B&B hotels become new driver of rural tourism

The B&B hotel business is gaining steam in rural China. On Tujia.com, an online platform for booking B&B hotels, there are more than 500,000 hotels, and bookings at rural hotels account for more than 40 percent of total hotel reservations compared with 30 percent before the COVID-19 pandemic.

A tourist takes photos of hotels at Huangling scenic spot in Wuyuan county, east China's Jiangxi Province, June 29, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhang Ruiqi)

China’s "No. 1 central document" for 2023 states that the country will implement high-quality leisure tourism products in rural areas and promote the upgrading of rural B&B hotels.

B&B hotels can drive the development of rural areas. For example, the Shuiyong Jinjiang B&B hotel in Zhangjiajie city, central China's Hunan Province, can provide jobs for 12 local villagers, generating total revenue of 500,000 yuan ($72,650) in a year.

As the tourism market heats up, it offers more options to tourists. Against this backdrop, rural B&B hotels must improve their quality and roll out better products to satisfy demand for high-quality travel experiences.

To improve quality, B&B hotels should make use of local tourism and cultural resources.

For instance, apart from wellness tourism, a resort town in Xinmi city, central China's Henan Province is also a destination for mountain yoga, mountain biking, experiencing traditional culture and camping, and features accommodation choices such as tents and recreational vehicles.

Tujia.com has taken measures to support the construction and development of rural B&B hotels. It has held trainings for business owners on running rural B&B hotels in Rizhao, east China's Shandong Province, Chengde in north China's Hebei Province and Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan Province.