Innovation appeals to the young at Red tourist sites

At Jinggangshan, Jiangxi province, a group of tourists with shoulder poles learned of the difficulties the Red Army had in climbing a mountain with food during wartime. In Xinxian county, Henan province, tourists listened to a guide's introduction while sitting on short benches in a small stone house－Lenin primary school－where rural residents once learned about Marxism.

The trend toward digital media, immersion and interaction have become popular with the younger adults who are becoming the core customers of Red tourism, said Wang Jinwei, associate professor at the School of Tourism Sciences of Beijing International Studies University.

"Red tourism plays an important role in enhancing national identity and confidence. It also helps promote economic growth and employment at the revolutionary sites. Using high technology and developing creative cultural products, all of which are loved by younger tourists, boost high-quality development," he said.

He added that over-commercialization and excessive entertainment should be avoided.

Travel platform Ctrip said bookings for Red tourism attractions grew more than 200 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year. Seventy percent of the tourists were born in the 1980s and 1990s.

As patriotism spreads, the participation of younger adults has increased. Bookings made by clients born after 2000 grew 2.5 times from January to June compared with the same period in 2019, Ctrip said.