Chengdu aims to stimulate tourist spending

Chengdu, Sichuan province, will boost consumption and development in the tourism market to achieve economic growth.

At a special meeting on the topic on Thursday, Wang Fengchao, mayor of Chengdu, asked for more local consumption, as well as attracting people from outside the city to spend money there.

Starting this month, the city will host weekly activities, cashing in on weekends, nights, New Year's Day and Spring Festival with new consumption formats such as food plus performing arts and food plus cultural creativity to encourage residents to spend money.

Participants at the meeting predicted that the New Year's Day and Spring Festival holidays might be the most important turning point for the tourism market since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago.

To cater to tourists, Chengdu will host the 23rd South China Ice and Snow Festival and 100 activities celebrating Spring Festival. It will issue consumption vouchers to tourists and reduce prices for entrance tickets to many scenic spots.

Xiling Snow Mountain in Dayi, a county under the administration of Chengdu, has been the main venue for the South China Ice and Snow Festival and is popular with tourists in winter as it is near a large city in South China.