Increased efforts to underpin tourist island construction

Shipaiyang, one of the natural wonders of Pingtan, Fujian province, is a large rock formation shaped like two large ships sailing on the sea. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Fujian is set to  ramp up its efforts to build Pingtan into an international tourist destination, announced a government press conference recently.

According to the 10 measures released by the Fujian Provincial Commission of Tourism Development, the province shall allocate an additional fund worth 30 million yuan ($4.38 million) to support tourism development in Pingtan over the next three years.

More incentives will be also on offer to motivate travel agencies to roll out travel packages to include Pingtan as a stop of trips to Taiwan. The rewards for them are set to be increased from 100 yuan per person to 120 yuan, according to the commission.

Meanwhile, to further the city's awareness worldwide, more promotional ads and events will be launched. Also a cross-Straits forum themed on tourism shall be held on an annual basis to pool more intelligence for the city's tourist industry construction plan.

Pingtan, an island city situated off the east coast of Fujian, is the fifth largest island in China and the closest place on the mainland to Taiwan. In 2016, the State Council, China's cabinet, approved the plan of building Pingtan into an international tourist island.