Office of Sichuan Provincial People’s Government has recently issued the Development Plan on Tourism of the 13th Five-Year Plan Period, proposing that the development of tourism should be the pillar of poverty alleviation. By the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan Period, the number of impoverished people who shake off poverty through the development of tourism should account for 20% of the total poor population.
The Plan highlights the all-for-one tourism, supply-side structural reform, and industrial integrated development.
Centering on the two tasks, namely, the values of tourism industry exceeding a trillion yuan and establishing the world’s important tourist destinations, the Plan puts forward that, the growth rate of tourism industry should remain at above 15% annually, the total revenues of tourism of Sichuan should be doubled to 1.2 trillion yuan compared with that of 2015, and tourism should be the strategic pillar industry of the national economy in Sichuan Province.
Sichuan will utilize the all-in-one tourism model to highlight the all-in-one layout and assistance, massive participation, and full services in accordance with the requirements in supply-side structural reform. In the strategic layout, Sichuan will forge a new tourism pattern of “511” region (namely five districts, ten tourist destinations, and ten exquisite travel routes) from the two dimensions of industry and space. Five districts: Sichuan will consistently build a core tourism district in Chengdu Plain, consolidate and make breakthroughs the tourism district in Northwest Sichuan, step up efforts to expand the tourism district in Northeast Sichuan, speed up to develop the tourism district in Western Panzhihua, and accelerate to promote the construction of the tourism district in Southern Sichuan. Ten tourist destinations include Chengdu International Metropolitan Leisure Tourist Destination, E’Mei Mountain International Tourist Destination, Jiuzhai Valley World Heritages Tourist Destination, State Highway 318/317 Sichuan & Tibetan World Tourist Destination, and Shangri-la-Minya Konka World Alpine Ecological and Cultural Tourist Destination, Shangri-la-Yading World Mountainous Tourist Destination, Tsinling Mountains Tourist Destination, Jialing River Cultural and Leisure Tourist Destination, Western Panzhihua Tourist Destination, and Yangtze River Tourist Destination in Southern Sichuan. Ten exquisite travel routes contain Panda International Ecological Travel Route, Jiuhuan World Heritage Travel Route, Chengdu-Leshan Cultural and Ecological Travel Route, State Highway 318/317 Sichuan & Tibetan Travel Route, Shangri-la Cultural and Ecological Travel Route, Three-Kingdoms Cultural Travel Route, Jiangling River Cultural Travel Route, Tsinling Mountains Ice & Snow Travel Route, Western Panzhihua Healthcare Travel Route, and Long March Red Culture Travel Route.
The Plan lists ten key tasks including fully promoting the supply-side structural reform of tourism and seeking reform and innovations on tourism institutions and mechanisms. During the 13th Five-Year Plan Period, Sichuan will keep a close eye on the construction of all-for-on tourism demonstration zone in 28 cities and counties, the areas of which cover two thirds of the total, ranking first in China.
The Plan has, for the first time, explicitly stipulated that efforts will be made to develop tourism industry, support the localization of equipment manufacturing, and promote the designs and production of tourism commodities.
It is proposed in the Plan that, before 2020, the all-time connectivity between 5A scenic spots in Sichuan and national tourist resorts and transportation system such as aviation, high-speed railways, and expressways will be achieved.
