Highlights of China’s tourism industry in 2019

Actors perform during a ballet drama "Dunhuang" in Shanghai, east China, May 15, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)

Culture and tourism industries achieve integrative development

This year, culture and tourism departments at various levels actively explored the integrative development of the tourism and culture industries through resource development, project making, platform building and launch of activities.

Progress has been made in combining the development of tourism and culture. This year, Chinese tourists have shown a great deal of enthusiasm for museums, cultural centers, art galleries, libraries, book stores and theatres.

All-region tourism steadily promoted

All-region tourism, put forward by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, in 2016, has flourished throughout the year.

In July 2019, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) released a list of 71 state-level all-region tourism demonstration zones to support further development of the sector. Furthermore, through integrated development, many of the demonstration zones have become international ecological tourist resorts.

Tourism plays significant role in poverty alleviation

Earlier this year, the MCT proposed building a tourist route linking “three regions and three prefectures,” one of the hardest nuts to crack in the country's poverty alleviation campaign.

The “three regions and three prefectures” include Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibetan regions in four provinces, southern parts of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan province, and Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu province. All these areas are extremely impoverished, but boast rich tourism resources and have a strong appeal for tourists due to their unique beauty.

The tourist route has a total length of 11,000 kilometers and connects famous routes such as the Silk Road and the ancient Tea Horse Road, as well as trekking routes such as the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway and Mount Qomolangma.

Meanwhile, four tributary travel routes, six themed routes and 56 world-level hiking routes have been established along the route.

Red tourism on the rise

2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The "red" theme has become a new fashion, with Yan’an, Jinggangshan, Zunyi and Xibaipo being top tourist destinations, and museums, scenic spots, old revolutionary bases, and sites of significant historical events becoming top scenic spots.

The MCT has pointed out that great energy will be put into developing red tourism, including improving the infrastructure, carrying out censuses on red tourism resources, and building teams of tour guides at red tourism sites.

Technology gives strong boost to tourism development

In 2019, many places in China developed mobile platforms offering tourists various services such as catering, accommodation, shopping and entertainment, as well as complaints services. As a result, tourist participation in related activities, experience and satisfaction with services rose markedly.

Night-time travel gains momentum

Night-time travel activities, including sightseeing, walking on streets, visiting scenic spots and night fairs, watching performances, and visiting cultural and leisure sites at night, have become the preferred choice for more and more tourists.

Statistics indicated that by October 2019, more than 40 cities had rolled out policies to stimulate the night-time economy and night-time travel. These cities see the night-economy as a new economic growth driver.

China Tourist Year celebrated in multiple countries

In 2019, China and Laos, Cambodia, and the Pacific island countries have held tourism years in each other’s countries.

During the celebration, a series of cultural and tourist activities were held in each of the countries, which have helped the host country improve tourist services, create a better environment, and injected new impetus into mutual tourism development.

In the first three quarters of the year, Laos received 760,000 tourist arrivals from China, a number that is expected to break one million by year end.

Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to become world-class tourist destination

In February, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council released a guideline laying out plans for the Greater Bay Area, placing an emphasis on cultural and tourism development.

According to the guideline, the Greater Bay Area can develop a variety of tourist products, such as tourism for culture, history, leisure and health, and explore more transportation vehicles such as cruise lines, yachts and high-speed railways, so that the area can be built into a world-class destination for tourists.