Growing visitor numbers reflect government efforts

The Tour of China 2011 bicycle race started in Xi’an on Sept 9 that year.

The historical home of ancient China’s capital for 13 dynasties, Shaanxi province witnessed a rising number of tourists from Hong Kong and Macao in the first eight months of this year, which reflects the whole industry’s expansion in overseas markets.

According to statistics from the local government, the province received 232,500 Hong Kong visitors in the first eight months, up 13 percent compared with the same period last year. During that time, the province had 130,600 tourists from Macao, year-on-year growth of 9 percent.

In the past five years, the province welcomed more than 1.4 billion tourists from China and overseas, with an average annual growth rate of 21 percent. Tourism generated revenue of over 1 trillion yuan over the same period, more than double that of the previous five years.

In last year alone, about 386 million tourists visited Shaanxi, with nearly 3 million of them from overseas, including 358,900 from Hong Kong and 221,900 from Macao.

In turn, 156,600 Shaanxi locals visited Hong Kong in 2015, increasing 20 percent year-on-year, and 49,500 visited Macao, up 52 percent.

These achievements were made thanks to the government’s efforts in various sectors related to the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiatives, said local officials; the provincial capital Xi’an was the starting point of the ancient Silk Road.

The local authority has held a series of activities to promote Xi’an on the world stage as a Shaanxi brand. They held a forum called “Dialogue between Qin Mountains and Yellow River” in May, focusing on new concepts for the tourist industry based on opportunities provided by the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Qin Mountains are a major east-west mountain range in southern Shaanxi. The highest mountain in the range is Mount Taibai at 3,767 meters, which is about 100 kilometers west of Xi’an.

The local government held tourist activities such as self-drive trips and culture exhibitions to introduce the province to the wider public.

The local authority has also hit the road to promote Shaanxi’s rich tourist resources. They attended around 20 tourist marketing activities in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as many mainland regions including Fujian, Hubei, Henan and Jiangsu this year.

The provincial tourism administration also cooperated with China Travel Service (Hong Kong) to establish a marketing center in Hong Kong on October 2015, especially for promoting routes to Shaanxi for residents there. The center showcases tourism opportunities in Shaanxi, to attract more tourists from overseas.