More US tourists expected to visit southwest China city

GUIYANG - Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou province, will carry out a series of events and promotions to attract more tourists from the United States.

The municipal government, Tourism Development Committee of Guizhou and American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) will jointly hold the ASTA China Summit 2017 in the city on Nov 5.

This is the first time ASTA, one of the world's largest travel professional associations, has participated in an event highlighting China as a travel destination.

More than 130 US travel agents and over 200 Chinese travel companies and representatives will attend the summit.

From Nov 1, 2017 to Dec 31, 2018, US citizens can visit most tourist attractions in Guiyang free of charge, according to Yuan Yunlong, director of the Tourism Development Committee of Guizhou.

The city's hot springs will provide a 25 percent discount for US tourists during this period, and local hotels and China Southern Airlines will also offer lower prices.

Hou Ying, chairman of the China branch of ASTA said US tourists want to experience different cultures, landscapes and foods, and Guizhou's stunning karst mountain scenery and multiple ethnic minorities each with unique customs and foods appeal to these interests.

The ASTA summit aims to provide US travel agents with more information about Guizhou, Hou said.

More than 100 million tourists visited Guizhou in 2016, with the city's tourism revenue exceeding 130 billion yuan (14.8 billion US dollars). This included nearly 184,000 foreign visits to the city, according to local tourism bureau statistics.