A comprehensive strategic plan and action agenda for building China into a leading tourism nation over the next five years has been officially released. On July 7th, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism published the "15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Leading Tourism Nation." This document notably incorporates "Tourism Power" into its title, setting clear objectives to achieve significant progress in high-quality tourism development, establish a more robust modern tourism system, and make substantial strides in building a leading tourism nation by 2030.
The construction of a leading tourism nation is an integral part of China's socialist modernization and a crucial component and strong pillar for realizing a modern socialist country in all respects. From coordinating and optimizing the spatial layout of tourism to fostering new growth drivers for the industry; from enriching high-quality tourism offerings to unleashing tourism consumption potential... this plan is filled with numerous highlights and innovative ideas.
Focus on Tangible Benefits for the People
Ultimately, building a tourism powerhouse is about ensuring people's satisfaction and tangible benefits. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, tourism development will place greater emphasis on public welfare. For instance, the plan for the first time sets goals for tourism inclusivity, aiming for a significant enhancement in the public's sense of fulfillment and happiness from tourism by 2030, with tourism's inclusive nature becoming more prominent. In the future, measures such as lowering barriers to tourism and promoting service convenience will provide more opportunities for people to participate in tourism activities and enjoy the fruits of tourism development.
Furthermore, aligning with the growing trend of experiential consumption, the plan outlines strategies to enrich the supply of high-quality tourism products. It proposes four major initiatives: revitalizing and strengthening tourist attractions, enhancing the quality of tourist resorts, improving and upgrading rural tourism, and elevating red tourism. It also introduces projects to lead and enhance study tourism and plans to boost ice and snow tourism, aiming to rejuvenate classic tourism offerings and diversify integrated formats.
Emphasis on Upgrading to Fuel Development
The plan identifies fostering new growth drivers for tourism as a key task in building a leading tourism nation, actively exploring pathways of "intelligentization, greening, and integration." Deep integration of culture and tourism is the primary task for industry transformation and upgrading. The plan outlines measures to strengthen the excavation, interpretation, and utilization of cultural resources; enhance the cultural connotation of tourism and improve cultural experiences; and promote the integration of culture and tourism with related sectors. By continuously driving cross-sector collaboration between culture, tourism, and primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, the plan aims to effectively extend industrial chains, create new value, and cultivate new growth points.
Intelligence is a key theme for tourism upgrading over the next five years. The plan emphasizes the development of smart tourism, focusing on promoting the application of new technologies, strengthening technological research and development in the tourism sector, and implementing actions to enhance smart tourism.
Green development is a value orientation guiding the future. The plan stresses integrating the concept of green development throughout the entire process of tourism planning, development, and operation, promising that beautiful landscapes will benefit local communities through tourism, facilitating a two-way transformation between "green mountains and clear waters" and "economic prosperity."
Expanding Horizons: Tapping into Marine Resources
Spatial layout is a crucial element of tourism planning. Compared to the 14th Five-Year Plan period, this plan for the first time specifically addresses the expansion of marine tourism development space. In a dedicated section on "Key Regional Layout for Marine Tourism," the plan proposes cultivating advantageous marine tourism regions, orderly promoting island tourism, and improving cruise port construction. In the future, China's extensive coastline and numerous islands are set to become stunning highlights in the construction of a leading tourism nation.
Highlighting 'China' and Welcoming the World
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, inbound tourism has entered a period of rapid development, with an increasing number of foreign tourists expressing a desire to visit China, making "becoming Chinese" a popular online phrase. The plan prioritizes developing inbound tourism as a key task, emphasizing the continuous optimization of visa-free policies; actively opening new international air routes and tourist trains; and persistently implementing and refining tax refund policies for departing tourists, allowing foreign visitors to better experience "Travel in China" and "Shopping in China."
By promoting the "Chinese-style" art of hospitality, highlighting the cultural characteristics of Chinese tourism, and cultivating the "China Service" brand... tourism with an increasingly distinct Chinese character is poised to attract more attention from global tourists.
China possesses unique advantages in building a leading tourism nation: profound cultural heritage, superior natural resource endowment, a massive market scale, well-developed infrastructure, a stable social environment, and growing international influence... These factors instill confidence in accelerating the construction of a tourism powerhouse. Following the direction charted by this plan and sharing increasingly magnificent "poetry and distant horizons," the tourism industry is set to better serve the pursuit of a better life, promote economic development, build spiritual homes, showcase China's image, and foster mutual learning among civilizations.
Comments