Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - Today Wuhan has restored passenger traffic by 50%, most hotels are ready to receive guests, and new hotels are also appearing. The industry is recovering and China’s experience after COVID-19 is especially valuable because it is important to be prepared for rapid growth after quarantine. What can the industry of Uzbekistan start doing today?

Aviasales and Travelpayouts gathered best practices that helped Chinese travel companies adapt to new conditions at the Travel after COVID-19: China Experience online conference. Below are the main conclusions of the conference on the key measures of China to save the tourism industry. This was reported by the press service of Aviasales.uz.

State measures

The government has zeroed VAT for travel companies starting from 1 January 2020. Some provinces halved tax rates, others issued loans on favorable terms.

After quarantine in Douyin (similar to TikTok), a flash mob started. The mayors of Hubei Province, this is the very center of the epidemic, told on the air what their cities were interested in: where to go, what to buy. The Chinese tourist travels according to the list, so this initiative helped to attract attention and regain confidence in the region.

What did the business do

Large travel companies reacted instantly. Partner support funds, zeroing salaries to top management, but perhaps the most interesting measure was live broadcasts. The founders of large travel companies went live and began to offer discounts on trips, "selling" in this way for four million dollars.

Some top managers have seriously reduced their salaries or completely zeroed their salaries in favor of the salaries of employees or in the fund to fight against coronavirus.

Another way to quickly increase sales from one of the Chinese companies is to organize an additional sales channel through an internal affiliate network. When any employee can sell travel products by registering on a special platform.

In addition, in order to stimulate demand, many companies have formed favorable offers for tourists to hotels, including luxury, and other travel products with discounts up to 60%.

According to OTA Insight analysts, the hotels themselves do not particularly reduce prices if this does not stimulate demand. In general, discount rates are available up to a maximum of June.

One of the anti-crisis strategies is the search for an alternative business model. Narpirmer, Insiders Experience, a small company that offers jeep tours to foreigners, has adapted to the needs of local travelers. Now they offer tours for children, accompanied by an English teacher.

What about travelers?

Together with the Chinese Tourism Academy, Trip.com conducted a study among Chinese tourists to find out how prepared they are for travel. Key findings: interest in travel has not faded away, the focus is shifted to domestic tourism, there are more opportunities for online penetration into small cities.

At the same time, behavioral patterns have changed. Today, security is in first place among requests, as 20% of respondents said. Discounts and favorable conditions - on the second (19%).

What can Uzbekistan do?

“Of course, first restrictions on movement within the country will be lifted and borders with closest neighbors will be opened. The tourism industry should focus on domestic tourism and travel to neighboring countries,” says Ruslan Baiganurov, Aviasales.uz marketer.

According to Aviasales.uz for 2019, 6% of the tourist flow to Uzbekistan falls on guests from Central Asia. 8 out of 10 tourists came from Russia, Ukraine or Belarus. Actively attracting tourists from Central Asia is a promising direction for the development of Uzbek tourism.

"The experience of China shows that the travel industry will certainly change. People will travel less, but better - they will travel in order to immerse themselves in the culture of another country. You should concentrate on special offers, ensure the safety of tourists’ health, add additional value to your travel product. Also, during Quarantine, many will understand the convenience of cashless payment: it’s worth translating the logistics of organizing travel online," advises Ruslan Baiganurov.