Think Tank

Observing the New Trend of Tourism Consumption from the Rise of Accompanying Climbing Services

2025-07-10   

On the high mountain meadow at an altitude of 1600 meters in Wugong Mountain, Pingxiang, Jiangxi, 23-year-old Zhu Jianfeng is leading his 200th customer bravely towards Jinding. This professional 'climbing companion' practitioner not only needs to carefully plan routes and assist clients with backpacks, but also provides comprehensive services such as massage, child carrying, and psychological encouragement to clients at any time. This new type of tourism service has shown explosive growth this summer - in June alone, Zhu Jianfeng's team completed 29 days of accompanying climbing orders. Among the 2.6285 million visitors received by Wugong Mountain Scenic Area in the first half of the year, more and more young people are starting to pay for this emotionally valuable service. The rapid popularity of the "companion crawling" service is not accidental. This reflects a new definition of travel experience by the new generation of consumers. Unlike traditional tour guides, "climbing companions" provide far more than just route guidance, but also emotional companionship and personalized support. The practice of more than 20 "post-2000" practitioners in Zhu Jianfeng's team shows that contemporary tourism services are further pursuing humanized development on the basis of implementing standardization. As revealed by the "chat style explanation" and "encouraging mountain climbing" attempts at Enshi Grand Canyon in Hubei, what modern tourists pursue is not only reaching the destination, but also being seen, understood, and empowered in the process. Behind the change lies a profound intergenerational transition. The growth of tourists in Wugong Mountain is related to the fact that young people have become the main force in the tourism market. They both crave to challenge the limits of 'special forces style tourism' and need professional support to bridge the gap in capabilities; It is difficult to resist the warmth of social companionship while pursuing the freedom of independent exploration. This complex psychology has given rise to the flourishing development of new service markets. When emotional value becomes a quantifiable commodity, supply side reform is urgently needed. However, the explosive growth of the industry has also exposed some hidden concerns. At present, the vast majority of "companion crawling" services are still in the state of individual operation, and there are many risks hidden in non-standard transactions completed through social platforms. In this regard, more comprehensive institutional design is needed to further regulate market behavior. In addition, regarding "accompanying climbing" as an upgraded version of traditional tour guides rather than a substitute may provide new ideas for industry standards. This means that while retaining the flexibility of personalized services, it is also necessary to establish basic frameworks such as professional qualifications, service standards, and security guarantees. On the one hand, by loosening policies and activating the potential for flexible employment, local residents are allowed to provide compliant services after reporting; On the other hand, establish industry standards and service specifications, clarify benchmarks such as professional qualifications, price guidance, and contract templates, strengthen platform supervision and credit system construction, and draw a red line for "private travel companions". From a more macro perspective, the rise of the "climbing economy" reflects a paradigm shift in the service industry. When tourists at Wugong Mountain are willing to pay for a word of encouragement or support, they are essentially pricing for a sense of being valued. With the younger generation becoming the main force in the tourism market, the demand for personalized tourism services is showing explosive growth. The "Accompanying Climbing" service precisely fills the gap between traditional tour guide services and independent mountain climbing experiences, retaining tourists' freedom of exploration while providing necessary professional support. This' third choice 'between standardized services and self-service helps reshape the industry value coordinate system. Standing at the crossroads of industrial development, we should neither simply regard "accompanying climbing" as a consumerist foam, nor let it grow savagely. When scenic area managers, practitioners, and regulatory authorities can deeply understand the real demands behind the "emotional value", the tourism industry can achieve a qualitative change from "providing scenery" to "providing experience". Only by achieving such a qualitative change can more young people like Zhu Jianfeng help others reach the top and better realize their life value. (New Society)

Edit:Luo yu Responsible editor:Wang er dong

Source:Beijing Youth Daily

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