Society

Scenic sites form association to promote tourism

By Lin Shujuan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-03-20 17:37

The highest-ranked tourist destinations in China formed an association today to cooperate in developing tourism and to upgrade the industry's service standard in China.

The association, called Association of China's 5A-class Tourist Destinations, was inaugurated this morning in Sanya, Hainan province, as part of the ongoing Boao International Tourism Forum. The new group consists of 67 destinations and 55 cities.

Participating delegates also selected Wang Yong, Sanya's acting mayor, as Chairman of the association.

The 5A-class is the top rating given by China National Tourism Administration. Destinations that have it include the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Nanshan Buddhism Culture Tourism Zone in Sanya.

Despite being China's top tourist destinations, there remains room for improvement in product differentiation, service standards and brand marketing to make them internationally competitive, said Wang Xingbin, a retired professor from the China Tourism Institute.

"Cooperation is essential because they share some common problems – like expensive entrance tickets?- and face the same challenges, like how to offer digital service and develop in a low-carbon economy," the professor said.

With a shift towards a green or low-carbon economy, China is pushing the development of its tourism industry, which is expected to create around 500,000 new jobs annually through 2015, according to the country's tourism development plan.

Domestic tourists are projected to top 3.3 billion by 2015, with an annual average growth of 10 percent in the next five years, and outbound tourists will reach 83 million with an annual increase of 9 percent, according to the plan.