China's scenic sites seek improvement during temporary closure

Online training for tourism workers

For those working in the tourism industry, staying home during the epidemic doesn't mean no room for improvement. Some of the tourist destinations have organized online training for their employees to improve their professional knowledge and service skills during this period.

In Central China's Henan province, after the Baiyun Mountain scenic area announced its closure, it launched online talent recruitment and various online learning sessions for its employees. The training sessions included site management and operation lessons, as well as marketing and epidemic prevention and control measures.

The Sanya Tourist Attractions Association also launched a project to offer online training for tourism enterprises, calling for them to promote service and management through training during the epidemic outbreak.

He Zhiquan, deputy marketing manager of Tongguling scenic spot in the Hainan city of Wenchang, said they started an online training program this week on innovation and marketing of tourist sites.

"It is mainly an opportunity to improve the employees' skills, our management and service," he said, adding that it is "all in preparation for the resumption of work."

Government support

The Chinese government also played a crucial part in supporting its tourism sector. To help tourism enterprises weather the epidemic, China has introduced a series of measures to ease their financial pressure.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism decided to give 80 percent of the quality guarantee deposit back to the travel agencies. As of February 25, 3.462 billion yuan ($0.5 billion) of the deposit has been refunded to the travel agencies.

On February 6, the ministry and the National Development and Reform Commission issued a plan to invest more than 3 billion yuan ($0.4 billion) to support 343 infrastructure projects for tourism activities.

By February 24, nearly 300 tourist destinations across China had resumed operation, accounting for 38.1 percent of the total number, China's online travel agency Tongcheng Yilong reported.