Reflections on the Integrated Development of Broadcast Television Technology and Cultural Tourism Projects

[China Broadcasting Digital Intelligence Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Beijing 100029]

Abstract

[Objective] By promoting the integrated development of broadcast television technology and cultural tourism projects, this study aims to accelerate the cultivation of a cultural tourism pillar industry that delivers both economic and social benefits, comprehensively supporting the construction of a modern economic system and injecting new momentum and expanding new horizons for high-quality economic development. [Methods] Focusing on strategies such as technology empowerment, platform support, content innovation, and cultural guidance, this paper examines approaches spanning technological innovation, content creation, service upgrading, and industrial cooperation to achieve the transformation and upgrading of the broadcasting industry, enhance the high-quality development of cultural tourism projects, and drive the integration of broadcast television technology with cultural tourism initiatives. [Results] The integration of broadcast television technology and cultural tourism projects represents more than a superficial combination; through innovation and optimization, it generates synergistic effects that create greater value. [Conclusion] Advancing the integrated development of broadcast television technology and cultural tourism projects constitutes a critical fulcrum for implementing the national cultural digitalization strategy, carrying significant strategic importance and practical value. This integration not only catalyzes the transformation of the broadcasting industry toward intelligence and all-media convergence, but also reconstructs the cultural tourism industry value chain, fostering internationally competitive new-quality productive forces in digital cultural tourism and providing innovative vehicles and transformative support for building a modern economic system.

Keywords: "Broadcasting + Cultural Tourism"; Technology Empowerment; Platform Support; Content Innovation; Integrated Development
CLC Number: G244
Document Code: A
Article ID: 1671-0134(2025)04-24-05
DOI: 10.19483/j.cnki.11-4653/n.2025.04.004
Citation Format: Chen Wei. Reflections on the Integrated Development of Broadcast Television Technology and Cultural Tourism Projects [J]. China Media Technology, 2025, 32(4): 24-28.

Over the past two years, the tourism industry has fully recovered, demonstrating vigorous vitality. At the third "Minister's Corridor" session of the 14th National People's Congress, Minister of Culture and Tourism Sun Yeli stated that cultural and tourism consumption holds great potential for expanding domestic consumption. The Minister cited several key statistics: in 2024, enterprises above designated size in cultural and related industries achieved operating revenue of 14 trillion yuan, representing year-on-year growth of approximately 6%; domestic tourism reached 5.6 billion visits, up nearly 15% year-on-year, with domestic tourism expenditure totaling 5.7 trillion yuan, an increase of over 17%; inbound tourism reached approximately 132 million visits, generating nearly $100 billion in expenditure [1]. This vibrant consumption reflects not only in statistical data but more profoundly in the organic integration and coordinated development of the two industries.

The Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization proposes key tasks including "improving the institutional mechanisms for the in-depth integrated development of culture and tourism." This mandate reveals emerging needs within the cultural tourism sector: for innovative business model upgrades, digital intelligence-driven transformation, technology empowerment, and new consumption pattern cultivation. Broadcasting and television technology has always played a crucial role in cultural tourism development, with media convergence in the broadcasting industry's transformation serving as a catalyst for cultural tourism growth. The media convergence of national broadcasting institutions has evolved from simple superposition of traditional industries and emerging technologies to gradual and then deep integration, yielding remarkable results. This integration transcends superficial combination, creating synergistic effects through innovation and optimization that generate greater value. Promoting the organic integration of broadcast television technology and cultural tourism projects is becoming an important practical pathway for advancing media convergence.

The integration of broadcast television technology and cultural tourism projects refers to combining broadcasting technological capabilities, content creation capacity, and distribution channels with the cultural tourism industry to empower its upgrading, enhance immersive experience quality, amplify brand influence and market competitiveness, and drive digital transformation. This integration not only enriches the manifestations of cultural tourism projects but also expands application scenarios for broadcast television technology, achieving two-way empowerment between culture and technology. This trend results from the combined forces of technological development, industrial demand, policy support, and consumption upgrading. While it responds to the digital transformation needs of cultural tourism, it also opens new application scenarios for broadcast television technology. Despite demonstrating significant innovative potential, the integration faces multidimensional practical challenges in implementation, particularly in technological innovation, operational management, content creation, and cultural value realization.

1. Technology Empowerment: Facilitating the Integration of Broadcast Television Technology and Cultural Tourism Projects

The cultural tourism industry landscape is being reshaped by new-quality productive forces led by digital technologies. The application of 5G networks, 4K/8K ultra-high definition, VR, and AR technologies has brought revolutionary changes to broadcasting. Leveraging 5G's high bandwidth and low latency characteristics, the transmission and playback of 4K/8K ultra-high definition and VR/AR content have become smoother, enabling users to enjoy higher-quality audio-visual experiences. China Central Television has achieved new technological breakthroughs in large-scale live broadcasts through deep integration of 5G networks and 4K/8K ultra-high definition technology. Through real-time transmission with ultra-low latency and extremely clear image quality, it has created more immersive viewing experiences for audiences while accelerating technological iteration and market cultivation in the ultra-high definition video industry through benchmark demonstration applications.

Hunan TV's variety show Dance Storm utilizes AR technology to add virtual special effects to stage performances, creating stunning visual effects that attract large numbers of young viewers and exemplify the combination of technology and art. The Palace Museum has transformed traditional cultural resources into online experiences through digital technology, launching the "Digital Cultural Relics Repository," a VR-based digital experience space. Through high-precision 3D modeling and interactive design, visitors can browse high-definition images and 3D models of cultural relics online and explore the Forbidden Palace in 360-degree panoramic views, creating a new paradigm for "technological activation" of cultural heritage. Visitors can also use AR technology on their mobile phones to scan cultural relics during visits to obtain detailed information and interactive content. Through digital technology innovation, the Palace Museum has not only attracted large numbers of young visitors but also enhanced its cultural dissemination power and influence.

Zhangjiajie Scenic Area has launched a "metaverse" tourism project that combines the real scenic area with a virtual world. Using digital twin technology, it has digitized Zhangjiajie's natural landscapes to create a virtual scenic area where visitors can enter via VR devices to participate in interactive activities such as virtual mountain climbing and virtual photography. Combined with NFT technology, the project offers virtual souvenirs and digital artworks, attracting large numbers of young tourists and technology enthusiasts while increasing the scenic area's visibility and revenue. CCTV's original cultural variety show National Treasure reconstructs cultural relic narratives through disruptive expression, using holographic imaging and augmented reality technology to break temporal and spatial boundaries, awakening millennia-old artifacts on stage. Through innovative integration of immersive stage plays and technological aesthetics, the program rejuvenates historical stories with contemporary appeal, creating a new "technological aesthetics" paradigm for cultural dissemination. Combined with cultural tourism resources, the show has driven visitor growth to museums and scenic areas after broadcast, successfully attracting young audiences and promoting cultural relic protection and tourism integration.

Technology innovation empowers the integration of broadcast television technology and cultural tourism projects, not only enhancing user experience but also driving industry digital transformation and cross-sector collaboration. However, achieving deeper and broader technology empowerment nationwide requires breakthroughs in technological transformation, as most technical personnel in the broadcasting and cultural tourism industries remain familiar with traditional broadcasting and tourism promotion technologies, with relatively few mastering new technologies. This is particularly challenging in second- and third-tier cities, where retaining high-level talent is difficult. Currently, many broadcasting technology and cultural tourism technology teams have begun transformation. With further development of 5G, AI, VR/AR and other technologies, the integration of broadcasting and cultural tourism will become even closer, creating more new business models and consumption scenarios. The integration of broadcast television technology and cultural tourism must continue to pioneer and innovate.

2. Platform Support: Strengthening the Integration of Broadcast Television Technology and Cultural Tourism Projects

On May 22, 2022, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Opinions on Promoting the Implementation of the National Cultural Digitalization Strategy (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions). The Opinions propose: first, coordinating and utilizing achievements from existing or ongoing digitalization projects and databases in the cultural field to create an integrated Chinese culture database; second, consolidating cultural digitalization infrastructure by forming a national cultural dedicated network based on existing cable television network facilities, broadcasting 5G networks, and interconnection platforms; third, encouraging diverse entities to jointly build cultural data service platforms relying on the national cultural dedicated network; and fourth, encouraging and supporting various cultural institutions to access the national cultural dedicated network and utilize cultural data service platforms to explore effective pathways for digital transformation and upgrading [2].

The Opinions demonstrate the close relationship between broadcast television technology and cultural data service platforms, which mutually reinforce each other in technology integration, data application, and content dissemination, jointly achieving value chain reconstruction in the cultural tourism industry driven by technology. As important infrastructure in the digital era, cultural data service platforms can effectively consolidate the integration of broadcast television technology and cultural tourism, promoting the digitalized and intelligent management and application of cultural resources and facilitating deep integration between cultural and tourism industries.

In content production, broadcasting institutions possess rich resources including film and television works, historical archives, and news materials that can serve as important data sources for cultural data service platforms. In content acquisition, high-definition cameras, drones, virtual studios and other broadcasting technology equipment can capture high-quality cultural content such as documentary films on cultural relics, intangible cultural heritage demonstrations, and local cultural promotional videos for digital inclusion in cultural data service platforms. In content dissemination and promotion, broadcasting technology distribution channels including satellite, cable networks, internet, live streaming, and short videos can rapidly spread platform content to broader audiences. In technical support, AI tools such as speech recognition, image recognition, and intelligent editing provide intelligent analysis capabilities for cultural data service platforms; emerging holographic imaging and digital twin technologies concretize abstract cultural forms, providing content support capabilities; and streaming media transmission, audio-video encoding, and real-time live broadcasting provide efficient data transmission and processing capabilities.

As of early 2024, broadcasting network companies in 11 provinces have successfully established provincial-level centers for the national cultural big data system, supporting cultural institutions' access to the national cultural dedicated network. As a pioneer, Sichuan Broadcasting Network Company's provincial center has covered 314 cultural, museum, library, and tourism institutions across the province, implementing dedicated network services [3].

Cultural data service platforms can consolidate the integrated development of broadcast television technology and cultural tourism in several ways. First, by building cultural data resource libraries that consolidate fragmented cultural resources from multiple stakeholders, these platforms can leverage big data and artificial intelligence to unlock cultural data value. Second, relying on the national broadcasting cultural dedicated network, they can break down connectivity barriers between different entities, provide high-quality digital products and data services, and accelerate cultural tourism development. Third, through cutting-edge digital technologies such as holographic projection and digital twins, they can reconstruct abstract cultural elements like intangible cultural heritage and historical allusions into three-dimensional visualizations, creating immersive cultural experience spaces that blend virtual and real elements. Through visual-auditory-tactile integration, these spaces enable embodied perception of cultural connotations, allowing tourists to gain deeper cultural understanding and sustained emotional resonance through interactive, participatory digital scenarios. Fourth, through joint efforts by government, enterprises, and technology providers, they can address data rights confirmation on cultural data service platforms by improving laws and regulations, establishing rights confirmation mechanisms, and applying new technologies to clarify data ownership, ensure data security and privacy, provide important support for business model innovation and data value mining in cultural tourism projects, and promote sustainable industry development.

3. Content Innovation: Elevating the Integration of Broadcast Television Technology and Cultural Tourism Projects

Today, with the popularization of mobile internet and diversification of social values, the relationship between cultural tourism expression methods and audience groups has undergone profound changes. The traditional one-way communication model—where media disseminates and audiences passively receive—no longer meets modern user needs. Contemporary audiences prioritize personalization, interactivity, and spiritual experience. The cultural tourism industry must adapt to this trend through content innovation, deep cultural connotation excavation, and technological innovation to create more attractive and compelling cultural tourism products, elevating the integration of broadcast television technology and cultural tourism to new heights and continuously promoting the joint development of cultural tourism and other industries to meet evolving needs.

From the aforementioned approaches to enhancing integration, content products emerge as both key elements in shaping cultural tourism brands and important engines driving industrial innovation and upgrading. Therefore, in developing cultural tourism content products, first, emphasis should be placed on deep content cultivation based on local characteristic cultural resources to avoid homogenized competition and build a differentiated content system. Second, brand building should be prioritized to create distinctive cultural tourism IPs through high-quality content, enhancing regional cultural recognition and influence to form unique brand identities.

In operating cultural tourism content products, first, user operation should be emphasized, designing immersive interactive content for core customer groups such as Generation Z and achieving precise dissemination through platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu. Second, ecological coordination should be prioritized, linking diverse stakeholders including government, enterprises, and technology institutions to promote deep integration of "content + industry" and form resource integration advantages. Through deep content cultivation, brand building, user operation, and ecological coordination, high-quality and influential cultural tourism content products can be created to elevate the integration of broadcast television technology and cultural tourism.

First, film and television must deeply integrate with cultural tourism, as film and television plays a crucial role in empowering tourism. By showcasing local scenery and cultural customs through film and television works, the appeal and dissemination power of cultural content can be enhanced, effectively stimulating potential tourism demand and cultivating new growth points for regional cultural tourism economies. For instance, Blossoms Shanghai captures the charm of old Shanghai, while To the Wonder presents the magnificent landscapes and rich ethnic customs of Altay, Xinjiang, allowing audiences to appreciate distant beauty and exotic customs through film and television, thereby inspiring desires for personal experience. Combining broadcast television content creation with local characteristic cultural tourism IPs represents a highly promising development model that not only endows scenic areas with unique cultural value but also effectively promotes service capabilities, achieving super-level promotion, authoritative evaluation, public opinion supervision, and targeted promotion functions.

Second, promoting cultural tourism IPs and content creation to build an "audio-visual + cultural tourism" industrial ecosystem serves as a strategic fulcrum for improving quality and efficiency in the cultural tourism industry. Through audio-visual formats such as micro-videos and live streaming, not only can the dissemination power and appeal of cultural tourism content be enhanced, but resource integration can also be strengthened to cultivate new-era cultural tourism IPs that demonstrate Chinese cultural charm, possess modern communication effectiveness, and feature immersive experiences. "Zibo Barbecue" uses food as a carrier to showcase local culture and civic enthusiasm, creating emotional resonance through short video platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou. Zibo achieved breakthrough urban brand recognition through phenomenal online popularity, converting cultural tourism traffic into new drivers of economic development. "Erbin" (Harbin) uses the Ice and Snow Festival as a carrier, combining local characteristic culture to create unique audio-visual experiences through live streaming and short videos showcasing Harbin's ice and snow culture and urban landscape, establishing a new cultural tourism IP that attracts large numbers of tourists. Kaifeng's "Matchmaker Wang" uses traditional culture as a carrier combined with modern communication methods to attract young users' attention, using short videos and live streaming to showcase this traditional cultural activity, enhancing Kaifeng's cultural tourism image and attracting more visitors to experience local culture. These successful cases are no accident; the cultural tourism industry competition has entered an era where content is king, and high-quality content has become a key element of differentiated competition. Audio-visual products, with their strong appeal and high dissemination capacity, have become the preferred vehicle for showcasing urban cultural charm. Through deep integration of "audio-visual + cultural tourism," regional cultural recognition can be rapidly established with precise dissemination, while deep cultural connotation excavation and creative expression can comprehensively enhance value-added services for cultural tourism products, forming a new development pattern for the cultural tourism industry.

4. Cultural Guidance: Achieving Win-Win Integration of Broadcast Television Technology and Cultural Tourism Projects

Currently, cultural tourism development has shifted from resource-driven to culture-driven models, with tourist demands upgrading from superficial sightseeing to deep experiential engagement. Modern tourists no longer satisfy themselves with cursory tours; they seek profound cultural experiences and spiritual enjoyment through travel. Cultural tourism projects can integrate historical allusions and cultural connotations into tourism experiences through cultural guests, historical artifacts, and celebrity stories, enhancing uniqueness and dissemination value while enabling tourists to acquire knowledge through this deep experiential model. This approach ensures tourists understand not only what they see but also its origins, fully embodying the concept of edutainment and transforming cultural tourism into a novel learning domain with unique cultural dissemination characteristics.

In cultural tourism projects, leveraging culture as the guiding core to achieve a new dual-integration model of traditional culture and tourism-residence creates a new "cultural tourism" track that can form a virtuous ecosystem for cultural dissemination and services. When traditional culture meets tourism and residence, like an old tree sprouting new branches, it bursts with vitality. This not only injects cultural soul into the tourism industry but also provides new life for traditional culture. The dual-integration model can take various forms: instead of merely taking photos, tourists can personally craft clay figurines, learn local operas, or participate in traditional food preparation. Such experiences transform cold scenic spots into warm cultural classrooms, turning spectators into participants and bringing culture from books into tangible, sensory reality. Compiling historical celebrities' stories into live-action dramas or transforming traditional festivals into immersive experiences creates activated cultural IPs that attract tourists while spreading through broadcasting and online networks to broader audiences.

With the rise of this dual-integration model, increasing numbers of tourists hope to enhance personal cultivation, relax, and gain life wisdom through deep traditional cultural experiences. Taking Confucian culture-themed tourism products as an example: as one of the three pillars of traditional Chinese culture, Confucianism emphasizes "cultivating oneself, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world," focusing on moral cultivation, ritual norms, and humanistic care. Confucian culture-themed tourism products can provide rich spiritual experiences and physical-mental healing. Through Confucian cultural experience tours, tourists can appreciate the positive influence of Confucian thought on personal character, family harmony, and social responsibility. First, traditional ritual study sessions can be arranged where tourists participate in traditional ceremonies such as coming-of-age rituals, Confucius memorial ceremonies, and master-apprentice rituals to learn the norms and connotations of Confucian rituals and experience the cultural significance of "propriety." Second, classic text study sessions can be organized where tourists study the Four Books and Five Classics and invited experts explain the wisdom within these classics to help tourists understand Confucian thought. Third, calligraphy and guqin (zither) experiences allow tourists to learn calligraphy techniques and experience guqin performance, appreciating the "elegance" and "tranquility" in Confucian culture while cultivating refinement and inner peace through artistic engagement. Fourth, Confucian culture lectures and interactions invite Confucian scholars to discuss the application of Confucian thought in modern life and engage in interactive exchanges with tourists. Fifth, stage drama performances present Confucian culture through theatrical forms that both inherit traditional cultural essence and achieve creative transformation of modern values. This format not only revitalizes dusty classics but also enables audiences to complete the升华 from "knowing" to "embodying" Confucian culture through the emotional impact of drama. Through immersive Confucian cultural deep tours, tourists gain spiritual nourishment while ancient wisdom receives contemporary vitality, achieving living cultural inheritance. Tourists can comprehend the true essence of Confucian self-cultivation wisdom during their journeys, achieving comprehensive physical and mental enhancement. These cultural tourism products also provide new opportunities for local economic development and cultural dissemination, offering broad market prospects and social value.

Cultural guidance achieves win-win integration of broadcast television technology and cultural tourism projects. Culture is the root, the soul, and the source of development momentum. Cultural power is driving innovation in broadcast television technology and comprehensive upgrading of the cultural tourism industry. First, as an important carrier of cultural dissemination, broadcast television technology should fully leverage its audio-visual narrative advantages through cultural IP activation, historical scene reconstruction, and immersive experience design to create cultural tourism projects with both cultural depth and market vitality, bringing dormant culture to life and animating static scenic spots. Second, through deep cultural excavation and technological innovation application, tourists can shift from "watching the excitement" to "appreciating the essence," achieving true immersive experiences. In this process, culture is not mere embellishment but the backbone guiding development. Using culture to tell good stories, technology to empower experiences, and services to win hearts ensures tourists can not only visit and enjoy but also take away cultural memories and nostalgic feelings. Such integrated development rejuvenates traditional culture, injects vitality into local economies, and creates a virtuous cycle of mutual promotion between cultural dissemination and tourism consumption. This represents not only the necessary path for industrial upgrading but also the vivid practice of cultural confidence.

Focusing on strategies of technology empowerment, platform support, content innovation, and cultural guidance, advancing the integrated development of broadcast television technology and cultural tourism projects carries important strategic significance and practical value. This integration not only catalyzes the transformation of the broadcasting industry toward intelligence and all-media convergence but also reconstructs the cultural tourism industry value chain, fostering internationally competitive new-quality productive forces in digital cultural tourism and providing innovative vehicles and transformative support for building a modern economic system. Future efforts should adopt the principle of "culture as the soul, technology as the wings, and tourism as the body" to create a new Chinese-characteristic smart cultural tourism model through continuous innovation and cross-sector collaboration, achieving both social and economic benefits.

References

[1] Xinhua News Agency. Minister of Culture and Tourism Sun Yeli: Cultivating Culture and Tourism into a Pillar Industry [EB/OL]. (2025-03-11) [2025-01-13]. https://www.gov.cn/lianbo/bumen/202503/content_7012984.

[2] Xinhua News Agency. General Office of the CPC Central Committee and State Council Issue the Opinions on Promoting the Implementation of the National Cultural Digitalization Strategy [EB/OL]. (2022-05-22) [2025-01-20]. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2022-05/22/content_5691759.htm.

[3] Gao Shusheng. Cultural Large Models: Ready to Launch [J]. Technology and Publishing, 2024(2):

Author Biography

Chen Wei (1980—), Beijing, bachelor's degree, Deputy General Manager of China Broadcasting Digital Intelligence Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. Research interests include media convergence, international communication capacity building project management, and product development.