Visitors vital to economy
Zhejiang province in East China has much to offer in terms of tourism resources, with scenic spots of many kinds.
President Xi Jinping, who was the Party chief of Zhejiang province between 2004 and 2006, made the decision to develop the province into a major province with tourism economies in September 2009.
Xi's decision has been a blueprint for the provincial authorities to follow to develop the province into a major tourist destination.
The number of tourist trips to the province has increased from 110 million trips in 2004 to 488 million trips in 2014, up by an average of 16 percent each year. The total revenue generated by tourism also increased from 101 billion yuan in 2004 to 630 billion yuan in 2014, up by 20 percent each year. The growth rate has far exceeded the national average rate of growth.
The total revenue generated by the tourism industry reached 630 billion yuan in 2014, up 13.8 percent year-on-year. The total number of inbound tourist trips reached 9.31 million in 2014, with inbound tourism revenue totaling $5.75 billion.
The province's hotel industry hosted 3.7 million inbound tourists and 479 million domestic tourists in 2014, up by 7.5 percent and 6.7 percent year-on-year.
Zhejiang has 28 cities that have been rated as excellent tourist destinations at national level, the largest number for a single province. It has 34 holiday resorts at provincial and national level, which is also the largest number for a single provincial area in the country.
The province has a total of 350 A-level scenic spots, with 153 4-A level, scenic spots and 11 5-A level scenic spots.
The province also has 2102 tourism agencies and 915 star hotels, including 191 four-star hotels and 69 five-star hotels. The number of luxury hotels in the province is also the second for a single provincial area in China.
China Daily
(China Daily 03/28/2015 page15)
