The report of the 19th National Congress of the CPC put forward a new task of implementing the new development concept, and building a modern economic system. We should pursue supply-side structural reform as our main task, and work hard for better quality, higher efficiency, and more robust drivers of economic growth through reform. We need to raise total factor productivity and accelerate the building of an industry system that promotes coordinated development of the real economy with technological innovation, modern finance, and human resources. This clearly points out the direction and path of development of the industrial economy ofChina.
Tourism is a creative, innovative and active industry. In recent years, the high growth rate ofChina's tourism industry and the development of whole-area tourism have driven the tourism industry to a new development stage. The current background includes the new deployment of the central government on the construction of a modern economic system, new changes in industrial organization and production methods brought about by technological innovation, model breakthroughs, institutional changes, the rapid advancement of new urbanization has new demand on the comprehensive function of tourism industry, and the in-depth development of whole-area tourism. As a result, it’s an urgent need to take a comprehensive plan and make systematic advancement for the development of the tourism industry from the perspective of a modern industrial economy based on the characteristics and influence of the new economic environment and new consumption trends. The competition of tourism industry shall go from competition in general resource elements, in specific projects and in enterprise innovation, to competition in the innovation ecosystem for the tourism industry to provide sustainable driving force and guarantee for raising the overall development level of China's tourism industry, and promote the tourism industry to transform from a traditional service industry to a modern service industry The industry innovation ecosystem mainly focuses on the collaborative and interactive, open and cycling, and interdependent and evolutionary relationships between various innovation groups (enterprises, higher learning institutions, research institutions, and intermediaries), and between them and the innovation environment. The fundamental objective is to promote continuous emerging of innovations, and promote the economy to achieve high quality development under guidance of the sustainable development concept.
RegardingChina's building of an innovation ecosystem for the tourism industry, the key contents and paths mainly include the following aspects:
Firstly, promote technology innovation in the tourism industry. We should well seize the opportunity that China is vigorously pushing forward technological innovation, take good advantage of the innovation and entrepreneurship promoting policies, and clearly establish the core technology system for China's tourism industry, and make good efforts to promote comprehensive innovation of tourism equipment industry technology, tourism service management technique, and tourism consumption information technology, so as to provide a power engine for innovative development of China's tourism industry.
Secondly, optimize supply of tourism industry policy. The government's precise policy and high-level innovation governance are the key to the government's role in leading and serving the tourism industry In the context that China is deepening supply side structural reforms, and accelerating "power delegation, administration and services" reform, competent governmental agencies need to continuously strengthen policy study and innovation governance, and to conduct more active exploration and practice in such aspects as institutional innovation in the tourism industry, and acceptance and support for technology innovation and model innovation in the tourism industry.
Thirdly, improve the guiding role of think tanks in the tourism industry. Industry research and development institutions and industry think tanks are one of the important industry innovation groups. Therefore, stress should be laid on improving their applied research capability regarding their development practice in the tourism industry. In such aspects as industry technology research and development, development of industry policies, development of industry standards, industry operation consultation, and building of an industry-university-research collaborative innovation platform, internally, industry research and development institutions and industry think tanks should play a guiding and linking role, and externally, they should well serve the function of tourism subjects setting, and dissemination of tourism discourses.
Fourthly, foster and enhance the main energy level of the tourism industry. First, we should improve tourism enterprises' core capability and competition capability by continued brand-oriented and standardized building. Especially, we need to cultivate and improve the international development capability and energy level of leisure tourism enterprise groups with relatively big international influence. Second, we should give full play to the operation and influence of domestic non-leisure tourism enterprises in international leisure tourism market. Third, we should accelerate attracting and gathering of regional headquarters of world's well-known leisure tourism enterprises or high end functional institutions taking advantage of the opportunity that China is expanding external opening up, and building an open economic system.
Fifthly, strengthen guarantee of the key elements of industry capital and talents. Sufficient and high quality industry capital investment is an important support for the transformation and innovation of the tourism industry. Currently inChina, there are not many investment institutions of a relative large size that focus on investment in relation to transformation and innovation of the tourism industry. For this purpose,Chinaneeds to further improve the investment and financing support system for the tourism industry, and attract and support clustering of investment institutions related to the tourism industry. Meanwhile,Chinaneeds to take more effective measures in such aspects as talents development policies and development environment, so as to attract, foster and build a squad of creative entrepreneurs, professional managers, venture investors, and professionals with high service skills, and strive to achieve coordinated development of tourism-related human resources and the tourism industry.
Sixthly, build a social organizations service system for the development of the tourism industry. We should support various social organizations, including various associations, chambers of commerce, industry associations, and civil non-enterprise entities, to provide abundant and practical innovation and entrepreneurship promoting services, and capability-lifting special consultation services, for enterprises in the tourism industry. These are indispensable social resources for innovation and development of the tourism industry. Currently, we need to accelerate cultivating and developing social organizations with specialized service capability and a professional spirit, so as to help link various innovation promoting elements, and give a better play to their industry innovation promoting functions.
Seventhly, build an international innovation cooperation network in the tourism industry. To strengthen international innovation cooperation is a necessary path to integrate into the global innovation network, and generally utilize international and domestic innovation resources. We should guide domestic industry capital to strengthen investment into and acquisition of foreign high quality medium and small-sized enterprises in the leisure tourism area, and cooperate with relevant foreign enterprises and institutions to promote transformation and upgrade of domestic leisure and tourism industry parks, and scenic areas. We should take active initiative to establish international organizations like the World Tourism Alliance (WTA) strengthen communication and cooperation with well-known media and authoritative organizations, and plan and hold global tourism industry innovation development forum, festivals, competitions, and other similar events, so as to establish global influence, and promote multi-level international cooperation.
By promoting the establishment of collaborative and interactive, open and cycling, and interdependent and evolutionary relationship between various tourism-related innovative entities, innovation elements, and innovation environment, and by accelerating the construction of an innovation system for the tourism industry, we can effectively promote China's tourism industry to go on a path of innovation-driven high quality development, which is of high significance for raising the position of China's tourism industry in the global tourism industry value chain, and gives better play to the tourism industry’s role as a comprehensive industry.
(The author Li Meng is a researcher of Shanghai Academy, and the chief expert for industry economy research projects)
