Tourists flock to Shangri-La despite economic downturn

Tourism is often among the first sectors to feel the impact of an economic crisis as consumers keep a firm grip on their cash and wait for the storm to clear.

Yet Diqing Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Yunnan, famed as the home of Shangri-La, hosted more than 2 million tourists that spent of 1.6 billion yuan in the first six months of 2009, an increase of 30 percent in visitor numbers and 20.17 percent in revenues compared to the same period last year.

Chen Jianguo, head of the Diqing prefecture government, shared the reason for success with China Daily while on the sidelines of the ongoing Summer Davos forum in Dalian.