Lvwei Cultural Tourism Lin Feng: High-Efficiency Model for Cultural Tourism Investment – EPCO Model

EPCO is EPC+O. EPC, which everyone is familiar with, refers to the integration of engineering, procurement, and construction. I believe adding an 'O' brings a revolutionary change to EPC.

EPCO (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Operation) refers to a general contracting model commissioned by the owner, in which the contractor takes full responsibility for the entire process of design, procurement, construction, and operation of the construction project according to the contract.

In recent years, Lvwei Cultural Tourism has accumulated a wealth of experience in EPC projects such as scenic area upgrades, tourism complexes, landscape roads, museums and themed exhibition halls, beautiful villages, and rural tourism. It mainly serves operational public services and cultural tourism, agriculture, commerce and other industry projects invested by government special bonds, as well as cultural tourism, agriculture, commerce, and other development projects invested by enterprises. It has proposed the 'F+EPC+O' service model and the 'EPC+O' service model. In the field of cultural tourism, health care, and rural revitalization EPCO, Lvwei Cultural Tourism has formed its own professional team and unique integration capabilities. Professionalism and integration have become the core advantages of Lvwei EPCO.

I summarize four key words of the EPCO model: operation first, guiding design, coordinated construction, and ensuring on-the-ground results.

Operation front-loading and full participation are the key to the success of the entire project

From operational consulting, full participation in operation, completion operation acceptance, to operational launch and execution. The full-process operational participation structure is the key to EPCO.

Two key aspects of planning

For over a decade, Lvwei has been building a platform, initially focusing on planning, programming, and design. We believe that cultural tourism products and rural revitalization projects are guided by programming into planning, with planning implemented on the ground. Programming and design combine to form a product design implementation structure. We place the role of programming first.

Lvwei believes that programming is divided into product programming and operational programming.

Product programming includes the planning of equipment and facilities, attractions, the attraction core, attraction structure, scenic area products, study tour products, interactive products, and so on. Product programming is translated into layout to form planning, and into landscapes, buildings, contextualization, etc., to form landscape design, architectural design, etc. Lvwei has been a leader in tourism product programming and design for over a decade, forming strong programming capabilities for tourism and rural projects.

The core of operational programming lies in the relationship between products and the market, one being supply and the other demand. How to maximize revenue through products? Operational programming must effectively integrate product sales, experience management, and service management. How to correctly judge the market, refine products, extract core elements of brand and marketing, form core sales capabilities—product sales need to form a multi-format and diverse sales structure.

Effectively packaging, promoting, marketing, and managing cultural tourism products and rural revitalization products is crucial. Ultimately, cultural tourism products are service products, a structure of human empathy. Consumer experience characteristics are the most essential feature of cultural tourism. Service management, experience management, and process-oriented consumption structure management are the core of tourism operations. Operational programming is to effectively integrate product management, service management, experience management, and form an effective set of methods.

Without these two aspects of programming, the positioning of the entire project's planning will be inaccurate, brands cannot be formed, and product capabilities cannot be realized. Planning must be formed on the basis of culture as the soul, products as the foundation, and operations as the value framework.

Introduction to Lvwei Cultural Tourism's EPCO Model

Lvwei Cultural Tourism's EPCO model ensures that project design is fully aligned with operational revenue, and enables efficient implementation of front-end programming, planning, design, approval submissions, and construction permits. It closely integrates construction processes such as civil works, building construction, municipal works, landscaping, interiors, and amusement interactions, significantly improving project engineering efficiency. Through performance-based clauses, it achieves social benefits and sustained operational returns.

The risk-bearing structure of Lvwei Cultural Tourism's EPCO model greatly reduces the investor's risk, provides investment guarantees, and maximizes efficiency. Lvwei Cultural Tourism focuses on EPC, F+EPC, and O+EPC, taking full responsibility from start to finish to ensure on-the-ground results.

Lvwei EPCO Model – A 'Chain of Responsibility' Running Through from Start to Finish

Lvwei Cultural Tourism proceeds from two routes: the operational route and the technical route, with operation front-loading, ensuring design and construction results through integrated design and construction.

Lvwei Cultural Tourism EPCO: Designed and Built for Operations

Full control by a professional, dedicated operational team is key, with full-chain participation to make demands.

First, the professional operational team participates continuously from front-end programming to design, procurement, construction, and then to investment attraction.

Second, builders and cost engineers participate in front-end design and cost control.

Third, during the construction process, design, construction, and operations make joint decisions to ensure on-the-ground results.

Lvwei Cultural Tourism EPCO: Integrated Implementation of Design, Construction, and Operations

Lvwei Cultural Tourism has professional, dedicated teams and is the best partner for government and state-owned investment groups. In reality, some units have operational teams that do not deeply engage in the early stages, causing planning and design teams, development teams, and construction teams to be disconnected from operational goals, and they are not responsible for the final operation. The key to cultural tourism projects lies in the early stages; if operations are not front-loaded to the early stages, problems will arise.

Lvwei has proposed a commitment of 'Four No's and Eight Haves'.

Dr. Lin Feng pointed out that EPCO projects are not traditional EPC, but a full-process service structure of complete programming, planning, design, construction, and operation, premised on achieving operational return rates. Therefore, four requirements must be ensured: overall programming, operational acceptance, complete design, and full-process service.

Overall programming: It must ensure accurate project positioning and feasible market profitability; therefore, overall project programming, market research and validation, and in-depth planning of agricultural tourism products and business formats are needed.

Operational acceptance: Taking completion-ready-for-operation as a premise, acceptance is carried out. Because of the lump-sum budget, operational acceptance here requires that after project completion, no additional investment in hardware or software is needed to start business operations. Operational acceptance includes: general construction hardware meets standards and operational requirements; supporting hardware for project business formats; software that needs to be invested for project operation (smart intelligence, brand image, exterior lighting and soft furnishings, multi-format supporting software, etc.) must all pass acceptance. These contents require the operational team to intervene early in programming and design.

Complete design: The so-called complete design is not only the necessary survey and engineering design for construction, but also the complete product design of the tourism area, including the programming and design required for hardware such as scenic spots, amusement parks, hotels, and various service formats, smart software, VI brand packaging, performances, interactive amusement, and other special projects.

Full-process service: EPCO, premised on project operational profitability, requires full-process consulting and control services with deep participation from the programming and operational teams. The programming and operational teams first carry out front-end special consulting services, while deeply participating in survey, planning, and design services for the construction project. Further, they need to directly program and design or deeply participate in special programming and design for operations. Therefore, the programming and operational teams are departments that participate in services throughout the entire process, enabling them to finally accept qualified results and achieve the goal of profitable contracting operations.

Dr. Lin Feng proposed the concept of 'complete design', pointing out that our operational team participates from programming, design to construction throughout the process. Complete design is the core work of the operational team. Dr. Lin Feng divided complete design into three parts: front-end survey and special programming, complete product planning and design, and special programming and design for operational acceptance.

Front-end survey and special programming

Ensure accurate project positioning and feasible market profitability. Services include: topographical mapping, geological survey, feasibility study plan, soil and water conservation plan, environmental impact assessment report, etc.

Planning and design service content

Planning and design content includes comprehensive programming, planning, and design of scenic spots, amusement parks, hotels, and other business format products, specifically divided into the following ten items:

Special programming and design for operational acceptance

To achieve operation upon completion, relevant operational support programming and design need to be completed in advance, and the operational team needs to be deeply involved.

Lvwei Cultural Tourism provides operational guarantees from five aspects:

(1) Operational special programming

Operational plan programming aimed at the operational profitability of products such as agriculture, tourist attractions, amusement parks, catering, and training.

1. Product programming

(1) Market research and analysis from a product perspective

(2) Competitor research and analysis from a product perspective

(3) Scenic area resource analysis

(4) Theme positioning and product system optimization design

(5) Product landing model programming

(6) Product revenue structure design

(7) Local cultural activation programming

(8) Product investment and return analysis

Based on the above contents and sections, form a complete product upgrade programming plan.

2. Pre-opening preparation and launch promotion programming

Pre-opening preparation requires a complete plan and efficient alignment with the construction process. The management team will intervene early and continuously interface with the construction team, propose issues, modify content, verify acceptance, and take over operations. The opening ceremony is very important and needs to be planned in advance and executed efficiently.

Personnel need to be recruited in advance, with roles and responsibilities defined, and systematic training. A complete management system must be established, including standardization and standardization of the scenic area operation system, management system, marketing system, and service system, as well as recruitment and training services for various positions in the scenic area.

3. Operational programming

(1) Market research and analysis based on operations

(2) Project operation model design

(3) Product and route design

(4) Internal transportation system design

(5) Resting system design

(6) Sanitation system design

(7) Monitoring and security system design

(8) Ticket sales and inspection system design

(9) Personnel position design

(10) Marketing channel design

(11) New media operation (publicity) design

(12) Influencer marketing activity design

(13) Marketing budget design

(14) Marketing policy design

(15) Operational cost and revenue estimation

Based on the above contents and sections, form a complete operational programming plan.

(2) Brand design (signage, VI, souvenirs)

Through studying local texture, historical culture, brand, constructing a symbolic system of landscape and building colors, providing style construction guidelines, designing important building style renovations (hotels, guesthouses, visitor centers, supporting facilities, main road buildings, trash cans, factory fence, equipment facades, etc.), to unify the environmental tones within the area with the architectural style while displaying the brand.

1. Signage and identification design

2. VI system design

3. Souvenir and local specialty product packaging design

(3) Scenic area smart management system design

1. Mobile mini-program design

Service content: self-service ticketing, smart guide, intelligent customer service, play guide, scenic area information, panoramic VR, online mall, epidemic prevention and control, cloud tourism, etc.

2. Database system

Service content: collection of data information including resource database, visitor database, image database, video database, and cloud database.

3. Scenic area smart management system

(1) Hardware smart upgrade: scenic area gate control and security system, scenic area monitoring management system, electronic patrol system, etc.

(2) Software management system: electronic ticketing management system design, equipment monitoring design, visitor flow monitoring system design, staff management system design, environmental monitoring system design, etc.

4. Scenic area digital marketing system

Tourism public opinion monitoring and data analysis system design, online mall design, new media matrix establishment and operation plan, marketing channel management system design, cloud live streaming system design, etc.

5. Scenic area smart experience project management and marketing system

720° panoramic virtual tour, virtual creative experience system, digital sand table, VR experience design, etc.

(4) Nighttime lighting beautification, performance plaza, and multifunctional hall performance hardware and software design

1. Nighttime and related lighting beautification design: building lighting design, landscape lighting design, commercial lighting design, holiday lighting design, etc.

2. Performance plaza stage design: including lighting, sound, performance content, programs and other hardware and software programming and design.

3. Stage design for indoor performance activities in multifunctional halls, weddings, etc.: Multifunctional halls, restaurants, forest dining, horticultural exhibition areas can become venues for weddings and party-building team-building special activities, requiring stage and special decoration design.

(5) Contextualization and interactive amusement design

1. Contextualization design

A large number of cultural and story scenes, based on general landscape design, need to deepen contextualization design to form narrative and contextual value. This includes contextualization of open-air areas as well as commercial streets. Workshop streets should include designs for shop signs, advertising billboards, wall paintings, contextualized vignettes, etc. Among them, some become internet-famous vignettes, becoming core attractions and highlights that can generate traffic, including: internet-famous sculpture vignettes, internet-famous seats, internet-famous bridges, internet-famous photo spots, etc.

2. Interactive amusement design

Interactive amusement projects are the guarantee of playability of tourism projects and the key to secondary consumption revenue. Large-scale interactive amusement projects can be designed, as well as small-scale ones. This kind of design needs to be based on amusement facilities and equipment, combined with the project's culture and environment, to form strong excitement and playability. This is a special design content that cannot be replaced by general equipment from equipment manufacturers.

EPCO is an important business segment of Lvwei Cultural Tourism Group. Based on strong programming, planning, and design capabilities, it aggregates multiple types of construction partners, integrates a batch of qualified, capable, and guaranteed construction enterprise resources, and has achieved a number of project implementations. Lvwei Cultural Tourism has full coverage service qualifications, over a decade of platform guarantee, strong R&D and expert teams, and over a decade of innovative research and practice.