How do you position yourself in the silver economy?

　　Recently, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council publicly released the “Opinions on Deepening the Reform and Development of Elderly Care Services” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”), which made a systematic institutional design to strengthen elderly care services.

　　Introducing a package of policy measures has pushed the development of the silver economy to a new level. The Opinion proposes to vigorously develop the silver economy, strengthen the research and development and promotion of elderly products, enrich the elderly care service scenarios, and release the consumption potential of elderly care. Develop the travel and elderly care market, develop new formats such as health and wellness travel and residence according to local conditions, and promote the construction of travel and elderly care destinations.

　　Image source: Pexels

　　Reasons for the Booming Silver Economy

　　The latest “China Statistical Yearbook 2024” shows that in 2023, the proportion of people aged 65 and above in my country will reach 15.4% of the total population, and the old-age dependency ratio will be 22.5%. According to international practice, a society with a ratio of more than 21% is considered to be severely aging.

　　The “Opinions” focus on accelerating the construction of a pension service system that suits my country's national conditions, optimizing the supply of basic pension services, and proposing a package of policy measures to cope with the important window period of population aging.

　　The development of the elderly care industry can provide a broad market space and development opportunities for the elderly care industry; the prosperity of the elderly care industry can further promote the improvement and enhancement of the elderly care industry. The development of the silver economy is not only related to people's livelihood needs, but also breeds development opportunities, and is an important industry focus.

　　The silver economy is booming and diversified.

　　The silver economy covers a wide range of areas and has a long industrial chain, diversified business formats, and huge potential. “The silver economy covers a wide range of areas from basic elderly care services to high-end elderly care services, from medical health to elderly tourism, from smart elderly care to elderly products, with a long industrial chain and diversified business formats,” said Bu Yili, a researcher at Shenzhen Qianhai Paipai Network Fund Sales Co., Ltd.

　　As the entry-level scene of the silver economy, health care, and cultural tourism, has become one of the sectors with the most room for growth in the “culture and tourism +” industry. Sanya and other places have developed two mainstream health care, cultural tourism models, “medical care + tourism” and “health care + tourism”, integrating unique natural resources with local advantageous industries.

　　The Silver Economy Blue Book: China Silver Economy Development Report (2024) released in December 2024 shows that the scale of my country's silver economy is about 7 trillion yuan, accounting for about 6% of GDP; by 2035, the scale of the silver economy will reach 30 trillion yuan, accounting for 10% of GDP. This also highlights the urgent need for high-quality elderly care services and products in today's society.