Wuhan, the Chinese city where the Covid-19 pandemic started, is targeting the domestic market to recover its tourism sector. Being the city where the coronavirus outbreak started, Wuhan implemented a 76-day lockdown between January and April, recording more than 50,000 Covid-19 cases and over 3,800 deaths. But the efforts have been paid off: the city saw its infection rates decreasing rapidly and the city has not reported a local case since May.
Apparently, the lockdown has been beneficial also for Wuhan’s tourism sector as it has increased the appeal of the city. According to a joint study carried out in April by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Tourism Research Center and Tencent Culture and Tourism Industry Research Center, Wuhan was on top of Chinese travelers’ wish list for 2020, followed by Beijing and Chongqing. Travelers said they want to contribute to the economic development of the region following the epidemic. The report is based on big data and 15,163 questionnaires.
Recently, the city has released a new promotional video in an attempt to attract tourists back as the pandemic fears ease. The 3.40-minute video was published on the social media pages of Visit Wuhan, the official Tourism Bureau of the Chinese city. The video titled “Let’s Meet in Wuhan” is a tribute to Wuhan’s culture, nature and people. It shows the best of the city, including its floating forest in the Zhangdu Lake Wetland, the Yangtze River, the historical Yellow Crane Tower, local people performing daily activities, and more. It was originally posted in Chinese on November 13, on Visit Wuhan’s Weibo platform. The English version was later shared on Facebook on November 22 with the caption “Looking forward to meeting you in Wuhan.”
The new video generated different reactions. On one side, some users’ comments on Weibo are extremely positive, stating that the video perfectly shows many different aspects of the city and that the filming locations have been chosen accurately. On the other side, some people think the promotional video does not truly represent Wuhan.
“The video would fit into any city with a river. The theme and the highlights aren’t standing out,” commented one user.
During these months of pandemic, Wuhan’s Tourist Bureau has already attempted to recover its tourism sector, promoting the city among domestic travelers. For example, the city has offered free entry to the most famous attractions and has organized night tours to the Yellow Crane Tower during the golden week holiday.
