The tourism industry is expected to boost development in western China, thanks to a recent guideline on advancing the development of China’s western regions in the new era.

Photo shows the magnificent scenery from the Angsai Canyon in Zaduo county, Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefecture, northwest China’s Qinghai province. (Photo by Zhang Long/Xinhua)

Efforts will be made to make tourism a pillar industry of the country’s western regions, said the guideline issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council on May 17.

The country will drive forward the development of the tourism industry in western regions by facilitating the development of new forms of business in the sector, supporting western regions in making the most of their advantages in tourism resources, such as ecological environment, folk customs, and scenery in border areas, and deepening international cooperation in the industry, according to the document.

The guideline will help foster brand new growth drivers for the tourism industry in western China, leading to intensified efforts to further conservation of resources, opening-up, and high-quality development in the industry, said Jin Zhun, secretary general of the Tourism Research Centre of the China Academy of Social Sciences.

Western China is endowed with many world-famous natural and cultural resources, including the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, known as the “Roof of the World”, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses, and the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, northwest China’s Gansu province.

In fact, China’s western regions have witnessed strong growth momentum and recovery in the tourism industry since the COVID-19 outbreak, with growing numbers of tourists showing interest in the regions’ products.

According to Chinese online travel service platform Fliggy, cities in western China including Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi’an, and Kunming rank among the top 10 tourist destinations in China.

The tourism industry in southwest China’s Yunnan province has shown a particularly strong recovery, suggested statistics from Filggy, revealing that the number of tourists who made online bookings for tourism products in Yunnan’s Lijiang saw growth of more than 300 percent in April compared to a month earlier.

In addition, Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture and Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture in southwest China’s Sichuan province have seen their number of inbound trips grow 150 percent in May on a month-on-month basis.