Against the backdrop of the accelerated trend of population aging, health care travel and residence, as the intersection of value between the silver economy and the health industry, has become an important track to promote high-quality economic development. As a new consumption model that integrates health, elderly care and tourism, health care and travel are becoming an important growth point for consumption.

  Relevant data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that as of the end of 2024, the number of elderly people aged 60 and above in my country exceeded 290 million, accounting for more than 20% of the total population. Health care and tourism consumption exceeds 2 trillion yuan, accounting for nearly 20% of the total scale of the silver economy. Health and wellness tourism consumption maintained an annual year-on-year growth rate of 15% to 20%, significantly higher than the traditional tourism industry. The General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Developing the Silver Economy and Enhancement of the Welfare of the Elderly" last year, and through effective measures such as creating new smart and healthy elderly care formats and establishing a cooperation platform for tourism and elderly care industries covering the whole country, we strive to break down the institutional and mechanism barriers that restrict silver hair tourism consumption. Relevant policies have covered health towns such as Lishui, Zhejiang, Kunming, Yunnan, and Boao, Hainan, and support corresponding industrial integration, medical and nursing integration and factor supporting. Through the integration of health and wellness, elderly care and leisure, cultural experience and other functions, the development prospects are improving.

  From the supply side, the number of new companies related to health care and travel has grown rapidly, leading companies have accelerated their layout, and market vitality has been significantly released. For example, relying on the unique advantages of world heritage sites, 5A-level scenic spots and traditional Chinese medicine culture, focusing on developed urban agglomerations such as the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and characteristic resources such as the forest and grasslands in the north, and the southwest ecological culture, my country has formed an important destination for health and wellness and tourism, and has developed a number of enterprises with health and wellness as the main product type and brand goal, and has initially formed a pattern of comprehensive development of multiple models. Data shows that at present, more than 200 national forest health care bases have been built nationwide, and health care demonstration bases such as Jiangsu Taizhou Medical City and Guizhou Chishui River have been successfully operated, verifying the sustainability of the health care travel model and the consumption potential of the silver hair market.

  From the demand side, the health and wellness and tourism industry is upgrading from a single consumption scenario to a full-chain business ecosystem. Through deep integration with elderly education and entertainment activities, it uses diversified business formats to expand commercial monetization, form a closed loop, and promote consumption quality improvement and expansion. For example, Chenjiagou Scenic Area in Wen County, Henan Province relies on Tai Chi culture to create the "Tai Chi + Health Care" model, integrating traditional martial arts teaching with health care travel, attracting more than 10,000 elderly people to participate in Tai Chi training every year; the Ancient Kiln Folk Expo District of Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province integrates intangible cultural heritage ceramic skills into health care experience, and achieves secondary monetization through handmade product customization and cultural derivative sales; a hotel in Yunnan Province launches a "cultural healing + health management" package, forming a closed loop of "cultural experience-body and mind therapy-health consumption", and the repurchase rate of the travel and living and health care team exceeds 60%.

  In the future, to better develop the health and wellness tourism and residence industry, we need to further conform to the direction of industrial upgrading, meet diversified needs, build a full-chain business ecosystem, and fully release the consumption potential of health and wellness tourism and residence.

  At the policy level, strengthen systematic policy support and standardize supervision. From the perspective of preserving and building high-quality livable land space, plan national health and well-being. Improve supporting policies such as land, finance, taxation, and finance, and encourage social capital to participate in the construction of health care projects. Promote cross-departmental cooperation, establish a unified service standard and regulatory system, and ensure the standardized and orderly development of the health and wellness tourism industry. Implement the health and wellness and tourism market standards as soon as possible, improve the legal construction of the tourism industry, and effectively maintain the order of the health and wellness and tourism market.

  At the industrial level, promote innovation and characteristic development of business formats. Do a good job in the precise positioning of the silver hair market and the differentiated development of health care products, and segment the needs of the silver hair market, sub-healthy groups and quality life suitors. Relying on natural resource endowments and regional cultural characteristics, we will create a differentiated health care product system. Promote the integration of multiple business formats of "health care + tourism + education + medical care", form a closed-loop business model of "content-scene-service-derived", and enhance the added value of the industrial chain.

  At the service level, promote standardization and intelligence construction. In view of the significant elderly-friendly characteristics of health care, travel and residence, we will improve service supporting facilities and standardized operations, improve service standards system, and cover all aspects of accommodation, catering, medical care, entertainment and other links to ensure the standardization of service processes. Introduce smart health care technology, build intelligent health monitoring platforms, online appointment systems, etc., to improve service efficiency and accuracy. Strengthen the transformation of barrier-free facilities, optimize service details, and greatly enhance the tourists' experience and security.

  At the collaboration level, build a pattern of coordinated development across the region. Summarize and improve existing experience, further strengthen policy coordination and scientific planning, do a good job in resource integration and overall coordination, build a cross-regional health and wellness service system, and break down institutional barriers. Break regional restrictions, promote the linkage between health and wellness destinations and surrounding scenic spots, transportation hubs, and medical institutions, accurately create cross-regional health and wellness routes, and actively expand the economic space of silver-hailing. (Shao Nianrong)

[Editor in charge: Li Lin]