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By Chen Yu
After the devastating earthquake happened in Sichuan province on May 12, 2008, in order to realize the target of post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, Sichuan province has determined tourism as the leading and dominant industry of the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, constituted and adopted a series of policies and measures on recovering and revitalizing the tourism, and obtained remarkable economic and social benefit. Statistics shows that from January to September of 2009, the revenue of Sichuan province in terms of tourism has reached RMB113.772 billion yuan, up 47.1 percent than the same period of last year. The tourism market of Sichuan province has recovered to and surpassed the level before the earthquake.
Establishing the position of leading industry in post-disaster reconstruction
Sichuan province has determined tourism as the leading and dominant industry of the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, and launched 27 pieces of policies and measures successively. Multiple measures have been implemented simultaneously and the expected effect has been obtained. From January to September 2009, the total revenue of Sichuan province in terms of tourism has realized RMB113.772 billion yuan, up 47.1 percent than the same period of last year and 21 percent than that of 2007. "It can be said that the tourism market of Sichuan province has recovered to and surpassed the level before the earthquake." Zhang Gu, Director of Sichuan Tourism Bureau, expressed.
Taking the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction as an opportunity, Sichuan province has integrated the tourism resource and, on the basis of reinforcing the strength of invitation of investment and driving the construction of important projects, made up an overall plan on travel routes, so as to develop the advantage of Sichuan tourism products as a whole. In order to meet demands of self-help and self-drive tourists for the trip, Sichuan Tourism Bureau has designedly launched about 1,000 self-help and self-drive travel routes with measured strokesand integrated scenic spots, towns and roads into route portfolios, which are featured with such tourism factors as "meal, dwelling, trip, tourism, shopping and entertainment". Before June 1, 2009, total 1,000 routes have been published on the internet successively with the coverage of 21 cities, autonomous prefectures and main scenic spots. The total hit rate has been more than 4.5 million times on the internet.
Promoting the transform and upgrade of rural tourism
With several-year development, Sichuan rural tourism, which is represented by "agritainment", has become a highlight in Sichuan tour industry. Since 2009, the province has promoted the new rural construction by transforming and upgrading rural tourism, driving Sichuan's tourism to develop vigorously.
"The development of tourism has not only provided wide employment space for the surplus labor force in rural areas, but also driven the development of local ecological agriculture, and those tourism products with various local features have also become an important approach to increasing peasants' income." said Li Yongqing, Vice Director of Sichuan Tourism Bureau.
"By 2010, we will strive for making the number of tourist participated in the rural tourism in Sichuan province and the revenue thereof increase by more than 15 percent every year averagely; additionally, by means of developing rural tourism, we will help remarkably increase the income of local peasants, fundamentally improve rural conditions and make the new rural construction obtain groundbreaking flights." said Li Yongqing.
Lighting up tourists' confidence on consuming in Sichuan
Sichuan province has launched preferential policies on tourism named as "price lowland". For example, some scenic spots have provided tickets at half price or for free, and 20 million "panda cards" have been issued. All of these measures have obtained favorable social effect and economic benefits.
In order to explore overseas market, since June 2008 to now, Sichuan province has invited travel agents and media delegations with total 510 persons in 15 batches from various countries and areas, such as South Korea, Japan, the U.S. and France, to investigate in Sichuan, and has dispatched delegations totalling 11 batches to propagandize in some other countries and areas. In March 2009, leading Sichuan tourism promoting delegation, Huang Yanrong, Vice-governor of Sichuan province, attended a tourism exhibition held in Berlin, Germany. It was the first time for Sichuan province to exhibit its tourism in the world after the earthquake, the practice which evoked strong echo.
As understood, Sichuan government has respectively announced in June, July, August and the eve of the National Day golden week in 2008 that such scenic areas as Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, Dujiangyan Dam and Qingcheng Mount were reopened. Currently, except for very few severest disaster areas, the tourism market in Sichuan province has welcomed tourists comprehensively.
Xue Yaping, Deputy Director of Sichuan Tourism Bureau, told the reporter that from January to October of 2009, Sichuan province had achieved the tourism revenue of RMB125.01 billion yuan, up 43.4 percent than the same period of last year. Among the revenue, the foreign exchange achieved US$180.85 million by welcoming 586,200 foreign tourists. |
