Tourism companies look to revitalize industry

Travel operators in Shanghai are launching revitalization plans to spur the tourism industry in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Shanghai-based online travel giant Trip.com announced a travel revival plan by investing 1 billion yuan (US$144 million) with hundreds of destinations and some 10,000 tourism suppliers.

The plan will involve destination government authorities, airlines, hotels, travel agencies and tourist attraction operators, said Sun Bo, chief marketing officer of Trip.com.

"The strategy is a cooperation with global tourism authorities to help users have an in-depth impression of destination tourism information by a 'cloud tourism' model, and a raft of accurate promotion activities during peak travel periods like the summer vacation and the National Day holiday in October in preparation for a rebound," he said.

Tourism authorities in 29 provinces such as Guizhou, Henan and Jiangxi and cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou have echoed the plan, Trip.com said.

To deal with the impact of the outbreak, Trip.com has launched presales of admissions to some 300 scenic spots, air tickets, accommodation and tour packages for 1,000 tourist routes which can be used anytime within the year, with free refunds offered for expiry or cancellation, to tackle the funding woes of its tourism partners.

Shanghai Spring Tour, which suffered more than 400 million yuan in losses due to the epidemic, launched a weeklong presales event on Thursday. Tourist attraction admissions, accommodation and air tickets are included.

Outskirt tours to places like Chongming, Qingpu and Jinshan districts and walking tours in downtown Shanghai are also on the list.