Meeting plans route to boost tourism

Various incentives under discussion and importance of high quality stressed for sector.

Government officials, experts and key participants in tourism met to discuss ways of stimulating domestic consumption in the sector in Ganzhou, Southeast China's Jiangxi province in early December.

Since the beginning of this year, the tourism industry has rapidly rebounded and shown robust recovery, said Du Jiang, vice-minister of culture and tourism, at the China Tourism Industry Development Annual Conference on Dec 8.

A recent report by the China Tourism Academy forecasts that domestic tourism visits will reach more than 5.4 billion, with the number roughly hitting 90 percent of that in 2019, before COVID-19 hit.

Tourism-related revenue this year is expected to reach 5.2 trillion yuan ($728 billion), about 91 percent of that of 2019, the report says.

"High-level recovery and high-quality development have become the most prominent labels of the tourism industry this year," Du says, adding that they stem from the resilience, potential and vitality of the economy, the continuous reform and innovation in the industry, and deep integration of culture and tourism.

Du urges related parties to further enrich the supply of high-quality tourism products, unlock the potential of tourism consumption, and fuel the vitality of the tourism market.

The goal is to better leverage the strong momentum of the tourism industry in stimulating consumption, supporting wider cultural understanding and contributing to the high-quality development of the economy.

Zhang Conglong, a senior expert from the cultural and communication industry research institute with China Telecom, says that efforts have been made to deliver new cultural tourism experiences.

For instance, the institute has built a dedicated 5G network in the Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve of Sichuan province and realized the transmission of real-time video feeds.