Spring Festival travel was originally the peak time for Chinese people to travel，Returning to Hometown、Outing vacation flow overlay，Billions of trips，has become the main theme of the bustling Spring Festival in China in recent years。

This is a big market with an upward value of 500 billion。But everything has been disrupted by the new coronavirus epidemic。

Public data display，2019 Spring Festival Holiday，Total number of tourists received nationwide 4.1.5 billion people，YoY increase of 7.6%；Realized tourism revenue of 513.9 billion yuan，8 year-on-year increase.2%。First three quarters of 2019，Domestic tourist arrivals increased by 8 year-on-year.8%。 

The tourism industry will grow at this rate，It is expected that the number of tourists during the Spring Festival this year will reach 4.500 million，Accounting for nearly 32% of the country’s total population。

After the outbreak of the new coronavirus pneumonia，Travel、The hotel industry was hit hard for the first time。

The first is the overall passenger flow during the Spring Festival，Whether it is returning home or returning，The total traffic volume dropped by nearly 80% compared with the same period during the Spring Festival last year。

Except passenger transport，The tourism industry is also almost "stagnant"。The General Office of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued an emergency notice on January 24，Require all localities to suspend tourism business activities，Suspension of operating group tours and "air tickets + hotel" travel products。

In addition，The epidemic also affects overseas travel。The World Health Organization lists the pneumonia epidemic caused by the new coronavirus as a "Public Health Emergency" of international concern (PHEIC)。Although WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has repeatedly emphasized，WHO does not support or even opposes travel or trade bans on China。

But days have passed，Many airlines have canceled direct round-trip flights to many places in China，Many destination countries for Chinese outbound travel have modified their entry management policies for Chinese tourists。There are many popular tourist destinations。 

This means that the domestic tourism market is growing in outbound travel、Inbound travel、Group tour、The suspension of multiple subdivisions such as hotels。Some tourism industry operators have lamented to TMTpost that “we all lost our jobs on the first day of the new year”。

“The epidemic has brought the entire tourism industry to a standstill，How long will the impact last，Unpredictable。”Many people in the industry have said，The industry data in the first half of 2020 will be “horrible”。But for most travel businesses，A more pressing question is，Continue to bear the cost and provide unsubscription services、Help travelers plan their itinerary，Still trying to protect ourselves、Stop losses in a timely manner through layoffs and other methods？

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No exaggeration，The first person affected by the epidemic is the customer service of major travel platforms。Facing the fierce unsubscription wave，Customer service has entered an overload state。

Just take Shanghai as an example，After the outbreak of new pneumonia，Shanghai travel agencies immediately canceled international and domestic tours。Until 188bet app download 17:00 on January 31st，11378 domestic and outbound travel groups (teams) canceled，Involving 200,728 tourists。

Ctrip Nantong Hotel customer service Jin Jun who has worked overtime during the Spring Festival for 8 consecutive years，I originally planned to take my wife Wang Nana, who is also a Ctrip customer service officer, home for the New Year，This year，The two planned to go back to Nantong Rugao to get together with relatives，Grandparents, grandparents and relatives are waiting for their 18-month-old grandson to come home。

However，The sudden new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic changed everything，Jin Jun had to return to work with his wife and children to work overtime。

“All orders instantly become chargebacks,” Jin Jun said.

After the outbreak，National Railway、Civil Aviation、Cultural and tourism and other management departments starting from January 23rd，11 new policies have been launched in just one week，It also caused a surge in demand from passengers，He alone handles 240 incoming calls from customers every day。

Only until January 30th，Ctrip customer service alone has received millions of refunds and changes to Spring Festival travel orders。

“Give a simple example，If there are 200 people doing daily work，In case of emergency, 300 people are needed，That can be solved by working overtime，But when it increases to 600 people，No matter how much overtime you work, you can’t solve the problem，This is how we are now。”

Ctrip Hotel Service Operations Director Chen Wen told TMTPost，Working since 2008，Continuous peak emergencies like this year，This is also her first time meeting。

Currently，Including Flying Pig、Ctrip、horsefengwo、Related business leaders from multiple platforms including Qunar told TMTpost，The number of cancellation and change calls started to explode on January 21st (the 27th day of the New Year)，Remaining at a sustained high level in the past week and reaching 10 times that of the same period last year，Until January 31st，The number of calls in each category has shown a downward trend for the first time。

The influx of canceled orders instantly increased the pressure on customer service，But the process of free refund，It’s not as simple as outsiders think。

Take air tickets as an example，The refund business is originally very small，Suddenly became the leader in refunds，It poses huge challenges to the processing procedures and capabilities of airlines and travel platforms。

On the one hand, the refund time is long.

“You can think about it，Airlines spent several months selling a large number of Spring Festival travel tickets，A considerable proportion of refund applications have been submitted in the past few days，These tickets must be reviewed by the airlines one by one，Generally, there are first instance and second instance，This time will not be short。No matter which channel，After you apply for a refund，Airlines are subject to review，Only before the money can be returned to you or your agent”。An industry insider told TMTpost Media。

On the other hand，Due to the epidemic，Passengers apply for "involuntary refund"，And the refund fee is waived，This is contrary to the original "involuntary refund" review process。Various platforms、Airline system needs urgent update，Causing a large backlog of refund orders。

According to TMTpost’s understanding，Currently，Global airlines mainly use GDS (Global Distribution System)，In this system，Voluntary refunds for air tickets can be automatically resolved by the system，Will arrive soon。But compared to involuntary refund，Voluntary refund，Airlines will charge a certain handling fee based on the ticket type。

If you choose involuntary refund，Although the airline may reduce the refund fee to 0。But under normal circumstances，Involuntary refunds can only be made in case of illness、Occurs 188bet app during flight changes and other phenomena，And the airlines have very strict audits、Process and mechanism。

Therefore，"Free refunds" means many agents，Especially large agents must advance payment before the airline returns the money。Qunar.com CEO Chen Gang recently revealed that 1 billion has been advanced during the Spring Festival，Mafengwo also advanced over 500 million yuan for consumer refunds。

Under the wave of unsubscription，Airlines、Agent、Hotel、The cash flow of online travel platforms and even the entire industry is tight。

But these tourists have not had time to calculate the losses，Because there are still many tourists stranded abroad due to the epidemic。

A more urgent task amid anxiety: helping tens of thousands of passengers go home

Except for the "travel" that has not yet happened but has been forcibly suspended，How to get home，The most troublesome thing about being a "passenger who is still on the way"。

According to Ctrip、Mama Donkey、Tongcheng、Tuniu、Flying Pig、Data display on Mafengwo and other platforms，54% of the passengers currently booking Spring Festival trips are family trips，It is most popular to travel with children after 80 years old。This sudden epidemic，Many families are trapped in other places，How to help them get home，It is a more urgent task for the travel platform。

Ctrip has specially increased the guarantee of passing the change、We will try our best to help tourists return home smoothly through transfer and other means。Viewed from various outbound destinations，Short-term lines in surrounding areas have basically returned before，The main difficulty is Europe、America、These long lines in the Middle East。

Take America as an example，Air Canada announced on January 29 that it would suspend direct flights to and from China from January 30 to February 29。Ctrip has a 9-day group tour back to Canada，Originally planned to take Air Canada back to Shanghai from Vancouver on January 31。The tour leader and ground pick-up rushed to the airport counter immediately to coordinate，But the Air Canada counter did not agree to protect the group’s rebooking，Last tour group guests purchased individual tickets，Plan to claim through travel insurance when you come back。

A European group from Ctrip was supposed to take Air China back from Milan, Italy on the evening of February 1st，Canceled due to flight cancellation on that day，As a result, the flight change was postponed until the next day when I would take Air China back from Munich，The trip is extended by one day。Ctrip temporarily found a car to take guests from Milan to Munich，Arrange guests to check in locally，Estimated to take a flight back to China at noon。

What’s even more worrying is，There is a “special” group among this year’s Spring Festival travelers。

After the outbreak of COVID-19，People from Wuhan who traveled before the Spring Festival or traveled domestically and abroad，All due to the "city closure" after January 23rd、And the restrictions in various places make it difficult to return home。

How to get 5 million "wandering" Wuhan people home safely，has become a bigger problem。

January 31，MFA spokesperson Hua Chunying said，Considering the practical difficulties that Chinese citizens in Hubei, especially Wuhan, have encountered overseas recently，The Chinese government decided to send a charter flight to take them directly back to Wuhan as soon as possible。Recently, domestic and foreign airlines have successively implemented Japan、Thailand、Flights waiting from Singapore to Wuhan，Transporting passengers stranded overseas back home。

Except official assistance，Civil forces are also helping Wuhan compatriots who are drifting away to find a place to stay。

Titanium Media learned from Zhang Li, CEO of Ctrip Travel Channel Division，All over the first and second tier cities across 188bet sports betting app download the country、Employees of 7,000 Ctrip travel stores even in county towns，Ctrip store、Ctrip guides spontaneously set up information mutual aid groups，Help Wuhan guests seeking information、Requesting accommodation、Requesting a guide for returning home。“Most of the employees in each store are locals，They are well versed in local transportation and accommodation information，Have rich tourism contacts and social resources”。

“We know more friends，Just in handy at special moments。" Zou Wen from the Ctrip store in Wuhan Optics Valley Pedestrian Street told TMTPost，After discovering that many Wuhan guests are unable to return home、After many hotels directly refused Wuhan people to check in，Just create multiple remote groups，Activate your network to connect with travel colleagues from all over the world，Save Wuhan tourists who are about to "sleep on the streets"。

Under the crisis of industry shutdown, some people are going against the wind

Different from the travel customer service behind the screen，Under the current situation，Opening the hotel industry means losses。But at the forefront of the epidemic，There are still many hoteliers who choose to protect Wuhan, a city of 14 million people, in their own way。

Wuhan after the lockdown，Motor vehicle prohibition management，Public transportation in the city is at a standstill，The transportation of many medical staff to and from get off work has also been affected。

With most people affected by the epidemic、Different Wuhan hotels that chose to close due to the wave of cancellations，Xiao Yaxing, the owner of Yue Dongfang Hotel, decided on January 24 to open four of his hotels to medical staff in surrounding hospitals for free。

Today，Xiao Yaxing and some hotel owners in Wuhan spontaneously organized the "Wuhan Medical Hotel Support Group"，The Wuhan Medical Hotel Support Alliance was established，And solicit hotels without central air conditioning to volunteer to provide free accommodation for front-line medical staff from major hospitals in Wuhan。

After Xiao Yaxing issued the initiative，The support group has reached the maximum number of 500 people after 6 hours，85 hotels will be disinfected soon，And support medical staff for free。

Because it is a spontaneously formed non-governmental organization，The "Wuhan Medical Hotel Support Alliance" did not receive support from relevant departments at first，This has also caused a lot of trouble for Xiao Yaxing and the Wuhan Medical Hotel Support Alliance。

January 27，A company in Xiantao donated a batch of masks to the "Wuhan Medical Hotel Support Alliance"、Protective clothing and other supplies，Volunteers from Xiao Yaxing’s team are responsible for transportation。But because the road is closed，And a pass certificate is required to enter and exit Wuhan，This batch of supplies was stuck halfway。Xiao Yaxing said helplessly that the entry of material vehicles requires a special acceptance letter from the hospital，But many hospitals are not willing to issue this document。

However，Xiao Yaxing’s initiative still received response from the entire industry，Including Flying Pig、Ctrip、 Online travel platforms such as Meituan，and BTG Home Inn、Yado、Huazhu、Bitao、Tujia、Airbnb and other accommodation brands have followed suit。At the same time，Global Travel News、Industry media such as news and tourism also appealed to the entire industry。Therefore，The alliance’s hotel recruitment went smoothly，Covering including Hongshan District of Wuhan City、Wuchang District、Hankou District、11 areas including Caidian District。

Starting from January 23rd，A total of 271 hotels in Wuhan (about 47 hotels in other cities) participated in this charity event。According to incomplete statistics，Ending at 9pm on January 30th，The alliance has provided more than 40,000 room nights for 6,056 medical staff。

But relying solely on private power，Wuhan Medical Hotel Support Alliance still failed to persist。

January 31，Wuhan Medical Hotel Support Alliance announces 159 independent hotels、B&B、Apartments and small hotel chains will no longer accept medical staff and guests，And clear the room before 18:00 on January 31st，Be prepared for disinfection。

And among the remaining 112 chain hotels，Except 50 hotels that are fully booked，The remaining 62 hotels will continue to provide accommodation services for medical staff。Yado、Boutique Hotel Homeinns and other hotel chains also responded to the government’s call，Providing services to medical teams from other places rushing to assist Wuhan。 

Currently Xiao Yaxing’s volunteer team is still choosing to use the funds raised，Purchase overall disinfection services to support the 159 small hotels in the alliance，And raise money for other hotels that host medical staff、Distributing supplies。

Titanium Media learned，The overloaded services in recent days have made most hotel staff extremely exhausted，At the same time, the hotel’s material and sanitary conditions have reached their limit，This puts the hotel's operations and services at great risk。The Wuhan Medical Hotel Support Alliance encounters challenges from many aspects。

Due to the increasing number of medical staff admitted，A new problem has arisen: a shortage of protective materials and disinfection resources for hotel staff，Many independent hotels are small in size、High operating and protection costs，Unable to maintain operation for a long time；Some hotel employees chose to resign because they were worried about being infected；There are even rumors that some hotels have received infected medical staff，Some hotel owners are worried that their future business will be affected。

Li Chao, founder of Global Travel News and one of the founders of the Wuhan Medical and Hotel Support Alliance, told TMTPost，Since the alliance started operating，Many hotel owners have invested a lot of human and financial resources for this purpose，The estimated consumption of water, electricity, linen, etc. exceeds 2.5 million，This does not include rent and labor costs。

Zhou Qinghui, the owner of Wuhan Yishang Garden Hotel, made a calculation in an interview with Global Travel News。According to her disclosure，The hotel has 99 rooms in total，Each room has independent air conditioning，Received more than 50 medical staff in 3 nights，About 130 room nights；The cost of receiving medical staff for one day is 6,500 yuan。And if it were the past Spring Festival，The daily occupancy rate is around 80%，Original cost excluded，The daily net income is about 5,000-7,000 yuan。

The epidemic spread for less than 20 days，Tourists are already exhausted。

Under the impact, the whole industry unites to keep warm

When the epidemic strikes，Under the premise of taking huge risks and pressure，Tourists still show great courage and responsibility，But the loss and trauma are also real，It can even be described as tragic。

Co-founder of Ctrip Group、Liang Jianzhang, chairman of the board of directors, once published an article saying，Compared with other industries，Pandemic infectious diseases have the widest impact on the tourism industry、The worst impact。

Based on the SARS epidemic in 2003，According to public data，Late April to May 2003，Affected by the SARS epidemic, 11,615 travel agencies across the country are generally closed； The average room occupancy rate of 8880 star-rated hotels is less than 20%；The number of tourists and operating income of 1062 A-level tourist areas (spots) dropped by more than 80% year-on-year；The number of guests and operating income of the 105 member units of the China Tourism and Cruise Association dropped by 90% year-on-year。

Basic situation of the tourism 188bet sports betting app download market before the SARS epidemic

After 17 years of development，Today’s tourism market is completely different from the SARS period 17 years ago。

Today，The comprehensive contribution of the tourism economy to the national economy has reached 12%。The subdivided track of Guang Travel Agency is an example，According to public data，As of September 30, 2019，There are 38,433 travel agencies in China。

Although it is not yet possible to estimate the losses of each merchant，But compare the data from the SARS period，The impact of this epidemic on the industry may be even worse。

In interview，Zhou Haitao, Editor-in-Chief of News and Tourism, told TMTpost，Industry shutdown means，Many businesses have lost cash flow，In addition, there is also huge financial pressure to bear，Including loss fees caused by order cancellation、Inter-enterprise accounts receivable risk、Labor cost，And store rental cost。 

“Under normal circumstances, the labor cost of front-line store employees is about 6,000 yuan per month，100,000 employees，That’s 600 million per month！This is a huge number！If the epidemic lasts for 6 months，That is 3.6 billion！The franchisees and we together cannot afford it。”A few days ago，Huazhu founder Ji Qi released the second internal letter on the epidemic，Ji Qi emphasized in the letter，Under the current situation, both luck and blind optimism are unacceptable。

Objectively speaking，Ji Qi’s judgment is now the entire industry’s understanding of the epidemic。In interview，Chen Gang revealed，Currently including airlines、Agent、Online travel platforms and other entire industries are experiencing tight cash flow，The next 1 to 3 months will be an unprecedentedly difficult time。

The entire industry has begun to work together to keep warm.

Currently，Ctrip、Flying Pig、Where to go、Tongcheng Yilong、Platform companies such as Mafengwo have already been affected by the spread of the epidemic，We have successively upgraded the measures to ensure the return of changes due to the epidemic，And specially activate the crisis emergency protection fund，Trying to reduce consumer losses as much as possible，And support platform suppliers。

It is reported，Ctrip has launched a policy of canceling or changing suppliers，Start accepting supplier loss forecasts。At the same time, Ctrip is actively preparing materials，Strive for relevant national departments，I hope the country can introduce preferential policies for the tourism industry after the epidemic，Helping tourism companies tide over difficulties。

And in the hotel industry，Brands and franchisees、Industry mutual assistance among employees is more common。

“Some stores are temporarily closed due to various reasons；Many stores have very low occupancy rates，Operating losses。Throughout the epidemic，What is certain is: the store efficiency of the entire chain will be extremely poor”。Ji Qi said，Facing the epidemic，Huazhu will not respond to the crisis through layoffs and salary cuts。

Currently，Including BTG Home Inn、Jinjiang、Huazhu、A number of hotel chains, including Atour, have announced policies to reduce or exempt franchise management fees。

However，In TMTpost’s view，Big platforms and big brands are actually "gnashing their teeth and swallowing it"，Before the introduction of relevant national support policies，In addition to industry mutual assistance，Businesses in the tourism industry, especially those in the waist and bottom，To survive this darkest moment，The more important thing is to save yourself，The moment of "retaliatory prosperity": after SARS，Retaliatory travel and consumption across the country，The business of various hotels is unprecedentedly good。Ji Qi thinks，The same retaliatory prosperity this time is a high probability event。

If you want to save yourself，The first thing to do is to optimize cash flow management，This is also the wake-up call this epidemic has sounded for industry merchants；Secondly，How to tide over difficulties with employees without laying off employees as much as possible and never for short-term business interests，Kill the goose and get the eggs；Third，Cultivate internal strength as much as possible，Looking for new breakthroughs in business。

*Source of this article: Titanium Media, author: Gao Mengyang, original title: "The tourism industry under the haze of the epidemic: Amid the shutdown crisis, moving forward against the wind》.