The island city of Pingtan in Fujian province revealed an ambitious series of promotional ideas to boost the city's tourism industry in 2017 at a seminar held on Feb 23.

Organized by Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone Bureau of Tourism Development, the meeting was attended by more than 30 delegates from local tourism associations, travel companies and travel agencies.

During the seminar, Wang Xinjian, deputy director of Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone Bureau of Tourism Development, gave a brief introduction to the plan for promoting the city as a world-class tourist destination across the country.

In 2017, Pingtan is expected to launch numerous tourism promotion conferences in more than 20 cities, including Chongqing, Chengdu, Xi'an, Jinan, Shijiangzhuang and Nanjing. Pingtan shall use these events to connect with local travel agents directly, improving the city’s profile as an international island resort.

The city shall also launch an extensive television and online media advertising campaign, with plans to air a tourism promotion commercial on media platforms including Taiwan TV, Fujian provincial TV media and Chinese national broadcaster CCTV.

There are also plans to diversify Pingtan's tourism offering by launching a series of new events in the city this year, including the Sand Sculpture Festival, Blue Tears International Music Festival and Balloon Fiesta.

The Balloon Fiesta, a hot-air balloon festival scheduled to be held at end of March, will run for a whole month in several of Pingtan's famous scenic spots, including Haitan Ancient City, Tannan Bay and Shipaiyang.

Shipaiyang, one of the natural wonders of Pingtan, Fujian province, is a large rock formation shaped like two large ships sailing on the sea. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]