[Industry] The era of self-driving travel 3.0 is coming as scheduled

The development of self-driving travel has gone through the first stage from scratch in the late 1990s and the second stage from small to large at the beginning of this century, and now it has entered the third stage of quality-oriented and intensive development. National and local governments have issued special policies and plans at multiple levels, self-driving travel clubs and associations have increased one after another, and self-driving travel destinations have become tourism positioning in many regions. The third phase.

In March 2018, the General Office of the State Council issued the “Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of All-Foreign Tourism” (hereinafter referred to as “Opinions”). Create special transportation and tourism products such as tourist scenic roads, railway heritage, and large-scale transportation projects.” In the supporting infrastructure requirements, “encourage the addition of viewing platforms, self-driving RV camps, and road service areas along national and provincial arterial roads and scenic roads. facilities, and promote the transformation and upgrading of expressway service areas to complex service places integrating transportation, tourism, and ecological services.” And in tourism poverty alleviation, it is proposed to “promote cross-regional self-driving tours and other high-quality tourist routes”. The “Opinions” put forward specific requirements for self-driving tour service facilities, public facilities and line products, which have played a role in promoting the development of the self-driving tour market, and also confirmed the development trend of self-driving tour innovation and integration under the background of global tourism.

In addition to policy support, the number of private cars is increasing year by year, the construction of national transportation roads is advancing in depth, and the car rental market is booming, all of which are constantly expanding the market space for self-driving tours. Tourism products and emerging industries around self-driving tours emerge in endlessly. Traditional travel websites have launched OTA channels dedicated to self-driving tours, linking local attractions and hotels with self-driving routes; in addition, many self-driving clubs for car enthusiasts have launched self-driving tour activities, operating itineraries and car peripheral products sell. 

The most important industry spawned by self-driving tours is camping. According to the statistics of the “Camping Practical Handbook for Bikers” by the off-road e family, the number of camps in the country has increased from 168 in 2015 to about 800 in 2018. As a service package for self-driving tours, the camps will expand entertainment, leisure, The comprehensive sports service module is gradually changing from a rest place to a destination, consumer demand has risen, and market demand has also continued to grow. In addition to camps, outdoor brands and entrepreneurial teams related to self-driving have also appeared one after another.

In the past five years, the proportion of the number of tourists traveling by car to the total number of tourists has grown steadily. The research on self-driving travel market data has been subdivided into long and short routes, travel frequency, destination distribution, age of customer groups, accommodation preferences, etc., relying on tourists’ consumption propensity Introduce products and adjust directions according to demand, and gradually form a mature market form, which also drives the transformation of the tourism industry form to a certain extent.

The future self-driving tour market must occupy both online and offline resources, launch differentiated products, and create a complete system of services, which coincides with the off-road e-family online and offline operating system. As a gathering place for car off-road enthusiasts and self-driving tour groups, the off-road e-family has tens of millions of members and the advantages of a community system, which can realize directional flow. Coupled with the creation of self-driving routes and service systems, we can grasp the ecological closed loop.

Off-road e-family is moving from offline to online ecology. The industrial layout of self-driving tours in various places is mainly concentrated in the western region. On the one hand, it is to dig out classic routes in the most unique self-driving environment in the western region, and launch special self-driving routes and IP events. Experience line products, etc., to create differentiation; on the other hand, build industrialization facilities such as camps and manufacturer bases, build camp industrial belts at important nodes of the line, build car rental, maintenance, and rescue service systems, and form a complete self-driving travel service supporting system.

At the same time, the online platform has entrances for various places, covering all the travel guides, boutique self-driving route recommendations, camp information, car rental news, etc. about the place, and users can systematically compare and plan routes independently. In addition, the Altun Mountains, Lop Nur, Qiangtang, and the Ancient Tea-Horse Road, the major crossing resorts in the western region, all have special entrances on the platform. The most complete crossing diaries and route guides form cultural gatherings and guide offline product promotion. .

At present, many self-driving travel clubs are getting rid of a single line activity operation mode, seeking diversified operations, and forming a national chain service system. In the existing market system, there must be a group that will be eliminated, and only those that are really conducive to the establishment of mature market standards will have a foothold. Although self-driving tours still have a lot of room for development in terms of products and services, and a market mechanism for standardized operations needs to be established urgently, it is believed that a mature market is gradually taking shape.