As China has secured a fruitful year for its tourism development during 2019, the country is about to make greater achievements in the sector for the next year.
The Great Wall (Photo: Xinhua)
According to a tourism report issued by the Wuhan Branch of China Tourism Academy, the culture and tourism industry received increasing investment during the past year, becoming an engine driving social investment as well as comprehensive development.
The sector has created tens of millions of new jobs, and tourism is becoming more and more important in people’s lives.
In 2020, Chinese tourism is expected to see an increase of 6.7 billion visitors, attracting 2 trillion yuan in investment while generating 7 trillion yuan of revenue, said a 13th Five-Year Plan on tourism development.
The establishment of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2018 raised the curtain for the integrated development of the culture and tourism industries. The two sectors, combined, received high attention this year, making for a highlight in China’s overall tourism development.
To actively dig into the cultural connotations and tell stories in a well-designed as well as innovative manner have all become an important method for tourism destinations to take more shares.
According to a recent press conference held by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the culture and tourism industries are growing into an important engine driving the economic growth as the consumption potential of the Chinese residents in this sector are further released.
However, the Chinese tourism industry is also facing problems during its ongoing development. For example, there is a lack of high-quality tourist sites, and high dependence on tourist sites in the regard of ticket revenue, and furthermore there is a situation surrounding the incomplete industrial chain of the sector. Luo Shugang, Chinese Culture and Tourism Minister, noted that technologies present solutions to these problems and are an inevitable path leading to extensive, strong and high-quality development of the industry.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued 5G licenses to Chinese telecommunication carriers this year, marking the start of the commercialization of the technology. It also means a whole new start for tourism, as the application of new technologies such as AI, VR and big data in tourism scenarios are profoundly changing the consumption habits and practices of the tourists.
At present, tourists can even virtually visit tourist sites without actually stepping out of their homes thanks to these technologies. To offer novel and interesting experiences for the tourists is creating a new consumption mode in the culture and tourism industry.
2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Italy diplomatic ties, and the two countries will hold the Year of Culture and Tourism to further cement the people-to-people bonds. Meanwhile, China will also hold the Year of Culture and Tourism with Malaysia and Morocco.
Tourism is playing a more and more practical role in international exchanges and cooperation, and figuring out how to enhance the development of the inbound sector has become a focus of the government, academia, and industry. This sector not only plays a vital role in the healthy development of Chinese tourism industry, but also serves as a window for people from the world to better understand China.
It is expected that by 2020, about 85 million visits will be made between China and Belt and Road countries, generating an eye-staggering revenue of $110 billion.