Guizhou tourism recovers from January to May

Guizhou's Baili Azalea Natural Reserve covers an area of 125.8 square kilometers and is a national 5A-level scenic spot. [Photo/colorful Guizhou network]

During the first five months of this year, Southwest China's Guizhou province received 259 million tourist visits, generating 243 billion yuan ($37.99 billion) in tourism revenue, according to a promotional conference for tourism industrialization held on June 7.

Guizhou is striving to balance economic development and environmental protection by developing its tourism industry. The province has an abundance of tourist attractions and has been upgrading tourism quality, aiming to become an international destination for mountain tourism and a domestic destination for vacations.

To improve tourism infrastructure, Guizhou has built 300 tourism consultation service centers, 750 shopping areas, and 5,000 toilets in scenic areas. All of its scenic areas above national 3A level are connected via expressways.

Guizhou is currently home to 137 scenic areas above national 4A level, including eight national 5A-level scenic areas and 37 holiday resorts above provincial level. Guizhou has the most World Natural Heritage sites, traditional villages, and villages with ethnic groups in all of China.

Statistics show that the number of tourists visiting Guizhou and tourism revenue both grew by more than 30 percent from 2016 to 2019.

Since the beginning of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), Guizhou has launched 588 new tourism projects and business formats to promote the integration of tourism with other industries, such as healthcare, sports, agriculture, scientific technology, and education.

Guizhou has also alleviated poverty through tourism development. It has set provincial standards for rural tourism management and has rated 3,300 tourism villages and homestay owners as "qualified". It currently has 189 key tourism villages above provincial level, 38 of which are at the national level.