First low-altitude tourism plan gets green light

A proposal to let tourists see parts of Hainan province aboard aircraft flying at low altitudes has passed an examination by authorities, Shanghai Securities News reported on Monday.

The proposal is the first specifically concerning "low-altitude tourism" in China and comes in response to the Several Opinions of the State Council on Promoting the Development of Aviation Industry, released in July.

Sanya, in Hainan province, will build an international seaplane center and work to combine the general aviation and tourism industries, according to the plan.

China's aviation industry is expected to develop extensively in the next three to five years, according to some business insiders.

Regulatory reforms concerning low-altitude airspace are expected to be introduced by 2015 and completed by 2020, Du Qiang, deputy director of the office of the National Air Management Traffic Committee, said at the Beijing International Business Aviation Show on Sept 4.