Pingnan eager to grow tourism

( www.chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2011-05-25

Pingnan, a county in northeastern Fujian province, is campaign to grow tourism to more of China’s cities and provinces.

A promotional seminar on the county’s Yuanyangxi scenic spot, which has been called an “aqua-paradise,” was held Monday and Tuesday at Taizhou in Zhejiang province. The seminar was designed to attract tourists and outside investments from Taizhou and the province.

In 2009, Pingnan promoted its tourist attraction in the Yangtze River Delta region, including visits to Wenzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai. Pingnan travel agencies reported that 860,000 tourists visited Pingnan in 2009, and 75 percent were from the Delta region. Pingnan tourist sector officials hope the numbers of tourists will increase to 1 million this year.

To help develop tourism in Pingnan, Pingnan’s government has allocated about 400 million yuan ($61 million) to support existing tourism resources and consider new infrastructure projects such as hotels and resort villas.