A robot that can recognize human faces in Alibaba's first futuristic Flyzoo Hotel.

China will focus on three aspects in the approaching 2019 to further develop its tourism, namely quality development, rational investment and innovation-driven upgrading, People’s Daily Oversea Edition reported on Dec. 27.

The number of outbound tourists was first included in the report on the work of the government this year, indicating that tourism in China is upgrading into a quality-oriented development and playing a role in improving people’s livelihood.

Integrating culture into tourism has brought a revolution of the content, said Zhang Tingting from Communication University of China at the recently held Boao International Tourism Forum.

Scenic spots are no longer the most important component of a trip for visitors, said Cai Jinghui, co-founder and president of Chinese travel information website, Qyer. More people travel to experience authentic culture, Cai added.

It’s known that travel service providers have created a series of new products for first-timers to experience the essence of local culture, such as traveling routes designed by senior experts.

Domestic travelers increased by 11.4 percent over the previous year, according to a report on national tourist economic data issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

China’s inbound travel saw a steady increase, except for a negative growth in the Hong Kong market, and the outbound travelers witnessed a rapid 15-percent development, quoting the report.

Cultural tourism has become one of the most investment-worthy industries along with the booming travelling needs. Many investors crowded into tourist projects, such as building tourist towns and themed entertainment parks, brewing the risks of homogeneous competitions.

As such, five national departments led by National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) called for rational investment, and precautions against property development in the name of building themed parks.

In addition, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba opened its first futuristic Flyzoo Hotel on Dec. 18, signaling an innovation-driven development of the tourism industry. Equipped with the latest technology, the hotel enables each guest to gain entry using a facial recognition scan system.

People’s aspiration for better life leads the industry to focus more on quality, and upgrade at a faster speed to cater for the trend of the times.