train tour is supplemented by market demand.

Ten 10,000 yuan fare, is it worth?

Meng Tian and her mother boarded the New Oriental Express on June 7 in Urumqi. Shortly after she returned to China, she was attracted by this high -end train two years ago, but because the epidemic has not been able to do it. This time, she and her mother signed up quickly.

Before boarding the car, Meng Tian took a group photo with the New Oriental Express, with an Ukrauria logo on his body. Photo/Interviewee provided

她们从乌鲁木齐出发，一路经过奎屯、伊犁、库车、北屯等地，此时正是伊犁草原生长旺盛的季节，从车窗望出去，蓝天与草地疾驰而过，蓝、白、绿、黄, Gray and harmoniously presented in the same scenery.

Yining Grassland is magnificent, Meng Tian is in it, and feels particularly small. For 17 days, she traveled through the shallow water bay and walked across the mysterious Grand Canyon of Tianshan. Gobi along the way made her feel a "indifferent beauty". In the lake back against the desert, she saw a black swan is fishing. She thinks this is a very worthwhile journey.

In terms of the experience of the journey itself, the experience brought by this way of travel is brand new. At the end of June, Liu Jianbin, the founder of the shipbar, was invited to experience the "Volcanic Forest Grassland Tour" by the Hulunbuir. Affected by the epidemic in Beijing and Shanghai, there were only a dozen guests at the time. The travel fare of the five -day and four nights of the Hulunbuir summer is 20999 yuan/person to 26999 yuan/person. Liu Jianbin stays in the Supreme Purple Gold House with the highest price and an area of ​​12.1 square meters, with an average of about 5,400 yuan per person per day. There are two single beds and wet and wet toilets in Zijin Room.

Summer is not the most magnificent season in the local area. On the whole journey, he was most impressed by a sunset dinner in the car. On the train to the completion of the construction station, the grassland outside the window can occasionally see sheep and cattle. Butter bibimbap, various experiences make him unforgettable.

However, for Meng Tian, ​​the way to travel in the future may not choose the "luxury trains" again.

During the 17 -day trip, Meng Tian only lived in the car for four or five nights, and the rest of the time was arranged in a local star hotel or a homestay. The 17 -day tour of the New Oriental Express has three seats: blue diamonds, upgraded blue diamonds, and gold diamonds. The price is 22999 yuan, 30999 yuan and 42999 yuan per person. Meng Tian and her mother chose to upgrade the blue diamond, with an average of about 1823 yuan per person per day.

Unlike ordinary trains, the New Oriental Express has the "steward" service. Meng Tian said that more than 20 people in the blue diamond car are responsible for one "housekeeper", and each attraction is also accompanied by another place. "The housekeeper brought a lot of local groups for many years, knowing the local area." On her birthday, the housekeeper sent her cake and camel dolls.

What is satisfied with Meng Yun is that the operator has arranged personnel reception in various places. In Kuitun, a small -scale travel opening meeting was prepared locally. In Kashgar, the operator invited the local song and dance group to welcoming national costumes and danced national dances. She also remembers a Kashgar restaurant arranged by the operator. The hall is brilliant, the dome is towering, and the characteristics of the Western region are rich. She likes these lively activities. Compared with a pleasant journey, it is still inconvenient to travel. Because there are only gold diamonds with independent toilets and shower rooms, blue diamonds and upgrade of blue diamonds each car to share a toilet and shower room, and bathing sometimes needs to line up. "Bathing time is allocated according to the box, but basically no one obeys it, and it is lined up."

The Hulunbuir is the most expensive Supreme Purple Gold Room with two single beds with an area of ​​12 square meters. There is an independent bathroom indoors. Photo/Interviewee provided

The entertainment carriage of the train can drink and sing K. The internal decoration is quite simple. A small screen TV is equipped with a microphone and speakers. There are only sofas and two dwarf coffee tables. There is no dazzling light in the bar. What surprised her was that singing K had to charge, 30 yuan per person, and the free wine provided was only canned Wusu.

The space of the carriage is also limited. Meng Tian's mother and daughter stayed in the blue diamond box, less than 10 square meters. Meng Tian said that upgrading the blue diamond box is exactly the same as the high -end soft sleeper layout of other ordinary trains, but the furnishings are more refined. Although Meng Tian bought a "upgrade of blue diamonds", which is different from the four -person room of ordinary blue diamonds and enjoys a double private room on the train, it is consistent with the "blue diamond" guests on the floor -ground hotel. This disappointed Meng Tian, ​​and she felt that the money spent did not reflect the value. Especially the number of New Oriental Express has a large number of people, and 204 people can be taken at full load, which is easy to bring pressure on management. "We live in the same hotel as Lan Diamond, and we have to grab the house with them." Meng Tian said.

Although the itinerary was 17 days and the way of trains and bus alternately, Meng Tian still felt that the schedule was very tight. One night, they arrived at the hotel at more than 12 o'clock in the evening. "The whole trip was very hurried, and later I was tired of being tired." Meng Tian said.

High -end tourism products limited

Qian Japanese first came into contact with the New Oriental Express in 2015. It was the first high -end train created by the Urumqi Railway Bureau. In March 2021, after the second -generation New Oriental Express of Wu Tie's transformation, Qian Riwen went to Xinjiang to inspect the car body. Due to the high cost of reconstruction and the impact of the epidemic on the tourism industry, the Huayun Cultural Tourism was launched in July 2021 to launch the first route of New Oriental Express to face the domestic market.

His Huayun Cultural Tourism Group has been engaged in tourism lines for more than ten years. In the past, the reason for the popularity of tourism was "cost -effective." Qian Riwen said that because the train tour can save part of the hotel's accommodation, it has always been welcomed by middle -aged and elderly people.

However, he gradually captured the changes in the needs of the tourism market. Guests are gradually inclined to in -depth tour with a long time and rich content, and from the pursuit of cost -effectiveness to focusing on the sense of experience. The trains of Huayun Cultural Tourism can reach six or seven hundred people in the past, but now, some customers prefer the products of customized groups and small -scale groups.

Zhou Mingqi, the founder of Jingjian think tank, believes that due to the wide places in the western region of China, the distance between points and points is far away. Especially in the counties where some tourist attractions are located, high -end accommodation products are lacking, and luxury trains can fill the gap in the high -end tourism market.

"The biggest advantage of train tour is to be able to travel by one line, and use a variety of transportation methods such as trains and cars to save travel time." Qian Japanese said, "Xinjiang's north -south span is large. If you only use cars, the pressure will be very large. ","

"In Xinjiang, the speed of the train is better than the car. The speed of the train is 120 ~ 160 km/h, and the car will be limited to 40 ~ 60 km/h. In addition, high -end special passengers enter the station and wait for the green channel to take the green channel. Save a lot of time. "In addition, he said that the tourist train can currently reach the railway station closest to the scenic area. This is the advantage of cars. For example, ordinary tourists go to the Cocoito Sea Scenic Area to drive from Kanas for five or six hours, but the special line can drive directly to the nearest railway station to the scenic spot. After getting off the train, it only takes 40 minutes to reach the scenic area.

In July and July, when tourism in Xinjiang entered the peak season and tourists were full, Kanas people were full, but the guests of the New Oriental Express took the VIP channel and took one stop in the scenic area to enter the scenic area by passing through the scenic area. "The cost of spending five or six thousand yuan per car. Even the ticket check is responsible for our staff, and there are many links in the middle." Qian Japanese said.

Although the train tour has an advantage in the itinerary, Qian Japanese also acknowledged that as a new product, the operator is still exploring how to do high -end special columns. He recalled that when the first departure, many luggage was taken by the guests by themselves; starting from the second trip, before the guests boarded the car, all luggage sent the train box directly through the logistics staff. In terms of operating high -end tourism products, domestic operators are still gradually improving.

High -end tourism products focus on experience and need to be polished in detail. This is the biggest difference from cheap tourism products, and it is also the shortcomings of the current high -end tourism market in China.

When Liu Jianbin and his party boarded the car at Xiangfang, Harbin, the operator arranged a violin accompaniment and introduced the history of the railway -this is the Dongqing Railway built a century ago. However, Liu Jianbin suggested that there should be more localized elements in the trip. The travel route of Hulunbuir is the famous Dongqing Railway in history. There are many historical and cultural heritage along the way. Many platforms have a long history. You can dig the cultural meaning behind it and transfer the scenes such as afternoon tea to the platform. He believes that in catering and activities, it is not necessarily Western -style, and Mongolian diet and snacks can also be provided to increase local unique cultural activities. When boarding the Hulunbuir, Liu Jianbin saw the interior scene of the restaurant. Photo/Interviewee provided

Liu Jianbin has been engaged in high -end tourism business for a long time. He believes that in the case of outbound travel, domestic high -end tourism products have limited supply. Although Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, etc. are affected by the epidemic to a certain extent, the market has generally recovered, bringing increased travel demand.

The first year of the new Oriental Express was affected by the epidemic in the first year of operation. Qian Qian revealed that last year, despite the good sales of the first few trips, due to the impact of the epidemic, client refund of Guangdong, Nanjing and other regions brought impact. The local epidemic also affects travel. In October last year, all New Oriental Express tourists have gathered in Urumqi, but in the end they are all returned. In the first half of this year, the refund of customers such as Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Beijing also affected the seat rate.

However, after the summer tourism industry recovered this year, the sales of New Oriental Express also increased. Qian Riwen introduced that this year's New Oriental Express has been sold to October this year. He believes that the New Oriental Express can get market recognition on the one hand because of the uniqueness of the product; on the other hand, the increase in domestic high -end tourism demand after outbound tourism has increased in high -end tourism purchasing power. There is a process to be accepted in the domestic market. "

Liu Zhaohui, the founder and chairman of Beijing Jianhui Group, told China News Weekly that in the past 5 years, even before the epidemic, the number of tourists in the Chinese scenic spot was in a general decline. The problem reflected is that the sales format of tourism tourism faces the rapid changes that cannot meet the consumer market, especially the young consumer market needs. High -end train tour is a novel product that meets the needs.

High investment costs, can the business model be profitable?

Although the high -end train tour is deeply sought after, its business model is still questioned, one of the reasons is its high cost.

A staff member of the Urumqi Railway Bureau, who is unknown, told China News Weekly that New Oriental Express is a star product that has been operating in the local area for many years and has good social and economic benefits. Foreign guests, so as to choose to transform the new car body and continue to operate the project.

The transformation was carried out in Qingdao. It lasted for a year, and the car body was transformed by 48 million yuan. The soft outfit spent more than 2 million yuan in the later period, and the overall exceeded 50 million yuan. The New Oriental Express uses the previous design. The above -mentioned staff revealed that the old car body is mainly used, and the furniture of the new car body is all solid wood. The details are also strengthened. Each car is equipped with a small refrigerator. The air conditioner is adjustable. The gold diamond bag is equipped with a safe. In appearance, it is specially brushed into a green leather train, which is intended to create a retro atmosphere.

This year, Huayun Cultural Tourism has obtained its operating qualifications through the Bid Merchants of the Urumqi Railway Bureau. In 2022, New Oriental Express plans to run 13 times. According to the existing information, the New Oriental Express is full of 204 people. Even with the cheapest blue diamond 22999 yuan/person calculation, the new Oriental Express's annual income is 60.99 million yuan. In other words, after planning the daily operating costs, only one year of running is full of loading, the New Oriental Express can recover the cost of the car body.

In contrast, Hulunbuir has a long way to make a long time due to high investment costs, short line days, and only 44 seats. The Hulunbuir officially launched on July 3 this year. It is a high -end tourist train jointly created by Fosun Cultural Tourism Star Tourism Train, Harbin Railway Bureau, and Hulunbuir City Government. The Hulunbuir operating Fang Xingjing Tourism once told the media that its transformation cost was close to 100 million yuan. If you run three times a month and run 36 times a year, the annual income is only 42.77 million yuan.

However, because tourism in the northwest and northeast regions is particularly obvious, it is not ruled out that the possibility of two trains will be suspended in the off -season of tourism. Coupled with the costs such as operations and subsequent renovation, the two trains are still under pressure to achieve profitability.

Qian Riwen said that even if it can be fulfilled, there are more than 60 million yuan in revenue each year, of which the cost of tickets paid by the operator to the Railway Bureau is still not enough to support the cost of the car body transformation. Coupled with the cost of personnel, hotel catering costs, and distribution costs of various travel agencies, operators' profits are only about 10 %.

The above -mentioned Wing Railway staff believes that the high -end train tour needs to be continuously operated to reach the income. Qian Riwen said that there is indeed pressure to recover the cost, but to create an iconic brand train, the effect of itself will also be higher than its short -term benefits.

In Liu Jianbin's view, the time for the four nights and five days of Hulunbuir was slightly shorter. To achieve a high -end experience and in -depth tourism, such as eight days and seven nights, the time of time can reflect the advantages of the train, can connect different destinations in series. Compared with conventional land tourism, it is irreplaceable, and the tourist experience will be richer. The higher the premium and the smaller the sales pressure. Even if the high -end train tour is not profitable in the short term, for the operator, it can also use this product to leverage other lines and talk with other places. Zhou Mingqi believes that after a sample is successful, it will help expand the operating network. If some cities in the west can be opened in the future, the overall business scale will be more favorable.

In some countries, high -end train tours have developed in a lot. Some insiders revealed that Hulunbuir learned from the "Kyushu Seven Stars" in Japan.

Japan officially proposed the "sightseeing country" policy in 2006. The railway company also cooperates. By integrating railway transportation services, entertainment services, hotels and other undertakings, it combines local tourism resources to create an additional effect. For example, the famous Kamakura River's electricity has also become a tourist attraction.

The Kyushu Seven Stars were launched in 2013. According to the "Toyo Economy" report, the special ranks were jointly produced by Kawasaki Heavy Industry, Hitachi and JR Kyushu, with production costs about 3 billion yen, which is about 155 million yuan. Compared with the domestic luxury special "explosive" green car, Kyushu Seven Stars are customized in construction and railway design. The interior is exquisite. The most expensive suite is full of glass for viewing.

There are 14 boxes in Kyushu Seven Stars, and the largest suite is about 21 square meters. The tourist route is traveling around Kyushu. Experience the charm of ceramics, hot springs, native wine and nature. However, the four -day and three -night trip is also quite expensive, with a price of 1.59 million yen per person to 2.09 million yen, or about RMB 81,000 to 106,000 yuan.

"The high -speed rail itself is a large traffic solution that can go through multiple tourist attractions and can re -organize the experience and consumption of tourism products." Liu Zhaohui believes that "the current domestic tourist ranks are mostly on the level of junior and rough integration levels. ","

Liu Zhaohui used a train tour in the Napa Valley in 2015. Tourists ate steaks and red wine on the train, and drove all the way into the valley famous winery. "The local cultural content not only becomes a thing that can be exhibited, but also the items that can be, touch, and consumed. The exquisite buildings and superior wines of the winery can attract tourists to consume and achieve a three -dimensional comprehensive experience."

This year, affected by the epidemic, the railway passenger market has been impacted. According to the data of the National Railway Administration, the number of railway passengers in the country in June this year was about 16,700, a decrease of 32 % from the same period last year. In the context of railway passenger landslides, the railway bureaus have launched tourism lines to enhance passenger capacity.

Some people in the industry have revealed that the Chinese railway department pays more attention to safety first. Generally speaking, the freight, high -speed rail, and ordinary passenger transportation are preferred. Travel lines are used as temporary plus cars, and the running timetable is often ranked at the end. In terms of vehicle body transformation, the tourism line also needs to take into account the safety of the train, and can only be transformed within a limited range.

Taking the New Oriental Express as an example, in the process of transformation, Wu Tie refers to the suggestions of curtain decoration, bedding, and washing supplies proposed by Huayun. The hardware reconstruction plan was finally determined by Wu Tie.

The tourism line is all cooperated with the Railway Bureau and the operator. Generally, the car body is provided by the railway bureau. Personnel, other housekeepers, land accompaniment, etc. are responsible for the operator. This requires the two parties to be closer in cooperation. According to industry insiders, companies under Fosun Cultural Travel also hired people who were responsible for dispatching in the railway system to understand the rules better.

Some places have gradually attached great importance to the tourism line. Taking the Urumqi Railway Bureau as an example, the New Oriental Express is its innovative product. Its staff told China News Weekly that except for the daily fixed flights, the timetable for the New Oriental Express this year is the best. "New Oriental Express is our star product. In order to ensure customer interests, we will give priority to New Oriental, try to ensure that tourists have sufficient ground playing time, and ensure that the train will come to the evening."

(At the request of the interviewee, Meng Tian is a pseudonym)

Send 2022.8.8 Total Issue 1055 "China News Weekly" magazine

Magazine Title: Deluxe Train "Test Water" high -end game: Is 10,000 yuan votes value?

Reporter: Jiang Yanyu ([email protected])

Operation editor: Xiao Ran

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