The growth in China's tourism industry has a direct impact on the country's economy. As China upgrades its tourism infrastructure, the country also projects a growth in its economy.
The National Tourism Administration presented its developmental plan for the tourism sector in a document released on Monday. The plan covers the period 2016-2020.
The said document states that roads to China’s major tourist destinations will be renovated by 2020. This is to provide easier internal transportation in the tourist attractions and to meet the increase in travel demand.
Bike lanes totaling a length of 5,000 km will be added across 20 regions in the next four years. The project is to promote zero-emission travel. This is in line with the country’s campaign for a cleaner air.
Additional tourist buses and RV campsites will also be opened within the period.
Problems such as toilet shortage, unhygienic conditions, and lack of sanitation workers have been the constant reasons for tourist complaints. Chinese toilets have had a horrid reputation for a long time.
As a solution to the problem, 100,000 restrooms will be installed and upgraded. Strict hygiene standards will be applied in toilets at major tourist destinations. Environmentally-friendly cleaning approaches will also be applied at most facilities.
Plans on integrated information sharing system and plans on providing a higher quality of service to tourists were also laid down in the document. The government believes that easier access to tourist information will help promote the industry.
Official data shows a 13.6 percent increase in China’s 2016 tourism revenue. The revenue totaled about 4.69 trillion yuan ($689.7 billion). 4.44 billion trips were made the previous year by local tourists, resulting in an increase of 11 percent.
China will be spending about 2 trillion yuan in the tourism sector by 2020. This investment is expected to bring an increase in the GDP by more than 12 percent.
With the plans of upgrading its tourism infrastructure and information technology, the world is looking forward to a spur in China's tourism industry and in turn, in its economy.