Chen Guangfu has been in the United States for many years and likes traveling. He is determined to set up the first travel agency in China. According to the former manager of Tianjin Branch of Shanghai Bank (who became the general manager of Shanghai Bank after liberation), "China Travel Agency run by Shanghai Bank is the first in China.
Chen Guangfu's motive for establishing China Travel Agency was not to do business at first, but to fight against foreigners and compete for the country.
Travel agencies in old China were all run by imperialist foreign businessmen such as Britain, the United States and Japan, and China people had to go through their hands to go abroad and go through the travel formalities.
Foreign businessmen are not only expensive, but also arrogant and rude, and they simply look down on China people.
Chen Guangfu often goes abroad and suffers indignities.
Once, the arrogance of a foreign businessman made him unbearable. He argued with the other party for a few words, and the other party sneered and said,' If you are not satisfied, why don't you China people set up one yourself?' Very contemptuous of Chen Guangfu.
In a rage, Chen decided to start China Travel Agency. "In addition to patriotism and the right to fight for the motherland, Chen Guangfu also believes that in order to let China people and people all over the world know about China's ancient culture and historical sites, it is necessary to establish and improve institutions that serve tourists, which is another motivation for him to set up China Travel Agency.
1April, 923, Shanghai Bank, with Chen Guangfu as the general manager, formally wrote to the Ministry of Communications of Beiyang, requesting to sell train tickets on behalf of others and handle tourism business.
At that time, the Ministry of Communications was holding a national railway intermodal conference. Once the case was submitted, it was immediately opposed by foreign railway officials in important positions.
The apparent reason is that Britain, Japan, the United States, France and other countries have set up travel agencies in China, so there is no need to re-establish them. In fact, they are worried that the vested interests of foreign travel agencies in China will be reduced.
Fortunately, the then Commissioner for Transport, Ye Gongchuo, the Director of Highways, Liu Jingshan, and people from all walks of life in China gave their full support. After a heated debate, it was finally passed.
In August of that year 1, the Travel Department of Shanghai Bank was formally established.
This day is a day worthy of going down in history in China tourism history.
Because according to international practice, the emergence of commercial travel agencies is a symbol of the birth of a country's modern tourism industry.
A month after the establishment of the Travel Department, it set up a branch in Hangzhou, and then expanded its scale one after another. In five years, * * * established 1 1 branch.
1927, the board of directors of Shanghai Bank held a meeting to study and decide to invest 50,000 yuan (later increased to 500,000 yuan). On June 1 day, the Ministry of Tourism officially changed its name to "China Travel Agency" and applied to the Ministry of Communications of People's Republic of China (PRC) for registration, which was approved on June 1928+0.
The tenet of "customer first, serving the society"
As early as the establishment of Shanghai Bank, Chen Guangfu put forward the slogan of "serving the society, helping industry and commerce, and invading the international economy".
China Travel Agency inherited this slogan, with the aim of "customer first, serving the society", and established the 24-word policy of "promoting the national light, serving tourism, showing scenic spots, improving accommodation, devoting to freight transportation and promoting culture", and started the road of travel agency's entrepreneurship.
At first, the travel agency's business was relatively simple, mainly passenger transport. First, domestic train and ship tickets were sold, then negotiated with American and Japanese railway companies and American, French, British and Japanese shipping companies to sell tickets for foreign railway and ship companies, and then sold tickets after the establishment of China Airlines.
In order to accumulate experience, Zhu, the first manager, wore a receptionist's uniform to meet passengers at the station many times or personally drove to buy tickets for passengers, and put forward a series of convenience measures.
China Travel Agency was in a loss state at the beginning of its establishment, and it will not be profitable for a long time to come. Therefore, many people in Shanghai Bank oppose this business, but Chen Guangfu has always insisted on this business.
He once said to everyone: "Everything in the world is more important than money, and it is also good.
Winning a person's goodwill is far better than winning a person's money.
Nowadays, travel agencies have won the infinite favor of the public. Why is its surplus good? At the same time, Chen Guangfu believes that after accumulating experience, improving management and increasing services, this "tangible loss" can also be transformed into a "tangible surplus".
Chen Guangfu finally won the praise of many customers with the service attitude and practical actions of "people strive for near profits, I strive for far achievements, and people are too subtle, and I would rather be cumbersome", and the travel agency also stood firm in the competition with foreign businessmen and gradually turned losses into profits.
1936 earned 600 thousand.
This is just as Mr. Hong Jiaguan, an expert in financial history and vice president of Shanghai Finance Association, said: Chen Guangfu finally created a miracle of success, and the most important thing is that he put forward the concept of serving the society.
The travel agency industry in China has made great progress.
The fastest development stage of travel agency business in China is from 193 1 to 1937, and 45 branches and offices have been added one after another, which has the characteristics of keeping pace with the newly opened traffic lines in China.
The business scope of China Travel Agency is very extensive, including both passenger transport and freight transport. Hostels, hotels, restaurants and restaurants on the train; Organize domestic tourism and foreign sightseeing; Go through the formalities of going abroad and issue traveler's checks; Not only set up a travel agency to visit the group, but also directly invest in the development of scenic spots; And firmly seize the opportunity of large-scale meetings to carry out business.
Organizing sightseeing is the main business of China Travel Agency. This organization has a special tourism department. Every year, in Spring Festival travel rush, we negotiate with the Railway Bureau to open a special tour train for Hangzhou, and timely organize Haining to watch tides, Huishan to visit lakes, Chaoshan to explore plum blossoms and Fujiang to visit various places of interest. Among them, the longer trip was organized by the overseas Chinese industrial delegation from Java to visit Beijing and Shanghai at 1933, and organized by Jiangxi, Fujian, Hunan, Guangxi and Jiangxi at 1937.
Since August, 1935, China Travel Agency has also undertaken a regular tour group-"China Travel Agency Tour Group", aiming at creating a group tour atmosphere and enjoying the scenery of the motherland. All participants can get various discounts, and the head office has also set up a special room for members to get together, relax and connect. By the spring of 1937, the number of members had increased from the initial 65438+.
This group has played a certain role in stabilizing and developing tourists and enhancing the cohesion of the tourism sector.
The first West Lake Expo was held in Hangzhou from 65438 to 0929, with unprecedented pomp.
China Travel Agency organized tour groups from Hongkong, Nanjing and Tianjin to visit Hangzhou. During the conference, it provides guest houses, car rentals and tour guides. It also specially edited the book Xizi Lake, distributed and erected signs along the way of the World Expo, and provided tour guide services for tourists, which was widely praised by people.
Since then, CTS can be seen in many important meetings and activities, such as 1933 North China Games held in Qingdao, 1934 12th National Congress of Chinese YMCA held in Shanghai, and 1935 6th National Games held in Shanghai.
Even in 1932, the "Litton Investigation Team" sent by the League of Nations (the international organization established after World War I and replaced by the United Nations after World War II) was composed of representatives from Britain, the United States, France, Germany and Italy, and went to China to investigate the "September 18th Incident" on the spot.
1926 In late spring, China Travel Agency handled the Japanese cherry blossom viewing group for the first time.
Since then, we have continuously explored overseas markets.
From 1933, organize China believers to make a pilgrimage to Mecca every year; 1936, the China delegation and visiting delegation who participated in the 1 1 Olympic Games in Berlin also went through the formalities of going abroad, purchasing tickets and giving guidance before departure.
Only in the spring when 193 1 cooperated with Japan International Tourism Bureau, China Travel Agency received more than 20 groups of Japanese tour groups with more than 3,000 people, who spent more than 200,000 yuan in China, which was a considerable figure at that time.
China Travel Agency has gone through the formalities of going abroad, which is very popular with international students.
Because from the introduction of the articles of association of famous universities in Europe and America, to the registration list, to apply for study abroad certificates, passports for going abroad, entry certificates, booking shipping space, and changing foreign currency, all this is handled by China Travel Agency until the other country sends personnel to meet them at the dock, and then sends them to the school where they study abroad for the exam.
As for Chinese and foreign traveler's checks issued by China Travel Agency, it not only provides convenience for travelers, but also adds a demand deposit for Shanghai Bank, which is also worth reading in the financial history before liberation.
Strict management and publicity and education
China Travel Agency has strict management system and unique publicity and education methods.
Chen Guangfu once said to the staff of the travel agency, "We must concentrate. The purpose of our business is to help industry and commerce serve the society. Usually treat people with courtesy, be respectful and self-reliant, and strive for the goodwill of tourists and the goodwill of society. " He asked to greet customers with a smile, dress neatly and wash his hands.
All employees will be recruited and arranged after reaching a certain level through training and internship. After work, they will take turns to work in various departments and become an all-round tourism industry after many years.
As for the rise and fall of personnel, it depends entirely on ability and knowledge, and academic qualifications are for reference only. However, for tour guides, the requirements are basically liberal arts graduates, who receive training after taking up their posts and send them to Britain and the United States for further study, and often invite foreign experts to give lectures.
When people come into contact with China Travel Agency, they can feel its uniqueness everywhere.
All the staff members wear the iconic uniforms, and the receptionists at the ship's wharf also wear special uniform hats. The word "brigade" on the hat is shining, and the five-pointed star is shining with red light, which attracts people's attention.
The service of the staff is extremely thoughtful, and they won't judge a book by its cover.
In order to widely publicize the significance of tourism to social life, China Travel Agency founded a travel magazine on 1927, which is the first travel magazine in China. At first it was a quarterly magazine, and later it was changed to a monthly magazine. Written by a famous writer, with special contributions and rich contents. Each issue printed dozens of beautiful photos and distributed them to Chinese and foreign travel agencies and their senior staff, so as to enhance the impression of China travel agencies from all walks of life.
In order to strengthen publicity abroad, in 193 1, China travel agency sent 5,000 invitations to all walks of life in the United States through the news agency established in Seattle, USA. Stationery is fragrant and beautiful, which is an excellent publicity.
1933, Si Nuo, an American journalist, was hired to write five English pamphlets introducing the scenic spots in China and distribute them to overseas institutions, shipping companies, railways and airlines.
At that time, many celebrities wrote letters to China Travel Agency, paying tribute to them.
Chen Guangfu thinks: "For the convenience of society and the publicity of our bank, this kind of publicity is very powerful. Everyone knows that there is a China Travel Agency, that is, there is a Shanghai Bank. " He is a shrewd financial entrepreneur.
Chen Guangfu founded China Travel Agency, with the concept of serving the society, and made careful management and development, becoming the first large-scale tourism service enterprise in the history of the Republic of China, ranking among the first-class travel agencies in the world.
China Travel Agency (CTS), as the first regular travel agency in modern China, was founded in 1923 and ended in 1953. Its extraordinary course of more than 30 years has left valuable thoughts and rich experience for future generations to serve the society, which is worth learning and emulating.