(Yicai Global) July 25 -- New Oriental Education and Technology Group, once a Chinese online education giant, said it plans to offer cultural and tourism services that target middle-aged and older people after successfully branching out into livestreaming e-commerce.

New Oriental is hiring tour guides in Shaanxi province to show tourists the local history and culture and sell goods via livestreaming, the Beijing-based company said on July 21. The monthly salaries range from CNY8,000 to CNY13,000 (USD1,112 to USD1,818), and the firm would prefer candidates with tourism management and history majors.

New Oriental's cultural tourism business will likely focus on an older demographic, as the job requirements specify that applicants experienced in guiding elderly tour groups will have an edge.

The gross profit ratio for an ordinary tour group business is 5 percent to 10 percent, but that of New Oriental's service for the older client could be more than 20 percent, Wei Changren, chief executive of cultural tourism data provider Btiii.Com, told Yicai Global. It is possible if founder Yu Minhong uses his resources to make themed products similar to study travel, Wei added.

As an established educator, New Oriental has acquired a cohort of students and parents over past years, and as they age they will become potential customers for its new venture, Wei noted.

New Oriental is making a foray into the cultural tourism sector to meet its strategic need to develop new businesses, especially as the growth of e-commerce livestream sales will hit a ceiling at some point.

The gross merchandise volume of East Buy Holding, its e-commerce platform, dropped to an average of less than CNY20 million (USD2.8 million) a day in the first quarter, and the ranks of its viewers fell below 10 million, data from Haitong Securities showed.

The growth in the number of East Buy's followers has also slowed, and the average selling price fell because of the Lunar New Year holiday earlier this year and sales promotions over the break, according to a research report by GF Securities.

An industry source told Yicai Global that whether New Oriental’s cultural tourism business turns out successful is still an unknown. The sector is a subdivided and diversified consumer business and it needs various resources, including transportation, hotels, and catering, as well as a source of customers, the person added.

New Oriental has no basic advantages in these respects and needs to look for partners or new resources, the insider pointed out. It will be a challenge to popularize pricey tours among older people because they are price sensitive, he added.

Editor: Martin Kadiev