Policies to be introduced to better meet travelers' needs

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism will introduce a package of policies and measures and launch a series of consumer-friendly and business-supporting activities to provide more high-quality cultural and tourism products, striving to achieve breakthroughs in the high-quality development of related sectors, according to the authorities.

"We will accelerate the development of new cultural and tourism formats such as online performances, immersive experiences, cruises and recreational vehicle camping," said Miao Muyang, director of the industrial development department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Themed events featuring majestic landscapes, history and culture, and national achievements will be staged, while travel subsidies will be given to the general public to boost consumption.

At the same time, digitalization in the cultural and tourism industries will be promoted.

"We will establish a number of cultural and tourism technology innovation platforms, promoting the application of 5G, augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence," Miao said.

The ministry will also carry out work to upgrade related infrastructure, which includes replacing obsolete vehicles, cable cars, amusement facilities, performance equipment and smart tourism systems with safer, more stable and better-performing alternatives, he explained.

The country's tourism industry has shown a strong rebound this year.

Domestic tourist attractions received 765 million visits during the National Day holiday from Oct 1 to 7, up 5.9 percent year-on-year and an increase of 10.2 percent compared with the same period in 2019, before the outbreak of COVID-19, the ministry reported.

Tourism-related revenue reached a record high of over 700.8 billion yuan ($99.4 billion) during the break, up 6.3 percent year-on-year and an increase of 7.9 percent compared with the same period in 2019.

In the first three quarters, domestic tourist visits reached 4.29 billion, with tourism spending reaching 4.32 trillion yuan, representing year-on-year increases of 16.8 percent and 17.1 percent, respectively, approaching the peak levels of 2019, according to the ministry.

To further tap into the tourism market potential, the ministry will work with related parties to develop a range of scenic routes with distinct cultural characteristics and comprehensive support services, stage music, art carnivals and creative fairs in rural areas, and roll out more tourism trains to cater to the increasingly diverse needs of Chinese travelers, Miao said.

Additionally, the ministry will tap into arts and intangible cultural heritage to create more settings for culture and tourism integration.

Ming Wenjun, director of the ministry's art department, said, "We will continue to enhance the integration of arts and tourism, allowing arts to renew the market, empower industries and add spice to tourism."

Related work has been continuously conducted to improve the systems and mechanisms for promoting such artistic creation.

"Moving forward, we will focus on strengthening art troupes at all levels," Ming said, adding that pertinent support will be given to State-owned art troupes, private performing arts groups, rural theater troupes and folk performance groups to promote their high-quality growth.

"With these high-quality cultural resources, we will also expand channels for bringing them directly to the grassroots, and further refine the government's mechanism for purchasing performance services, which has been in place for many years," he said.

Efforts will also be stepped up to bring opera into villages, communities and schools, and support digital performance content through livestreaming, broadcasts and screenings.

As for intangible cultural heritage, the ministry will continuously promote its integration with modern life.

Chen Binbin, director of the ministry's public service department, said: "After years of effort, our country has essentially established a four-level intangible cultural heritage inventory system at the national, provincial, city and county levels. We have recognized over 100,000 representative intangible cultural heritage items and more than 90,000 inheritors.

"Intangible cultural heritage is becoming an important part of our better quality of life."

More themed events featuring intangible cultural heritage items, such as exhibitions, performances and learning tours, will be staged for the public to better appreciate their charm, he added.

The ministry will also work with relevant departments to continuously optimize visa and border control policies, steadily expand the number of visa-exempt countries, improve transit visa exemption policies, enhance the convenience of inbound tourism services and promote the high-quality development of inbound tourism.

In the first three quarters, inbound tourist visits are estimated to reach 95 million, a year-on-year increase of 55.4 percent, recovering to 93.4 percent of the same period in 2019, according to the ministry.