The epidemic has undoubtedly had the most direct impact on the tourism industry。Refer to 2019 data，The number of tourists nationwide reached 4 during the Spring Festival.1.5 billion，Income exceeds 500 billion yuan，And the Spring Festival in 2020，The sudden outbreak of the epidemic has almost frozen the tourism industry。

Worse,188bet sports betting app download Founder of Tongcheng Group、President Wu Zhixiang, Chairman，It will take at least 3 months for the industry to recover，For any tourism company，It would be very scary if you have no income for 3 consecutive months。

Facing this epidemic，Tongcheng has a relatively quick response。After withstanding the surge in chargeback pressure，The more important problem is: how to survive。

“We cannot let the epidemic come in vain，At this time, you must practice your internal strength、Train employees，Let’s look forward to the recovery of the industry。"Wu Zhixiang said。He called on all teams under the group to find ways to transform and upgrade、Selling disinfectant，For example, selling vegetables、Selling disinfectant、Selling paid courses, etc.。

According to introduction，During the epidemic, the business of Tongcheng Life, a community fresh food group buying platform, experienced substantial growth，Covering more than 500,000 households in Suzhou alone；Tongcheng International Travel Service upgrades its unemployed travel consultants to Midian e-commerce owners，The commission income has offset the impact of the epidemic；Shenjie Travel, the group's hotel B2B platform, transformed the social e-commerce mini program "Huifa"，From selling hotels to selling epidemic prevention supplies，In less than a week，Has provided affordable protective equipment and daily necessities to more than 10,000 families and businesses。

This also inspired Wu Zhixiang to think more: for the company，What is the most valuable thing？Tongcheng has rich experience in the tourism industry，But some teams have switched from selling vegetables, which they have been doing for nearly 20 years、Selling epidemic prevention supplies，It only took a few days。 “You will find money at this time、Experience is not the most important thing，You have to trust 188bet sports betting app download the user、Believe in the team。”He said。

Someone once proposed budget reduction、Self-rescue plan to reduce the number of people，But Wu Zhixiang "scolded him on the spot"。He thinks，Cash flow is important，The blood cannot be cut off，But the human heart cannot be dispersed。When encountering difficulties, lead the team to crawl forward，Let employees feel that “the company is awesome”。

Transformation and upgrading during the epidemic、In various cross-border self-rescue businesses，Maybe there will be a chance to create a team with commercial value，But it doesn’t matter if you don’t have it。In Wu Zhixiang’s opinion，This kind of overcoming difficulties together、The feeling of living and dying together is very important，As long as there is a team、People’s hearts are there，Everything can be done from now on。                     

The following is the conversation between 36Kr and Wu Zhixiang，The text has been edited and edited:

36氪: What impact has the epidemic had on the company’s business？

Wu Zhixiang: Tongcheng Group’s main business is related to tourism，The impact of this epidemic is not small，Especially travel booking business。In order to reduce the losses to users caused by the new coronavirus epidemic，The team spent about 10 days，Completed the unsubscription processing of user orders，The losses and challenges are huge。

36氪: Tongcheng grew up during the SARS period，Will the response this time be faster than that of ordinary companies?？When did you start to realize that the epidemic would have an impact？

Wu Zhixiang: Three days before the Spring Festival。Because Tongcheng caught up with SARS in 2003 when it started，We pay close attention to the development of the epidemic，Even the day before the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued the policy，We realized that stronger measures would be introduced。Because we care deeply about progress、Be sensitive，Lose down Wuhan、Policies of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, etc.，We can all react immediately。

For us，During Spring Festival，The platform has tens of millions of users ready to travel，If the response is not fast enough、The judgment is not accurate enough，So for customers、Backstage、R&D、Finance is a very big challenge。Process tens of millions of travel orders in 10 days，Many colleagues work 12 hours a day for 10 consecutive days，Many customer service students returned the order with tears in their eyes。

I will hold an internal meeting to mobilize and tell them，This is a corporate responsibility，Be responsible for the corporate brand，The more difficult the time, the more important it is to maintain the brand。Although I can’t go to Wuhan to charge 188bet app into battle，Users who have travel plans for us，Help them return the order as soon as possible，You can reduce anxiety earlier。

Other travel colleagues are also facing challenges。Some groups were called off before boarding the plane，After the tour guide was declared unemployed，I also bought boxes of masks at the airport and brought them back for donation。The industry is facing the general trend，Still responsible。

36氪: In addition to unsubscribing，What other self-rescue measures has Tongcheng taken？

Wu Zhixiang: We are also thinking internally about what to do。Tourism is different from manufacturing companies，The country will soon encourage manufacturing companies to resume work，But it will take a long time for the tourism industry to restart，Because it also involves the revival of consumer confidence。I predict，It will take 3 months for the industry to recover，But it is terrible for any tourism company to have no income for 3 consecutive months。

Our idea is to upgrade、Self-help。After the unsubscription work is completed，We spent 1 day having a video conference，At that time, there was no video software that could support thousands of dollars，So I used Douyin directly。After training，Some colleagues have begun to switch to selling vegetables、Selling disinfectant、Selling Tongcheng Business School courses。We have a morning meeting every morning，I require my supervisor to have one-to-one video communication with colleagues，I haven’t had a day off from the eighth day of the Lunar New Year until now。

During this period we also opened the Zero Journey Academy，This is the industry’s first learning and social platform for tourism practitioners across the country after the outbreak。February 22 from 8 am to early morning，We conducted a 16-hour non-stop live broadcast，This is also the longest single live broadcast in the history of China’s tourism industry。I hosted the entire live broadcast，Invited nearly 50 heavyweight mentors from inside and outside the industry，Teach everyone how to do Douyin marketing、How to deal with the epidemic difficulties, etc.。

Everyone said they felt busier than before。"Live towards death，Seeking opportunity in crisis”，Can new opportunities emerge during this epidemic crisis，It’s not easy to judge yet；How many points can these self-rescue measures get in the end，60 points or 80 points，Still unknown。In the future, a team with commercial value may be born from this process，But it doesn’t matter if you don’t have it。I think，We can overcome this difficulty together、The feeling of living and dying together is very important，If there is a team、People’s hearts are there，Everything can be done from now on，This is something I value very much。

36氪: Quickly start selling vegetables、Businesses such as selling disinfectant，Is it because Tongcheng’s matrix is ​​relatively rich?，It is difficult for other companies to learn from it？

Wu Zhixiang：Not necessarily，Our vegetable seller is a BU from a small business unit，Selling 84 Disinfectant is a small team of the hotel B2B platform under our group，Only 30 classmates。We just issued a call，Each production helps oneself，They quickly set up a small program to start it，It only took 2-3 days。

Professor Yang Guoan (Note: Professor of China Europe International Business School) is very right，Will future organizations really be vertical?？Under a large framework，How to unite the team during the epidemic，How to maintain the flexibility and mobility of a small team？Let them find their own solution，What do users actually need，Whatever you provide is fine。

36氪: What impact will this epidemic have on the company’s strategy？

Wu Zhixiang: Our strategy is "New Decade"，That is, the next 10 years starting from 2020，Achieve 2 100 billion，The main tourism industry generates 100 billion yuan，100 billion invested and hatched。

In the long run，This strategic goal will not change，The 3-6 months affected by the epidemic are just a small wave。Only a 3-month break，There will definitely be an impact on this year。Everyone says there will be retaliatory growth from June to July this year，I think there will be，But just need business、Leisure travel、Cruise tour, etc.，Each industry segment is different。For example, this cruise was very challenging。

36Kr: Tongcheng Capital established a new 50 million yuan angel fund during the epidemic，And voted for the first full house college，Will Tongcheng’s investment strategy change in the future?？

Wu Zhixiang: There will be no change，Roadshows are going on normally。February 26 afternoon，Tongcheng Capital held its first online roadshow，Provide 50 million yuan investment fund，Grant capital support to early-stage projects。In the future, we will continue to increase support for early projects，Especially an excellent team with positive strategic goals。We have just started investing in early stage investments，I am looking forward to investing in a star project like Tongcheng Life。

36氪: What impact do you think the epidemic will have on the industry？Will there be a wave of bankruptcies？

Wu Zhixiang: Let’s watch the entire SARS period，There is no wave of bankruptcies in tourism，Because the cost of 30,000 small and medium-sized travel agencies is actually very low，It’s rent and labor，There is basically no cost for shrinking。Now the country has given policies，Once spring comes and the flowers bloom，The industry will rise。On the contrary, it is a medium-sized travel agency，A team with dozens of people，There may be a deposit，Their challenges are relatively big。

36氪: Where is the hotel?

Wu Zhixiang: We judge，The epidemic will not last for 6 months，Even if it’s 6 months，On the contrary, it will be more difficult for some independent mid-range hotels，Big hotel groups have no problem。And I even think，The epidemic will cause large hotel groups to expand faster，Merger more properties。

36氪: What advice do you have for these entrepreneurs in the tourism industry？

Wu Zhixiang: These corporate self-rescue methods that Tongcheng is taking are worth learning from，But each company is different。The most important thing is，People’s hearts cannot be separated，The second is cash flow，The blood cannot be cut off。

36Kr: Is Tongcheng’s current cash flow pressure high?

Wu Zhixiang: The group’s overall cash flow is relatively normal，We have a listed company，There are also unlisted sectors。Now we are also adopting transformation and upgrading、Cross-border self-rescue measures，These measures are slowly generating cash flow，I believe it will be restored soon。

36氪: How many people are there in the entire group now？What challenges does the company encounter when working remotely？

Wu Zhixiang: The entire group now exceeds 10,000 people。In fact, there is no problem with the conference software and facilities for remote working，In fact, there is no problem with the conference software and facilities for remote working。We must adapt to remote working，Not just software，What’s more important is the human heart。

36氪: What organizational management methods did you adopt during this period？

Wu Zhixiang: Effective organizational capabilities include “technology + people’s hearts”，Good tools plus bringing people together，Efficiency can only be improved。Tongcheng summed up a set of "three axes" method for working from home，This is the more effective way we have verified。

First ensure employees’ sense of mission，One-to-one video communication between political commissars at all levels (Note: Tongcheng’s internal HRBP) and employees；Secondly, let employees have a sense of crisis，Establish the determination to work together with the company to help each other；Finally, there are institutional constraints，Morning meeting in the morning、Sharing meeting in the evening，And establish different reward and punishment systems，Through the capture process、Set goals、Get the result，Let the team run。

36Kr: How to boost employee morale during extraordinary times?

Wu Zhixiang: When a big disaster comes，As the leader of the team, the attitude you use to face it is very important。We have a meeting on New Year’s Eve，The plan proposed by someone is to reduce the budget、Reduce people，I scolded him then。What kind of plan is this？We are encountering difficulties，We need to lead the team to crawl forward，Let employees feel that the company is awesome，It can still lead us forward at this time。

The core of team leadership，Yutai Mountain collapsed in front of it but its color remained unchanged，When disaster strikes，You and your team are on the same boat，We must have a sense of responsibility to overcome difficulties together，Lead the team to find a solution。

36氪: If the company successfully survives this extraordinary period，You think it’s because of “something that broke through”？

Wu Zhixiang: This time it is more important for us to think，What is the most valuable thing about the company。We are familiar with the tourism industry，Have been working for nearly 20 years，Can’t do it now，As a result, I successfully switched from traveling to selling vegetables in a few days，Wait until the epidemic passes，Everyone will continue to travel。So experience and money are not the most important at this time，What matters is our users，There is also a team that trusts us。So trust users、Believe in the team。

36氪: What is the current status of the CEO friends around you？

Wu Zhixiang: Nowadays, there are high-density meetings，It is very important to have a meeting at this time，And it must be a video。Not bad，Not even giving up，If you give in now, you will be out。Most of them are in this state，Gotta find a way、Have to think about it、Delivery。

*Source of this article: 36氪,Author: Chen Shuya, original title:《Wu Zhixiang of Tongcheng Group: If you give in, you will be out，The feeling of "living and dying together" as a team is the most important》。