The Beijing News, Written by Tong Na

Original article：http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2024-08/08/content_847022.htm?div=-1

Huang Xin, Chairman of Wintour Information Technology Co., Ltd., and member of the Hotel Specialty Committee of the National Tourism Vocational Education and Teaching Steering Committee

The Cultural Tourism Industry: One of the World's Largest Economic Sectors 

Digital cultural tourism is an essential component of the digital economy and a key element in the construction of a digital China. As digital cultural tourism rapidly expands across the country, hotels have become an indispensable part of this growth. However, as the saying goes, "knowing is easy, doing is difficult." In today's fast-changing societal environment, how can the hotel industry both seek immediate gains and enhance its sustainable development capacity? This has become a significant challenge.

As a leader in the domestic digital cultural tourism industry, providing digital marketing and operational management services, and as a well-known expert in digital transformation in the field of tourism education, Dr. Huang Xin, Chairman of Wintour Information Technology Co., Ltd., and member of the Hotel Specialty Committee of the National Tourism Vocational Education and Teaching Steering Committee, has summarized five major challenges facing domestic digital cultural tourism: adaptability to cutting-edge technology, diversified integration of culture and tourism, information security, balancing commerce with culture, and cultivating interdisciplinary digital talents. Among these, the cultivation of interdisciplinary digital talents is the core development factor.

Hotels' Homogeneous Products and the Vitality of Local Cultural Integration

Dr. Huang believes that the hotel industry suffers from severe product homogeneity. However, if local cultural experiences can be integrated into products and services, and displayed, promoted, and operated through digital technology, hotels will exhibit strong vitality. For the youth, digital cultural tourism presents a sector full of future possibilities and growth potential. Whether we can cultivate interdisciplinary digital talents will be crucial in determining if China's cultural tourism industry can leverage digital transformation to achieve rapid development, contribute to the enhancement of the national image, and tell China's story effectively. This requires joint efforts from the government, universities, and enterprises. The "Wintour Cup" National College Hotel Digital Marketing Competition, hosted by Dr. Huang and his company for three consecutive years, is an initiative aimed at cultivating interdisciplinary digital talents. 

Profile

Huang Xin
Ph.D. in Hotel and Tourism Management from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, member of the Yangjiang Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Guangdong Province, Chairman of Guangzhou Wintour Information Technology Co., Ltd., member of the Hotel Management Professional Committee of the National Tourism Vocational Education and Teaching Steering Committee, Director and Network Relations Director of the Asia-Pacific Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education, and senior expert in digital marketing and operations. Dr. Huang is also a veteran expert in the digital transformation of tourism education.

Representative Works:

•  "Customer Relationship Management in the Hotel and Tourism Industry: Based on Digital Operations"  
•  "Marketing in the Hotel and Tourism Industry: Based on Digital Innovation"  
•  "Digital Marketing in Tourism and Hotels"  
•  "Introduction to Hotel Digital Operations"  
•  "Big Data Applications in Tourism and Hotel Industry"  
•  "Hotel Financial Management"

Interview

The Beijing News: You've highlighted the challenges faced by the digital cultural tourism industry and placed the cultivation of "interdisciplinary digital talents" as a core development element. What are the urgent needs in this area?

Huang Xin: Firstly, digital cultural tourism leverages digital technology to develop, promote, and operate tourism activities such as "food, accommodation, transportation, travel, shopping, and entertainment" through the diversified integration of culture and tourism. The aim is to enhance tourists' participation and experience. This is a very interdisciplinary new operational model, which urgently requires the cultivation of interdisciplinary digital talents. Stakeholders such as the government, industry, and educational institutions need to pay strategic attention to this and work together to nurture talent.

Secondly, digital cultural tourism involves the flow of people, products, information, capital, and data. Traditional hotels primarily focus on the flow of people, but they must also engage in other aspects, utilizing digital technology to integrate culture and tourism. Some hotels have already begun to transform into cultural and leisure destinations, but this is not enough. Digitalization is needed to create intersections among people, products, information, capital, and data. This aligns with the development direction advocated by new production forces, and the cultivation of interdisciplinary digital talents who can drive these new production forces is very urgent.

The Beijing News: Should more international cooperation be pursued in the development of interdisciplinary digital talents?

Huang Xin: As the Network Relations Director of the Asia-Pacific Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education, responsible for international exchanges, I deeply feel that China’s cultural tourism industry has made significant progress in digital transformation. It is fully capable of going global through new models of international cooperation. China’s tourism education can achieve rapid development by assimilating advanced industry experience. This year, the tourism digital marketing virtual simulation system and course content developed by Wintour have been applied in teaching at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, one of the world's leading institutions. Research from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University shows that Wintour’s new educational technology and methods bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, significantly contributing to the development of students' key abilities and the soft skills required by the industry. This is a breakthrough example. We should pursue more international cooperation to promote the global development of China’s digital cultural tourism industry.

Reported by The Beijing News