文章名：‘Emotional value’ new key to winning hearts of tourists

作者：Bi Mengying

受访专家：汕头市爱家心理研究所理事长

                    中国心理卫生协会注册心理咨询师   马健文

One of the longest holidays in China, the five-day May Day holidays ran from Thursday to Monday this year. Many people across China decided to treat themselves to a well-earned vacation. Amid the country's booming domestic tourism scene, creating "emotional value" has quickly become a new key to winning the hearts of tourists.

Local cultural and tourism departments around the country, as well as scenic destinations, are stepping up efforts to attract visitors.

Yet Rizhao, a coastal city in East China's Shandong Province, has grabbed national attention and made it on the trending chart on Sina Weibo with keywords such as "3,000 half-kilos of clams" and "emotional value."

With more and more tourists prioritizing immersive and memorable experiences over conventional sightseeing, activities such as clam digging have become increasingly popular in seaside cities such as Rizhao.

Exploring the tidal flats is an age-old pastime but feels refreshing to tourists. What they gain is not only nature's gifts, but also a glimpse into the rich local maritime culture and traditional way of life.

During the May Day holidays, a scenic spot in Rizhao launched the "Dragon King's Treasure" Clam Festival. Swearing that no visitors would go home empty-handed, 1,500 kilograms of clams were scattered across the tidal flats every day during the holiday period. Local authorities also set up a bus line dedicated to clam digging, and also published guides for clam digging and a collection of clam recipes.

A popular video online shows a small flatbed truck loaded with baskets of clams moving along the shore while staff toss clams toward tourists. Some tourists laugh and run after the truck happily, holding out their buckets, which the staff fill with clams.

Hashtags like "Rizhao ensures no visitor leaves without clams" and "3,000 half-kilos of clams a day for emotional value" have gone viral online, with some netizens commenting, that's "truck after truck" of emotional value.

After this clam-scattering event went viral, the scenic area quickly upgraded the experience by adding characters like Ao Bing (a son of the Dragon King) and the Dragon Maiden (a daughter of the Dragon King), based on suggestions from netizens, sparking a new wave of interest online.

Initially a marketing term that measured customers' perceived emotional benefits against cost, the phrase "emotional value" has been growing popular, particularly among young people in China. It now refers to how one's actions influence others. Bringing comfort and joy adds emotional value, while causing stress or discomfort reduces it. It has been selected as one of the top 10 Chinese buzzwords by a linguistics journal.

From a psychological perspective, "emotional value" is essentially about meeting individuals' emotional needs through interaction or experiences. For many, travel serves as a way to take a break from fast-paced urban life and is a form of emotional compensation, Ma Jianwen, an expert with the Clinical Psychology and Supervision Professional Committee of the Guangdong Psychological Association, told the Global Times.

"At their core, these approaches are all about thoughtfully designing emotional scenarios that transform traditional sightseeing into experiences that are both shareable and emotionally engaging," said Ma.

Chinese tourism platform Tongcheng Travel's newly released report shows that this year's May Day holidays are expected to see record-breaking domestic tourism activity, and travel demand is likely to remain strong through the weekend following the official holiday, reported Xinhua Finance on Monday. The report   highlighted a strong domestic tourism market, with both supply and demand on the rise.

From infrastructure to services, everything is undergoing transformation and upgrading as culture and tourism become more deeply integrated in China. The approach to service standards and quality is also shifting, Sun Jiashan, an associate researcher at the Central Academy of Culture and Tourism Administration, told the Global Times.

"It's no longer just about pouring in money or advancing technology in tourism, 'emotional value' plays a key role in helping tourists truly feel a sense of satisfaction. It's also key aspect of the deep integration of culture and tourism that is occurring now," added Sun.

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