Hefei, capital city of Anhui province, released a five-year tourism development blueprint at a recent annual conference on tourism.

During the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period, the municipal government will strive to promote the city under the slogan "Innovative Capital of Anhui province, Vibrant City by Chaohu Lake". It will focus on the development of theme parks, holiday resorts, conventions and expositions in the city.

The city's tourism revenue exceeded 20 billion yuan in 2010 -- an increase of about 43 percent year-on-year. The city welcomed about 27 million people from within the country and 242,800 visitors from overseas last year, which were up 56 percent and 21 percent from a year earlier, respectively. The previous year also saw a year-on-year increase of 39 percent in the city's tourist foreign exchange earnings to 150 million dollars.

The city will be built as a regional tourist center and an international lakeside tourist destination during the next five years. "This is a golden age for the city's tourism sector," said Sang Linbing, head of Hefei Tourism Administration, at the conference.

Editor: Li Jing

Source: cnanhui.org