Pingtan tourism income hits $515.5m in first three quarters

Pingtan maintained its momentum in tourism during the first three quarters of 2018 with its total income reaching 3.57 billion yuan ($515.5 million), according to statistics released by the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone bureau of tourism development on Oct 31.

The area received 3.3 million tourists, up 24.4 percent compared with the same period of last year, including 37,100 inbound tourists with a year-on-year growth of 230.2 percent.

The continuous efforts in the development of tourism resources have contributed significantly to the rise in tourist figures, officials say.

Rural areas such as Beigang village and Tanshui village has developed distinctive rural tourism this year under the guidance of the local government and were equipped with complete supporting facilities to better serve the tourists.

Tourism promotion fairs in other cities such as Ningbo and Qingdao have also boosted the development of Pingtan tourism.

"According to the statistics, over 50 percent of the tourists travel by their own cars. We will keep perfecting supporting facilities and launching more tourist routes in the future," said an official from Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone bureau of tourism development.