23rd Qingdao Beer Festival sees nearly 4 million tourists

The 23rd Qingdao International Beer Festival's main attraction -- the Beer Town activity -- closed on August 26.

During its two week-long activity, the number of tourists visiting the Beer Festival reached nearly 4 million, who consumed more than 1,200 tons of beer. Unlike previous years, other activities of this joyous "Summer Carnival" were still in full swing, but the Beer Town activity of this Festival has concluded.

According to estimates, the direct economic benefits contributed by this Beer Festival came to approximately 907 million yuan; the direct economic contribution to the city reached a massive 3.831 billion yuan, among which the generated economic benefit in Laoshan District accounted for about 1.132 billion yuan, boosting the GDP of Laoshan District by 2.8 percentage points and the GDP of the whole city by 0.52 percentage points.

Although the two-week Beer Town activity came to an end, other activities were still in full swing, including the Qingdao Shopping Festival which runs from August to October, the 2013 Qingdao Grand Theater Arts Festival which runs from August 23 to October 28, and a series of themed activities including "Beer and Food Festival," "Beer Carnival," and "Beer Culture Festival" promoted by the Municipal Tourism Bureau. Additionally, dozens of star-rated hotels are launching activities with a beer carnival theme.