Tourism sector in the suburbs set to benefit

In the eyes of village chief Ma Zhihui, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, being hosted in Beijing from Nov 5 to 11, is not only an event that concerns world leaders. For him, it is also an opportunity for residents to broaden their horizons and a chance to attract more business opportunities and tourism to the village's remote location in the capital's Huairou district.

"Thanks to APEC, more people have become interested in Huairou," said Ma, Party chief of Suocao village.

"They will search online for Huairou's history, industries and entertainment spots, which gives our village more opportunity to be discovered by more people.

"Several groups have come to our village to explore cooperation in recent weeks," said the 53-year-old Huairou native, adding that some of those companies have come from as far as the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in the far west of China.

The environment and infrastructure of the district have also benefited from the APEC meeting.

"The district's development can be accelerated by a decade thanks to investments for the international event," Ma said.

It has been working to set up an industry chain that includes sturgeon farming, fishing competitions and farm-themed tourism.

The village has eight hectares devoted to fishing competitions that form one of five fishing bases of the China Recreational Angling Association. It has also built a 76-hectare forest park.

"Our goal is to build our 'sturgeon world' into an ecological park that combines aquaculture with sightseeing and vocational tourism," Ma said. "But we need more investment, since our remote village cannot bear the large infrastructure costs alone."

Ma is confident such investment will be achieved as part of the impact of the APEC meeting.

"Huairou prides itself on its industry and it is trying to build tourism products and services based on those strengths," he said.

Zhou Zhengyu, the former head of Beijing's tourism commission, said the tourism sector in the suburbs of the city offers great potential.

"The income from suburban tourism accounts for only 1 or 2 percent of the total tourism income of Beijing," Zhou said.

"But in the future, Beijing will try to develop its suburban tourism by highlighting different districts' strengths and attracting large companies and investment to these areas," he added.

Li Mingde, deputy director of the tourism research center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said APEC brings opportunities for the tourism industry in Huairou and other suburbs of Beijing.

Contact the writers at zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn and suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/10/2014 page33)