The Implementation Plan for Sichuan Province to Build National "All-for-one" Tourism Demonstration Zones was officially issued, marking that Sichuan is going to embark on a new journey to build national "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zones.
Previously, Sichuan had eight national "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zones in such cities as Dujiangyan and Emeishan, tying for first place with four other provinces including Jiangsu and Shandong. Besides, Sichuan is home to 47 provincial "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zones, with 10 more expected to be added this year. Sichuan is taking the lead in the development of "all-for-one" tourism. For what reason was the Plan issued? On which aspects will Sichuan focus to build national "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zones based on support from across the province? To find answers to these questions, many industry professionals were interviewed.
Foundation: It is an inevitable trend for Sichuan to develop "all-for-one" tourism thanks to its rich resources and solid industrial foundation
Over recent years, Sichuan has built provincial and national "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zones, all of which are based on support from counties (county-level cities and districts). According to Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the Plan promotes the development of "all-for-one" tourism based on support from across the province. That not only echoes the rapid development of Sichuan's tourism industry and meets the evolving needs of tourists, but is also an inevitable trend supported by the existing resources and strengths in Sichuan's tourism industry.
"The transformation and upgrading of Sichuan's tourism industry is picking up pace. The size, quantity and quality of the culture and tourism industries in Sichuan rank first in the western region and among the top in China. Sichuan has a solid foundation and great potential to develop "all-for-one" tourism." According to the census of Sichuan's cultural and tourism resources, there are 3.0574 million sites of cultural resources, 245,700 sites of tourism resources and more than 1,800 sites of prime level tourism resources.
The recovery of Sichuan's culture and tourism industries is gathering steam. At present, the two industries account for 25% of Sichuan's regional GDP. New business forms and tourism brands such as state-level hotspots for nighttime cultural and tourism consumption and blocks serving tourism and leisure are emerging one after another, and Sichuan has the biggest number of such places. In addition, it is one of the provinces where the tourism industry is the most flourishing in China. All these are important factors for Sichuan to build national "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zones.
In the opinion of Yang Xiaohua, a senior engineer of Sichuan Forestry and Grassland Ecotourism Development Center, Sichuan boasts unique advantages, including rich resources and distinctive scenic spots in each region. It enjoys so many favorable conditions that other provinces cannot compete with, paving the way for the joint construction of a mountain-based recreational tourism belt around the basin by integrating resources from the cultural and tourism economic belt around Chengdu, and the cultural and tourism economic belts of northeast and southern Sichuan, as mentioned in the Plan.
Highlights: Sichuan is integrating all factors step by step, making good use of spare resources, and driving innovation in cultural and tourism consumption scenarios
Abundant resources should be fully utilized. Zhao Yao, the person in charge of the compilation of the Plan, said that the highlights of the Plan lie in optimizing public tourism services, focusing on strengthening industrial integration, optimizing the supply system, improving public services, enhancing the governance system, putting more effort into brand promotion, and boosting co-construction and sharing. Currently, some existing spare cultural and sports resources are available in certain villages and towns in Sichuan. Making good use of public service resources and increasing efficiency will drive innovation in cultural and tourism consumption scenarios, such as theme expressway service areas with cultural creativity, dynamic and convenient smart tourism platforms, thoughtful tourism service sites, etc. In doing so, the province can provide tourists with better experience in public spaces, thus promoting travel between all places throughout the area and sharing of tourism resources.
Yang Xiaohua believes that the development of "all-for-one" tourism should move beyond scenic spots, hotels and restaurants; instead, more attention should be paid to the effective reallocation of various resources as well as public services for socio-economic development, so as to make Sichuan a livable and tourist-friendly place with beautiful scenery and attractions everywhere.
Industry-city-landscape integrated development has become the focus. Zhao Yao believes that the transportation-tourism, industry-tourism and forestry-tourism integrated development is a necessary stage for the development of "all-for-one" tourism. Only when tourism continuously empowers various industries can new cultural and tourism products be produced and new cultural and tourism routes be opened. In the opinion of Liu Xiaofang, Chief Planner of Leshan Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, the integration of tourism with culture, industry, education, health and sports will stimulate new vitality and further advance the development of "all-for-one" tourism. For example, Leshan Jiayang National Mining Park has gradually been transformed into a popular site for academic research, for which the city has offered more than 100 courses.
Support: Joint efforts made at the levels of counties (county-level cities and districts) and cities (prefectures) help achieve the goals
Sichuan is among the first provinces that have practiced the development philosophy of "all-for-one" tourism. According to Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, the building of Famous Tourist Counties of Tianfu has become a booster for the building of national "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zones, effectively stimulating the vitality of county economies. All localities have coordinated efforts for both the development of "all-for-one" tourism and the construction of Famous Tourist Counties of Tianfu, establishing a model combining the two aspects unique to Sichuan. The issuance of the Plan further strengthens Party-government coordination, cooperation between departments, and the sense of responsibility of all parties in participating in the building of national "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zones, and promotes innovation in systems and mechanisms, policies and measures, and governance models.
According to the Plan, efforts will be made to successfully build national "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zones in three cities (prefectures) and 50 counties (county-level cities and districts), and to help 80 provincial "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zones to be included in the national list by 2025. This means that the "all-for-one" tourism brand at the level of counties (county-level cities and districts) is the basis for building the "all-for-one" tourism brand at the city (prefecture) level, and the "all-for-one" tourism brand at city (prefecture) level is the basis for building Sichuan into a national "all-for-one" tourism demonstration province. Only by making efforts at the levels of counties (county-level cities and districts) and cities (prefectures) can strong support be lent to the building of national "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zones across the province.
Yilong County, with the titles of a provincial "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zone and Famous Tourist County of Tianfu, is exploring the way to set a fine example and take the lead in the building of national "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zones. Hu Run, Director of Yilong Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism, said that the Qilong Lake and the Hakka Homestay Expo Park will be opened to tourists this year. The county is making every effort to build a national "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zone.
"Only when county-level "all-for-one" tourism is well developed can it lay a solid foundation for Sichuan to build national 'all-for-one' tourism demonstration zones." A related official of Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism said that other Tianfu tourism brands still need to be strengthened. For example, it is necessary to carry out the three-year action plan to create the IP of "Anyi (lit. 'easy and comfortable')" panda culture and enhance Sichuan's tourism image of being easy and comfortable.
