Preamble

Exploring New Business Models for Broadcasting-Tourism Integration Through the Broadcasting "Cultural Tourism Card" Model

Chen Changwei¹, Li Xiaofang²
(1. China Broadcasting Network Xinjiang Co., Ltd., Urumqi, Xinjiang 830063; 2. Beijing Future Media Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing 100032)

Abstract: [Objective] Driven by the ongoing digital economy and cultural powerhouse strategies, this study explores pathways for deep integration between broadcasting and cultural tourism. By fully leveraging the resource advantages and technological attributes of broadcasting network operators to empower tourism development, we aim to create new cultural business formats, cultivate consumption growth points, and inject new development momentum into the prosperity of cultural and tourism consumption. [Method] Through multi-dimensional analysis of case studies and models, we examine three integration models—content-driven, technology-driven, and project-driven—to explore the advantages and characteristics of the broadcasting cultural tourism card as an innovative business model. This approach achieves deep integration of broadcasting content, technological resources, and tourism consumption scenarios, constructing a closed-loop ecosystem of "content + traffic + services" that enhances user experiences and upgrades value, thereby stimulating greater consumption potential. [Results/Conclusion] The broadcasting cultural tourism card serves as a crucial vehicle for driving digital transformation in both broadcasting and tourism industries. It not only opens new channels for tourism communication but also constructs more diversified consumption scenarios and multi-layered experiential enjoyment for tourism consumption. As breakthroughs emerge in technology adaptation, scenario implementation, and ecological co-construction, this model will inject vitality into high-quality, innovative tourism development, creating a win-win situation for tourism experience upgrades and broadcasting industry transformation.

Keywords: Broadcasting and audiovisual; Cultural tourism card; 192 number card; 5G benefits; Smart tour guide
CLC Number: G244
Document Code: A
Article ID: 1671-0134(2025)04-07-05
DOI: 10.19483/j.cnki.11-4653/n.2025.04.001
Citation Format: Chen Changwei, Li Xiaofang. Exploring New Business Models for Broadcasting-Tourism Integration Through the Broadcasting "Cultural Tourism Card" Model [J]. China Media Technology, 2025, 32(4): 7-11.

1. Analysis of Broadcasting-Tourism Integration Models

The deep integration of cultural undertakings and tourism industries has become a national strategic development priority. The report from the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China explicitly states that we should "use culture to shape tourism and tourism to highlight culture, promoting deep integration of culture and tourism." The Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform and Promoting Chinese-Style Modernization, adopted at the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, proposes "improving the institutional mechanisms for deep integration of culture and tourism." In January 2025, the General Office of the State Council issued Several Measures for Further Cultivating New Growth Points and Prospering Cultural and Tourism Consumption [1], which clearly calls for cultivating consumption scenarios and creating new consumption environments. As the Party and State Institutional Reform Plan is deeply implemented, relevant functional departments including culture, tourism, broadcasting, and sports have launched a new round of reforms, with broadcasting-tourism integration becoming a major focus of this institutional restructuring [2]. For instance, Anhui Province has reorganized its Department of Culture and Tourism, incorporating the responsibilities of the Provincial Radio and Television Bureau and adding the Radio and Television Bureau signboard. As an important component of the cultural industry, radio and television's active integration into the tourism development system represents both a policy requirement and an inevitable trend. Particularly with the application of new-generation information technologies such as AI, 5G, VR, and cloud computing in broadcasting, the deep integration of content and technology, culture and science will bring entirely new experiences and value to the tourism industry. For broadcasting network operators, exploring integration pathways and business models with the tourism industry based on localized characteristics and resource endowments holds significant importance—not only injecting new vitality into high-quality, innovative tourism development but also providing new opportunities for the transformation and upgrading of broadcasting networks.

1.1 Empowering Tourism Promotion Through Content Dissemination: Creating a "Television-Based Tourism Map"

In recent years, television programs and audiovisual content centered on cultural tourism themes have gained widespread popularity among users. A rich variety of content works, including tourism variety shows, micro-dramas, and film/TV IPs, have formed a positive interaction with offline tourism economies. Programs such as China in Intangible Cultural Heritage and Traveling with National Music activate intangible cultural heritage and regional cultures through on-location narratives, while dramas like Blossoms Shanghai and Where the Wind Blows have turned filming locations into popular tourist check-in spots. Particularly following the National Radio and Television Administration's notice on the "Travel with Micro-Dramas" creative initiative, numerous physical filming locations have gained fame through the popularity of micro-dramas. The broadcasting network serves as the primary channel and platform for ideological and cultural work and the fundamental means for serving the people's needs to listen to radio and watch television. The large television screen, with its high definition and picture quality, can vividly showcase scenic landscapes, culinary delights, and cultural heritage of tourist destinations, providing viewers with realistic visual enjoyment and effectively enhancing the dissemination effect and conversion rate of tourism information. While providing live television services, broadcasting network operators are also carefully designing and creating specialized tourism content tailored to local resources, forming smart tourism information service zones. For example, China Broadcasting Network Xinjiang Company has adopted "cloud tourism" as its entry point, combining film and television content with local tourism to launch a series of travel routes such as Journey to the West—Horseback Riding in Jiangbulak, Where Are We Going, Dad?—Kanas, the Garden of the Gods, Ever Night—Starry Sky in the Kumtag Desert, The Proud Twins—Culinary Journey in Xinjiang, Flowers and the Distant Place—Shihezi Rural Tour, and Novoland—Grassland Fantasy, attracting numerous users to explore "Beautiful Xinjiang" through these programs. Hubei Broadcasting Network has launched the "Scenic Mountains and Waters, Treasure Hubei" cultural tourism zone on its large screen, aggregating distinctive local tourism resources and offering five major sections: scenic spot guides, travel route strategies, local specialty recommendations, culinary introductions, and intangible cultural heritage dissemination, presenting users with a comprehensive display of Hubei's unique tourism charm and allowing them to easily appreciate the magnificent landscapes, distinctive customs, and unique cuisines of treasure Hubei through television [3]. These zones are primarily implemented through coverage at hotel television frontends, effectively serving local tourism development. [FIGURE:1] shows the interface of China Broadcasting Network Xinjiang Company's Yili Zhaosu Cultural Tourism Zone.

1.2 Driving Experience Upgrades Through Digital Technology: Constructing Immersive Tourism Scenarios

The penetration and application of digital technologies such as VR/AR, AI, and 5G in the tourism industry are opening new experiential possibilities. Broadcasting network operators are both cultural central enterprises and basic telecommunications operators, possessing robust network infrastructure and information science capabilities, making them important forces in national cultural digitalization construction. Currently, China Broadcasting Network has built a "700M+2.6GHz" premium 5G network through cooperation with China Mobile, creating the world's largest 700M 5G network with extensive signal coverage that provides users with stable and reliable mobile communication services. The 700MHz frequency band offers wide signal coverage, low transmission loss, and strong diffraction capabilities, injecting powerful development momentum into the tourism industry. On one hand, based on 5G+VR and 5G+4K/8K technologies, broadcasting network operators are actively cultivating new tourism formats and experiences such as cloud tourism, cloud performances, cloud livestreaming, and cloud exhibitions by combining local tourism resources and performance economies. For instance, VR giant screens integrated with red tourism sites allow users to visit national intangible cultural heritage sites or famous red tourism attractions anytime simply by wearing VR glasses, creating immersive interactive experiences and consumption forms [4]. On the other hand, based on 3D and digital twin technologies, high-precision digital collection of cultural relics in museums and art galleries enables users thousands of miles away to experience culture and art from 360-degree perspectives. At the 20th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair, China Broadcasting Network Xinjiang Company, in partnership with collaborators, exhibited a broadcasting 5G holographic cabin that uses 5G networks and holographic technology to present people and objects in full 3D, allowing users to obtain more realistic spatial interaction and holographic visual experiences with the naked eye—highly attractive for cultural tourism scenarios such as artifact displays, historical figure revivals, and cultural product introductions. Furthermore, provincial broadcasting network operators are actively promoting the integration of technological innovations such as ultra-high-definition interactive video, immersive video, virtual reality, and 8K ultra-high-definition video with tourism experiences to create new digital tourism experiences.

1.3 Driving Resource Integration Through Government-Enterprise Collaboration: Forming One-Stop Characteristic Tourism

New-era tourism experiences represent a three-dimensional integration of high-quality tourism resources, abundant product supply, and intelligent services. Various characteristic towns, theme parks, and rural leisure activities have become new favorites among tourists. Leveraging their advantages in content and resources, broadcasting network operators are increasingly participating in relevant tourism projects, empowering governments and tourism agencies to create intelligent, considerate, and personalized tourism services. For example, by integrating resources and applying innovation to build comprehensive tourism service platforms, they develop intelligent tour guide systems using IoT and positioning technologies. By installing sensors and cameras in scenic areas and utilizing big data and AI technologies for real-time monitoring of tourist flow, they provide more efficient and convenient services for tourism development, achieving high-quality collaborative development within characteristic areas such as cultural tourism towns and digital villages. Representative examples include Jiangsu Cable's smart broadcasting rural project, which uses the powerful network technology and operational support capabilities of broadcasting networks to integrate local public service resources, connecting mobile phones, computers, and smart set-top boxes to provide rural areas with the latest and most comprehensive convenience information and the most convenient lifestyle services. For tourists, the entire journey—from pre-trip information collection and booking to travel, parking, smart experiences in scenic areas, and departure—can be completed in one stop. Broadcasting network companies also have dedicated content operation teams for smart rural cultural construction, providing content services for various smart broadcasting rural engineering platforms, showcasing regional tourism resources and traditional folk culture, and delivering "local flavor" cultural feasts in batches to form unique tourism ecosystems. China Broadcasting Network Xinjiang Company is also actively building a Xinjiang cultural data service platform to realize relevant digital tourism smart services.

2. Experience Innovation and Benefit Upgrades in the Broadcasting Tourism Card Model

Beyond the content-driven, technology-driven, and project-driven integration models, the "broadcasting tourism card" model is continuously releasing the value of broadcasting-tourism integration under the joint impetus of policy, market, and institutional reforms, endowing the tourism industry with greater market potential. The broadcasting tourism card is a cultural benefit card launched through cooperation between broadcasting network operators and local tourism agencies that integrates broadcasting television services with tourism-related benefits and services, aiming to provide users with richer, more convenient, and preferential cultural tourism experiences. This model is becoming an important method for deep cooperation between broadcasting network operators and the tourism industry, with Zhejiang, Hunan, Shanghai, and other regions already taking the lead in implementation, while Xinjiang is also actively deploying.

2.1 Characteristics of the Broadcasting Tourism Card

The broadcasting tourism card does not simply overlay broadcasting and audiovisual services with tourism resources but achieves deep integration in resource allocation, service processes, and tourism experiences to realize a 1+1+1>3 effect, which will not only effectively enhance user experience but also greatly stimulate the vitality of tourism consumption.

2.1.1 Benefit Integration for Value Enhancement

The benefits included in the broadcasting tourism card mainly fall into three categories: first, broadcasting and audiovisual benefits, where users can enjoy content benefits such as television programs and film resources provided by broadcasting network operators; second, 192 5G number card benefits, where users receive corresponding communication services including calls, data, and SMS; and third, local tourism industry resource benefits, aggregating services and discounts for attractions, transportation, performances, sports, and dining. Through this benefit integration, on one hand, users can access rich tourism resources and information through the card, learning about more attractions, cultural activities, and travel routes to broaden their horizons and experiential range. On the other hand, the bundling of numerous preferential benefits—including scenic spot ticket discounts, hotel accommodation deals, and dining consumption reductions—helps users save substantial travel costs and enhances the attractiveness of local tourism consumption.

2.1.2 Digital Empowerment for One-Stop Services

The aggregation of audiovisual, communication, and tourism resources through the broadcasting tourism card is not merely simple resource stacking but seeks genuine integration between online and offline channels and interoperability between large and small screens. Previously, users often had to access multiple platforms for ticket booking and verification during tourism consumption. With the broadcasting tourism card, users can complete bookings, inquiries, and other operations for local characteristic cultural tourism activities and resources on a single platform, greatly improving convenience. Moreover, relevant benefits can achieve mutual connectivity and traffic diversion. After obtaining the broadcasting tourism card, users can watch corresponding scenic area promotional videos, log in to the broadcasting tourism digital platform, and book tickets for popular attractions, realizing interoperability between online and offline benefits and experiences. The card also typically provides convenient services such as fast entry and priority booking, allowing users to enjoy cultural tourism services more efficiently.

2.1.3 Exclusive IP Branding for Multi-Party Win-Win

As state-owned cultural enterprises, broadcasting network companies possess strong credibility. By cross-border cooperation with upstream and downstream tourism institutions and establishing the broadcasting tourism card as a unified brand, tourism agencies can leverage broadcasting media resources for promotional marketing, enhancing the credibility and influence of tourism communication. The tourism industry can expand market share and stimulate tourism consumption vitality through the channels and user resources of broadcasting operators. For broadcasting operators, launching the tourism card represents a crucial business expansion initiative. Integration with the tourism industry can effectively drive the growth of broadcasting and mobile communication services, enhancing brand influence and market competitiveness. Through resource sharing and complementary advantages, both parties jointly create higher-quality cultural tourism products and services, further providing users with richer resources and superior one-stop tourism consumption experiences and exclusive services, thereby promoting the collaborative and high-quality development of the local tourism economy's upstream and downstream industrial chain.

2.2 Ecosystem Construction for the Broadcasting Tourism Card

On the surface, the broadcasting tourism card is a virtual benefit card, but it actually represents effective management of tourism resource aggregation and personalized marketing services for user groups. The construction and operation of its broadcasting + tourism ecosystem and platform are key engines for effectively activating the tourism market. Based on analysis of current broadcasting tourism card operation models, a "1+3+N" ecosystem needs to be built: one core (broadcasting 5G + smart middle platform), three major platforms (content production platform, benefit management platform, data operation platform), and N scenarios (covering the entire chain of "dining, accommodation, transportation, tourism, shopping, and entertainment"), forming an open, collaborative, and efficient ecosystem. The relevant framework is shown in [FIGURE:2].

2.2.1 One Core

The deep integration of broadcasting 5G and smart middle platforms constitutes the core support of the entire ecosystem. Broadcasting 5G, with its high speed, low latency, and wide connectivity, provides a smooth network environment for tourism scenarios and audiovisual content, ensuring stable operation of applications such as high-definition video livestreaming and real-time interactive experiences. The smart middle platform integrates advanced technologies including AI, big data, and blockchain to achieve unified scheduling and management of various resources.

2.2.2 Three Platforms

The content production platform enhances the appeal of tourism consumption primarily through tourism-related audiovisual content. First, it can cooperate with relevant tourism agencies and museums to introduce authoritative cultural resources such as digital artifact exhibitions and intangible cultural heritage demonstrations, enriching cultural connotations and meeting users' demands for high-quality cultural experiences. Second, it can leverage existing broadcasting content advantages to introduce high-quality tourism audiovisual content such as ultra-high-definition scenic documentaries and in-depth cultural interpretation programs. In later mature stages, it can also attempt a UGC model to attract more user participation and attention, forming a word-of-mouth dissemination platform experience. Using the opportunity of television dual governance effectiveness deepening, it can accelerate minimalist television and fiber-to-the-home deployment.

The benefit management platform primarily manages the launch, purchase, activation, redemption, reservation, and verification of various tourism resource benefits. Given the rich diversity of benefits involving scenic spot tickets, hotel accommodation discounts, performance tickets, and dining discounts, the platform must comprehensively control the accuracy, legality, and validity of benefit information. It needs to record each transaction in real-time, including user information, benefit type, and transaction time, ensuring smooth transaction processes while providing detailed basis for subsequent benefit management and data analysis. Additionally, it can utilize benefit tools in the tourism marketing management module, such as discounts, flash sales, and lotteries, to enrich user acquisition methods and enhance user participation and activity.

The data operation platform integrates user behavior data (browsing records, click preferences), scenic area data (visitor flow, popular attractions), and consumption data (order amounts, frequency) from the tourism data module to build comprehensive user profiles. Based on these profiles, it provides personalized tourism product recommendations. According to user demand data for "shopping," it optimizes product categories and shopping processes in the mall module, introducing more characteristic tourism products to enhance user consumption willingness.

2.2.3 N Scenarios

The broadcasting tourism card covers the entire chain of "dining, accommodation, transportation, tourism, shopping, and entertainment," using television large screens and mobile mini-programs as entry points to achieve seamless connection with localized tourism consumption scenarios. On the broadcasting tourism platform, users can find nearby characteristic restaurants, book hotels, plan travel routes, access AI tour guide explanations, enjoy VR panoramic tours, purchase characteristic souvenirs and cultural products, participate in online cultural activities, and obtain one-stop tourism experiences.

2.3 Implementation and Deployment of the Broadcasting Tourism Card

Since the concept and model of the broadcasting tourism card emerged, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and other regions have taken the lead. The most mature and complete implementation is the "Poetic and Picturesque Zhejiang·Cultural Tourism Benefit Card" jointly created by Zhejiang Hua Shu Group and Zhejiang's tourism partners. This card integrates 112 scenic resources including 5A and 4A-level scenic spots across the province, providing one-stop services for "dining, accommodation, transportation, tourism, shopping, and entertainment," covering eight benefits including connectivity, audiovisual, communication, travel, finance, hotels, entertainment, and insurance [5]. It has independently developed a tourism card platform that modularizes tourism product and partner management, tourism application management, and tourism marketing management, allowing users to subscribe to and activate relevant benefits through the "Poetic and Picturesque Zhejiang Tourism Card" mini-program. In February 2025, it also launched the "Tourism Promotion Officer Aijia," providing 24-hour online service for tourists through integration with the DeepSeek large model application.

By combining Xinjiang's local tourism characteristics and drawing on the experience and model of Hua Shu's tourism card, China Broadcasting Network Xinjiang Company is actively connecting with local tourism resources. Following the overall "1+3+N" ecological layout, it is comprehensively upgrading tourism benefits, accelerating minimalist television and fiber-to-the-home deployment, integrating Xinjiang's tourism audiovisual content, creating a "Digital Silk Road" cultural business card, and partnering with industry chain collaborators to aggregate resources from 4A-level and above scenic spots across the Tianshan region, such as Kanas, Sayram Lake, and Kashgar Ancient City, along with performance privileges, smart tour guides, and specialty product direct supply services. Through broadcasting one-number connectivity, it achieves interoperability between 192 5G benefits and large-screen audiovisual and tourism consumption benefits. It continues upgrading the Xinjiang cultural data service platform, exploring new tourism scenarios such as digital twin scenic spots and cultural heritage revitalization, to become an innovative carrier for the "Culture Enriches Xinjiang" project. Its strategic goal of "One Card Travels Xinjiang, Digital Silk Road" aims to provide a practical model for broadcasting-tourism integration in border regions nationwide.

3. Challenges and Breakthrough Strategies for the Broadcasting Tourism Card Model

As an innovative approach to deep broadcasting-tourism integration, the broadcasting tourism card model, despite its obvious advantages, faces multiple challenges in practical implementation.

First, insufficient policy and financial support. While the broadcasting and tourism industries have natural complementary advantages, there are no direct and explicit policies promoting their integrated development. At the local level, except for a few provinces like Zhejiang and Anhui where local tourism and broadcasting bureaus have been integrated, other regions have relatively weak policies supporting broadcasting-tourism integration, mostly focusing on tourism content development and dissemination. Since the broadcasting tourism card involves the integration and connectivity of all local tourism resources—a massive systematic project with a long investment cycle—it requires strong support and financial investment from tourism bureaus/departments and broadcasting bureaus.

Second, significant challenges in technology development and resource integration for broadcasting operators. The broadcasting tourism card involves rich but scattered resources, with each aspect of "dining, accommodation, transportation, tourism, shopping, and entertainment" being an independent system with different data platforms and interface standards. Simple connectivity and access involve substantial work and require solving data silo problems, necessitating a powerful data middle platform within the broadcasting network itself. Moreover, the smooth access of each resource also relates to overall benefit distribution, requiring substantial promotional resources to enhance awareness and recognition, expand the user base, and drive scale effects.

Third, verification and replication of the business model. The broadcasting tourism card achieves a "1:10" value amplification effect through business model innovation of "low-price leverage + resource integration + ecological empowerment," injecting new momentum into the tourism industry while providing new opportunities for broadcasting operators to expand incremental markets. Its core lies in building a closed-loop ecosystem of "user traffic - data assets - business synergy," which requires effective support from policy, technology, content, and industry—making replication challenging and necessitating good public relations development and maintenance. According to the latest statistics from Hua Shu Group, since its launch at the end of 2024, the tourism card has been welcomed by tourists from various regions, with sales exceeding 200,000 cards. However, the tourism consumption value it leverages requires more data verification and industry-wide efforts to promote and break through.

With the accelerated promotion of the national unified network, broadcasting operators are expected to form an integrated operation and management pattern of "unified construction, unified management, unified standards, and unified brand," presenting major development opportunities for the broadcasting tourism card model. Based on a unified digital management platform, through 5G smart middle platforms achieving cross-regional resource integration and data interoperability, a three-level operation system of "provincial coordination—municipal collaboration—county implementation" can be constructed. This provides standardized service interfaces and dynamic benefit management capabilities for tourism consumption scenarios, effectively solving problems of fragmented traditional tourism services and differentiated experiences, ultimately forming a replicable and scalable national broadcasting tourism consumption ecosystem. As radio and television stations fully leverage content production and AIGC technology advantages to empower tourism communication and experience upgrades, broadcasting network operators are also seizing development opportunities presented by new-generation information technologies such as 5G, AI, and 4K/8K to explore and innovate ways of integrating with the tourism industry, providing new pathways and ideas for tourism consumption upgrades and broadcasting network transformation.

This paper analyzes current mainstream broadcasting-tourism integration models from the perspective of broadcasting operators. Broadcasting operators utilize digital television platforms to empower localized cultural and tourism promotion while strengthening tourism infrastructure construction and integrating cutting-edge technologies such as IoT, big data, and 5G to construct a high-speed, interconnected, secure, and reliable comprehensive information service network. This empowers the digital upgrading of the tourism industry, achieving not only intelligent services for tourism agencies but also more authentic and immersive digital experiences for users. Based on the innovative broadcasting tourism card model, this paper conducts in-depth analysis from the perspectives of model characteristics, ecosystem architecture, industry practices, challenges, and opportunities. It proposes that implementation pathways should address development bottlenecks through policy coordination, resource integration, and technological breakthroughs, providing valuable references for subsequent promotion and upgrading of the broadcasting tourism card model. This will also assist broadcasting operators in continuing to explore and create new ultra-high-definition, immersive, and interactive digital tourism spaces and consumption scenarios.

References

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[3] Li Jia. Hubei Broadcasting Network Launches "Scenic Mountains and Waters, Treasure Hubei" Cultural Tourism Zone, Showcasing Hubei's Tourism Charm [EB/OL]. (2024-10-11) [2025-01-02]. https://www.cls.cn/detail/xk/6708e67f03a4f4717aa6ff4f.

[4] Entgroup. 2024 Cultural Tourism Consumption Trend Insight Report [R]. Beijing: Entgroup, 2024(12): 14-16.

[5] Chu Fan. "Poetic and Picturesque Zhejiang·Cultural Tourism Benefit Card" Officially Released [EB/OL]. (2024-12-02) [2025-01-02]. https://www.hzzx.gov.cn/cshz/content/2024-12/02/content_8820660.htm.

Authors: Chen Changwei (1981—), male, from Songzi, Hubei, Master's degree, Senior Engineer, research direction: Broadcasting 5G technology and operations management; Li Xiaofang (1990—), female, from Changsha, Hunan, Bachelor's degree, research direction: Broadcasting television policy and industry development.

(Editor: Li Jing)