Shaanxi tourism strategy hing Q+A
Much better tourism products are in critical demand. “Shaanxi tourism” is in urgent demand to become an attractive brand for China as well as the world. I hope the Shaanxi people could publicize Shaanxi, let the whole country’s people love Shaanxi, and I hope that the whole world will long to visit Shaanxi.
I also envision the tourism sector will become a window into the province and drive the province to attract more investment. In 2012, the province saw the total number of overseas tourists hit 3.35 million, attracting total revenue of $1.6 billion. During your tenure, how do you plan to boost publicity in the sector, and what is your strategy for appealing to overseas tourists?
We really hope that tourists could stay in Shaanxi for one more day and come back to Shaanxi for a second time.
We have adopted innovative publicity methods and enhanced publicity overseas.
In terms of the inbound tourism arrivals – although the negative effects of the financial crisis still linger – I predict it won’t affect the sector too much. In particular, the sector has benefited from the new airline routes linking South Korea, Finland and some Southeastern Asian countries with Shaanxi’s cities as well as the ongoing China Russia Tourism Year, and thanks to the province’s publicity efforts, the number of oversesas tourists is expected to grow substantially.
We will continue targeting South Korea, Russia, Britain, France, Switzerland and India, taking advantage of new airline routes and joining more international promotional events. We will invite more overseas media to pay a visit to Shaanxi as well as encourage more agencies to promote the province.
In the future, we plan to promote one product each year and promote a key brand each year.
We will help Shaanxi’s tourism resources to be better understood by common families in China and make it become an important part of their daily life.
More seminars and forums featuring the province’s profound history and civilization are in the pipeline. How will your administration push the province’s tourism sector to a new high?
Leaders of the provincial government have high hopes for the tourism sector. They have identified new areas of demand that can drive the sector’s stable growth and are coordinating their resources.
Shaanxi Party Chief Zhao Zhengyong noted that the province should strengthen the construction of leading historical tourism counties, enhance services and benefit local farmers. He hopes the province could optimize its tourism facilities.
Shaanxi Governor Lou Qinjian also indicated that the province should speed up the transformation of the high- end food and beverage sector and help the sector attract more common people.
He advises that the province promote the construction of 31 leading cultural and historical tourism counties and foster the “Air Silk Road” by supporting the development of new airline routes.
The province has placed high emphasis on the tourism sector and mapped out new strategies and measures.
As such, we will strengthen efforts in three areas – the implementation of new projects, the soft environment including services, and publicity.
By the end of 2013, the expressway in Shaanxi will reach 4,363 kilometers, offering tremendous opportunities to the tourism sector. How will the province seize these opportunities?
In recent years – no matter if it’s the New Year holiday, Qingming Festival, or Duanwu Festival – the number of tourists to Shaanxi has been consistently on the rise. Self-driving has seen sound growth.
We will integrate more tourism resources and design more themed tourism routes based on the convenient expressway network in Shannxi.
Seven leading self- driven routes include the Prosperous Tang Dynasty, Qinling-Bashan Mountain as well as Yellow River tours.
The province is also promoting a total of 11 self-driven suburban tourism routes, including the surroundings of Xi’an, Baoji folk village and Xianyang Guanzhong impression tours.
Some tourism events have been hosted, including the Dialog Between Qinling Mountain and Yellow River, a forum highlighting the tourism destinations around the region, as well as dragon boat and mountain climbing festivals.
This year, the Chanba Wetland Park, the Weihe Ecological Park, the West Peak Cable Car in Huashan Mountain as well as the Guqiang Cultural Industrial Park have been opened. Finally, could you tell our readers about the “Grand Qinling Mountain Civilization and Ecological Tourism Circle”?
The area has tremendous growth potential. The city clusters have a magnificent landscape. It will make holiday tourism a new growth area, and we will build the area into an internationally renowned tourism zone and a new highlight of Shaanxi province. During the first half of this year, leaders of the Shaanxi Tourism Administration have made an indepth investigation around the six cities surrounding Qinling Mountain.
We have listened to advice from local tourism bureaus and