Shandong conference boosts cultural tourism sector

The two-day event includes an opening ceremony, a cultural relics-themed tourism conference, the Shandong International Travel Operators Conference and a cultural tourism project promotional conference.

At the opening ceremony, 18 key cultural tourism projects were signed to serve the high-quality development of the cultural tourism industry.

Ten major cultural heritage tourism routes were launched during the event, to leverage cultural relics to revitalize cultural resources and promote the deep integration of culture and tourism.

These routes, featuring cultural relics related to the Yellow River, the Grand Canal, the Great Wall of ancient Qi state, ancient architectures and Confucius culture, involve 232 cultural heritage sites across 16 cities in Shandong.

Sixteen measures were released at the Shandong International Travel Operators Conference as a result of the joint efforts of 14 departments, including the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, to accelerate the high-quality development of inbound tourism.

Inbound tourism is of great importance in elevating the tourism sector, driving economic growth and consumption, and promoting the opening to the outside world, said Deng Yunfeng, vice-governor of Shandong.

Under these measures, more effort will be made to optimize visa and customs clearance policies, develop more inbound tourism product routes and improve inbound payment methods.