Trade secrets | Add 60 yuan for overnight stay, new company team-building scene: inbound tourists are flooding into bath centers

Ask AI · What new trends in tourism spending are reflected by an influx of inbound visitors into bathhouses?

After spending some time sightseeing in Shanghai—visiting traditional attractions like the Bund and Yuyuan Garden—many inbound tourists have started pouring into bathhouses.

Mary is from the UK. She and her family have been traveling in Shanghai for about a week. Recently, a reporter from First Finance and Economics met her at the Shuiguo Tangquan Life Center in Shanghai Hongqiao, where she was eating. “Unlike the way you steam sauna after a pure, no-frills bath in Europe, the activities at Shanghai’s bathhouses are very rich. In addition to basic services like hot springs and bathing, there are also dining, KTV karaoke, watching movies, a library, tabletop games, video games, and more. Fruit, drinks, and other items are all free too. My family and I really like it,” Mary told a reporter from First Finance and Economics.

Mary is a snapshot of many inbound travelers. After conducting on-site visits to several bathhouse centers, the reporter from First Finance and Economics found that inbound tourists today have increasingly higher requirements for product themes and fine-grained customization. They can also discover many new offerings through social media and other channels. A bathhouse day tour is now a popular option among inbound tourists, with huge market potential.

From hangouts with friends to company team-building

Over the past half year, many bathhouse centers have clearly felt an increase in foreign visitors.

Heide Hot Springs has two locations in Beijing. Wang Deting, the general operations manager of Heide Hot Springs, told a reporter from First Finance and Economics that there were already many Russian tourists visiting the stores and spending money previously. In the past half year, the number of visitors from Europe and the U.S.—including Spain, the United States, the UK, and others—has increased noticeably. Currently, each store receives at least dozens of foreign visitors every day.

Ms. Piao is from South Korea. She came to the Shuiguo Tangquan Life Center in Shanghai Hongqiao with her friends to experience the hot springs. “I saw it on social media. Our Shanghai travel plans are something we make ourselves. Basically, it’s bathing, Yuyuan Garden, Xintiandi, and all kinds of special local snack experiences. Some bathhouse centers are quite large, with lots of entertainment activities that combine things like movies, games, and dining services, and the value for money is high,” Ms. Piao told a reporter from First Finance and Economics.

Haishang Chaogongguan is a store that combines movies, dining, SPA, and bathing. Inside the store, the ticket bundles services including footbaths, massages, dining, tea snacks, and movies for only around 160 yuan, and it’s also a place that many inbound tourists like to visit. “Most of the overseas guests who come to our store are Russian. They really like our programs—especially because they think the prices are cheap and the value for money is high,” a staff member at Haishang Chaogongguan told the reporter from First Finance and Economics.

Compared with guests from Europe and the U.S., South Korean inbound group tourists prefer footbaths more. Zheng Xueda, general manager for inbound tourism business at Chunqiu Travel, told a reporter from First Finance and Economics that for group-building needs, they will arrange large-format stores like Shuiguo, while for footbaths they will recommend boutique stores like Taoyuanxiang. “For big stores, a group of guests can go in together. But for smaller footbath shops, we may need to split them across several chain locations. For example, for a team of 30 to 40 people, we would roughly use about three footbath shops.”

Taoyuanxiang, located on Nanjing East Road in Shanghai, needs to accommodate many South Korean tourists every day. At Taoyuanxiang, the reporter from First Finance and Economics saw that around 8 p.m., several batches of South Korean guests arrived, along with a small number of European guests. Most of them are in Shanghai for tourism. The front-desk staff communicated with them in fluent Korean and English. “More than 80% of our customers come from South Korea. In addition, there are some guests from Europe and the U.S. as well as local customers. Overseas guests are almost all tourists. Sometimes, during their stay in Shanghai, they come back to our stores repeatedly, and the repeat rate is very high,” a staff member in charge of reception told the reporter from First Finance and Economics.

In addition, for some inbound visitors, staying overnight at a bathhouse is also a very cost-effective choice. Taking the Shuiguo Tangquan Life Center as an example, adding an overnight stay costs more than 60 yuan. This is far lower than hotel accommodation, which often costs several hundred yuan or even over a thousand yuan per night. What’s more, bathhouse centers also include free drinks, fruit, tea, and ice cream, and the hot springs are open 24 hours a day.

The reporter from First Finance and Economics saw on-site at the Shuiguo Tangquan Life Center that the bathhouse also has a dedicated office-desk area, equipped with charging and tea service, resembling a shared-office setup.

Staff at the Shuiguo Tangquan Life Center told a reporter from First Finance and Economics that currently, the store attracts many inbound tourists, mostly from Europe and the U.S., and it also has some South Korean guests. They generally like the hot-spring experience and Chinese-style food.

“Besides traveling with family and friends, some inbound tourists go to the bathhouse center because of company team-building. For example, many Southeast Asian corporate teams we receive hold their company team-building at a bathhouse center in Shanghai. They sing together, eat together, and play tabletop games together. We also make arrangements according to their company’s requirements. Previously, a company from Singapore even requested that after they arrived in Shanghai for a team-building activity at a bathhouse center, so we arranged it,” Zheng Xueda told the reporter from First Finance and Economics.

At the Shuiguo Tangquan Life Center, the reporter from First Finance and Economics saw an area set up specifically for team-building, as well as some party rooms that can be used by small groups.

According to the latest figures from the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, in 2025 Shanghai received 9.3602 million inbound tourist trips, up 39.58% year on year. Among them, bathhouse centers are listed among the places foreign tourists go to for check-ins—so much so that some German tourists even flew to Shanghai just to soak once in a Chinese-style bathhouse.

Why is it booming?

Regarding why bathhouse centers are so popular, Wang Deting believes that the spread through social platforms brings in many customers. “After many tourists come, they will show videos from platforms like Xiaohongshu and Twitter, asking whether the place in the video is here. These tourists are seeing the videos and want to come experience it.”

In addition, what attracts foreign tourists is also high value for money. “On weekdays, tickets bought through group deals for more than 300 yuan can let you rest for 18 hours. It includes a main meal, breakfast, and a late-night snack, as well as all kinds of entertainment options—like singing and watching movies,” Wang Deting said.

High value for money is also the most common feedback received at the front desk. After experiencing it, many foreign tourists take value for money as their top evaluation. At the same time, many guests are impressed by the game arcade and say that this kind of comprehensive entertainment format is hard to find in their home market.

“Actually, South Korea also has similar bathing projects. But compared with that, China’s bathing projects have better value for money. For example, in South Korea, per-capita costs range from more than 300 yuan to 500-something yuan. But for similar projects in Shanghai, prices range from more than 200 yuan to about 300 yuan. And if you buy through some apps, there are discounts. I think it’s really worth it,” Ms. Piao said.

As for why the Beijing locations receive more foreign consumers, Li Lin, who oversees the Tangquan venues in Beijing and other places, believes that Beijing is a first-tier city with many international conferences and events. Many customers come to participate in activities in Beijing first and then visit the store to experience it. China’s bathing industry is a comprehensive facility that integrates bathing, hot springs, dining, rest, and movies and other leisure and entertainment. It can almost meet all leisure and entertainment needs, so many foreign customers tend to stay for a day when they come.

Behind the high value for money praised by foreign tourists is an overall upgrade in consumption in the bathing industry. At present, the industry has shifted from what used to be mostly business-oriented spending to leisure and entertainment spending. What flows through it is no longer just businesspeople around 40 years old, but consumers covering all age groups, with “micro-vacations” and socializing as the main themes.

According to Meituan data, as young people rapidly embrace new consumption scenarios at bathhouse centers—such as social get-togethers and overnight stays—bathhouse experiences nationwide have entered a new year of major development. Since 2025, the number of transactions for bathhouse services nationwide has grown by more than 30% year on year. Among them, spending across regions accounts for more than 30%. On holidays, the number of users from other cities has increased month-on-month by more than double. From January to September last year, the average transaction value of new bathhouse merchants grew by 60% year on year.

“The appeal of the ‘bathing +’ formats is not limited to travelers from other cities. It also broadly connects young people’s diverse lifestyles through online platforms such as Meituan. Meituan data shows that the search volumes for keywords like ‘bachelorette parties’ and ‘company team-building’ have soared by 230% year on year. Bathhouse centers equipped with e-sports areas, KTV rooms, and ‘script-killing’ style rooms show significant growth in order volume. Among user groups, users aged 18 to 35 already account for 58%.”

Learning foreign languages or using AI

The increase in tourists from different countries brings language challenges to the stores.

A-Hua, an employee at Taoyuanxiang, told a reporter from First Finance and Economics that when recruiting front-desk staff, they require applicants to be able to speak basic everyday Korean, English, and Japanese. Technicians, after joining, have to be trained in Korean, English, and Japanese professional terms—such as the body parts used for massages, how light or heavy the pressure is, and greetings. After training for a few weeks, A-Hua can now use simple Korean to communicate with guests. But when it comes to using foreign languages, A-Hua and her colleagues still find it somewhat difficult.

Fortunately, AI solves this problem. Wang Deting said the front-desk staff are capable of communicating with customers in English when needed. However, as the number of tourists from non-English-speaking countries increases, communication becomes a challenge. The store considered hiring a front-desk staff member skilled in multiple languages last December, but later gave up the idea. “At that time, we received a customer from Mongolia who didn’t know English at all. In the end, we used Doubao to solve the communication problem. After that, we found that recruiting multilingual talent doesn’t really help—there are always new language challenges. So it’s better to use Doubao to communicate.” At the same time, the increase in reception volume also makes the front desk feel more at ease. For first-time visitors, there are usually basic questions they need to understand, such as which items are chargeable and which services are included with the ticket. The front desk has already become very familiar with providing these introductions.

Li Lin told a reporter from First Finance and Economics that based on reception situations, the Beijing locations receive the most foreign tourists. Since 2024, foreign consumers have gradually come to experience the venue. After two years of development, currently the store receives at least dozens of foreign consumers every day. Sometimes, on a single day, it can receive more than one or two hundred foreign consumers. There are many European consumers, including from Russia. Most tourists bring suitcases into the store and also choose to stay overnight.

In terms of communication, although the front-desk staff are not proficient in English, basic communication with foreign tourists can be achieved with the assistance of translation software. In addition, the store has prepared an English price list for customers to view.

Is a bathhouse center a good business?

For travel companies, today’s inbound tourists have more finely segmented themes and higher value-for-money requirements. “From the big-picture perspective, food, urban culture, and history are among the main themes. Young people like AI and robots. Family customers prefer interactive, high value-for-money experiences, ideally with some Chinese characteristics—for example, traditional Chinese medicine experiences and bathhouse-center activities. And some business-group customers also choose bathhouse centers as an experience option,” Zheng Xueda told a reporter from First Finance and Economics.

For travel agencies, whether bathhouse-center projects are highly profitable is not necessarily the case. Zheng Xueda revealed that most Southeast Asian groups and some Russian tour groups still place a lot of importance on value for money. So when travel agencies recommend bathhouse-center projects, it is usually a “break-even” arrangement—covering costs with no major profit. But for travel agencies, adding bathhouse-center projects is to improve guests’ satisfaction with their experience.

“For example, for some business groups, after attending meetings, adding a bathhouse-center program can improve the customers’ sense of experience and satisfaction. We received a South Asian business group. After they visited a factory and held meetings, we arranged programs such as Moutai liquor tasting, traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture and moxibustion experience, and bathhouse-center activities. They were very satisfied, and it also laid a long-term foundation for our travel agency’s business travel services,” Zheng Xueda told the reporter from First Finance and Economics.

For bathhouse centers, attracting more inbound tourists increases the number of customer sources, and it also brings higher income to practitioners. Some practitioners say that currently, their monthly income is between 8,000 yuan and more than 10,000 yuan. Some stores also provide meals and accommodation, and their income算 is quite good.

Xin Hongye, a specially appointed professor at Capital University of Economics and Business and director of the Tourism Internet+ Research Institute, told a reporter from First Finance and Economics that the implementation of visa-free policies has made many tourists come to China multiple times. For visitors who are not on their first trip, they are no longer so fixated on local landmark buildings or scenic spots, and instead care more about experiencing local culture.

“Scenarios like bathhouse centers and farmers’ markets are part of ordinary people’s daily lives, and they’ve also become important channels for foreigners to experience life. These scenarios differ from foreigners’ daily lives, but still fall within the range they can accept. The development of the internet makes it easier for foreign tourists to understand the local tourism essence,” in Xin Hongye’s view, behind this is that the tourism economy is currently shifting from a service economy to an experience economy.

Xin Hongye believes that this shift also places new requirements on businesses and tourism industries across different regions. For venues like bathhouse centers, in addition to having leading roles in basic service scenarios, they also need to provide a safety net. For example, in the payment process, China’s QR code payments help many traveling foreign tourists feel how advanced and convenient the technology is. But service providers also need to provide backup services such as credit card payments and cash payments. For tourism industries in different places, the boom of bathhouse centers has also served as a reminder to practitioners—rather than exhausting themselves trying to invent new gimmicks, it’s better to explore and promote traditional living culture.

(Names of Li Lin and A-Hua within the article are pseudonyms.)

(This article comes from First Finance and Economics)