In the second summer after the small town of Zibo became popular, the tourism market gradually returned to rationality. On August 14th, Beijing Business Daily reporters learned from major hotels and homestay businesses in Zibo that this summer, the tourism accommodation market in Zibo is not as hot as last year. The occupancy rate of some hotels is only 60% -70%, and the source of customers is mainly within the province. The situation of tourists from first tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou flocking to try new things last year is no longer present. However, the popularity of "Zibo Barbecue" is still maintained, and many businesses are as busy as last year, with queues still needed to wait in stores during peak hours. Although the popularity of different business formats varies, the interviewed merchants all expressed that "clear distinction between peak and off peak seasons" is a problem that needs to be faced. For how to improve off-season operations and attract more tourists, some hotels plan to lower prices to attract customers, homestay villages will create more entertainment scenes such as amusement parks, and barbecue businesses will launch seasonal dishes and winter hot pot. The weekend occupancy rate is around 60%. This summer, Zibo, which was once popular overnight for "barbecue", seems to have cooled down slightly, and the tourism market is gradually returning to rationality. The occupancy rate of chain hotels has decreased compared to the same period last year. Xu Zhengzhe, the head of operations for Huazhu Group in Luzhong Province, said that the summer season is a relatively high period for hotel occupancy in Zibo. However, this year's hotel booking volume and occupancy rate have declined compared to the same period last year, and there has been no shortage of supply in the market in May and June last year. The Tanxi Mountain High altitude Hotel in the Tanxi Mountain Tourist Resort, a national 4A level scenic spot, did not experience the expected peak in passenger flow. Liu Yanni, the manager of Tanxi Mountain High altitude Hotel, said that the hotel has 10 rooms, and since entering the summer, an average of 3-5 rooms can be booked per day. In recent days, hotel occupancy rates have increased, with weekend occupancy rates around 60%. In terms of prices, summer housing prices remained unchanged from usual and no adjustments were made. When it comes to the hotel's source of customers, Liu Yanni said that 60% of the hotel's tourists come from within Shandong Province, with most tourists traveling from Qingdao and Jinan to Zibo for vacation. Last year, a considerable number of tourists came from first tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. From the perspective of customer group composition, about 80% of tourists during weekends and summer vacations are parent-child customers. Focusing on the homestay market, "this summer, the popularity of the homestay market is not as high as the period when it 'went viral' last year. Han Xinying, the homestay administrator of Hanjiawo Village, Nanjiao Town, Zhoucun District, Zibo City, admitted that from July 13th to the end of the month, homestays were basically fully booked, but after entering August, the occupancy rate began to decline. Recalling the early days of Zibo's popularity, in early April 2023, it was difficult to find a single room for homestays in the village, and the occupancy rate could reach 100%. This booming trend lasted for nearly four months. According to data from Tujia Homestay, the booking volume for homestays in Zibo this summer remained the same as the same period last year. Under the support of the peak summer tourism season, Zibo has welcomed a large number of tourists, but the overall traffic is not as high as last year's "out of the circle" period, and the Zibo accommodation market is returning to rationality. Summer barbecue still requires queuing, which is different from accommodation businesses. For catering businesses in Zibo, the decrease in popularity is not significant. From the perspective of our store operations, we don't really feel the industry cooling down because the daily busy situation is similar to last year's hottest period from April to June Huang Guanhua, the person in charge of Zibo barbecue at Fireworks Lane, told Beijing Business Daily reporters. Every morning at 10 o'clock? Around 00, Huang Guanhua and the staff in the store were about to start preparing fresh meat and fruit charcoal for grilling. Entering summer vacation, although the official business hours of the store are 12 noon? 00, but many tourists from other places will call early to ask if they need to queue up, if they can share tables, etc. Huang Guanhua said that the peak queuing time in Fireworks Alley during summer is basically 19? 00—21? 00, the longest waiting time is around 20 minutes, and the shortest is 5-10 minutes. Bao Xiuying, the person in charge of Huangsangbaokeng Barbecue, also stated that the reception of customers in the restaurant this summer is not much different from last year. Generally, the peak queuing period is at noon? 00 and 6 in the evening? 00, the weekend passenger flow is greater than that on weekdays. Since July, as the weather gets hotter, the dining time for each table's guests will be relatively shortened, resulting in an increase in the turnover rate, and the work pace and queue time will also correspondingly increase In response, Huang Guanhua recruited 2-3 summer workers in all four stores to increase manpower and improve service efficiency. From the search data on the platform, it can also be seen that the public's longing and enthusiasm for Zibo barbecue are still maintained. The WeChat index shows that the index value of the keyword "Zibo Barbecue" rose from 27918 to 552842 from July 28th to August 3rd. In Huang Guanhua's impression, the customer calls he received were from both Shandong Province and other places such as Beijing, Tianjin, Henan, Guangxi, and Sichuan. Bao Xiuying also received many tourists from other provinces and even foreign countries. The farthest domestic tourists come from Guangdong, while foreign tourists come from the United States. Overall, the proportion of tourists from outside Shandong Province can reach 40%. Behind the continued popularity of barbecue in Zibo, the attractiveness of affordable and high-quality "small towns" to tourists is increasing day by day. On the Dianping app, the average consumption per person at the Fireworks Lane main store located in the Eight Bureaus is only 57 yuan, while the average consumption per person at Huang Sangpan Pit Barbecue is 70 yuan. The platform data also highlights this trend. According to Meituan's cultural and tourism data on July 19th, the sinking market with more cost-effective and niche attributes is showing active performance, with the number of cultural and tourism bookings (including accommodation, transportation, tickets, etc.) in counties across the country increasing by more than 22 times compared to the previous month in July and August. According to the "2024 Homestay Summer Vacation Report" released by Mu Niao Homestay, "Small Town Relaxation Tour" is favored by "post-95s" tourists in first and second tier cities. Despite taking multiple measures to cope with the off-season, barbecue and accommodation businesses in Zibo have stated that there is a clear peak and off peak flow of customers in their stores. Huang Guanhua said that after entering the autumn and winter season, the customer flow in the store will decrease significantly. Due to the generally low selling price of barbecue in Zibo, barbecue merchants generally accumulate the meager profit from each skewer of barbecue through a "volume based" sales approach during peak seasons, and use it to maintain their stores in winter. According to informed sources, there are many factors that affect the operation of barbecue restaurants, and they also rely heavily on the overall environment. Therefore, some barbecue restaurants may experience losses during the off-season, and even close directly in winter, waiting until the peak season to reopen. Regarding this, Huang Guanhua stated that barbecue restaurants will offer a variety of dishes based on the season, such as winter seasonal dishes, as well as various types of dining such as hot pot and hotpot, to cater to the taste needs of more customers. Similarly, when talking about off-season operations, Han Xinying admitted that there are tourists visiting Hanjiawo Village all year round, but the occupancy rate still drops significantly during the off-season. Therefore, in recent years, the village has been continuously increasing its online promotion efforts and operating accounts on short video platforms. At the same time, the village has also added numerous recreational activities, such as camping sites and internet celebrity check-in spots. In the future, there are plans to build an amusement park in the village to attract more families with children to come for vacation. Lowering prices to attract customers is also one of the means for some businesses to cope with the off-season. After the end of summer vacation, the traditional off-season in the tourism market will come, and hotels will make corresponding adjustments in room prices. Liu Yanni also mentioned that a good tourist experience is also a key focus of hotel layout. With the joint efforts of many businesses, they also have confidence in the development of Zibo's cultural and tourism industry. Huang Guanhua said, "The decrease in passenger flow does not mean that no one has come to eat barbecue. Many well-established old stores will accumulate a group of their own diners, who will often visit in winter. At the same time, there are still many tourists willing to go to Zibo to try barbecue and other delicacies, and also willing to understand and experience Zibo's life and cultural characteristics.". (New Society)