Xinjiang tourism sector steps on the gas

The tourism environment and management in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region have been constantly upgraded, and its tourism industry has recovered rapidly since June, regional government officials said on Friday.

The construction of tourism infrastructure, public service facilities and smart tourism has been promoted in Xinjiang in recent years. The quality of local tourism services and tourists' satisfaction rate have improved in an all-around way, said Elijan Anayat, a spokesman for the Xinjiang regional government.

A number of major projects have been undertaken in the region, and the government has sorted out 412 major investment projects in the cultural and tourism industries of Xinjiang this year, with a total investment of 182.7 billion yuan ($27 billion), Anayat said.

He said Xinjiang has been striving to coordinate epidemic control with economic and social development, and has introduced multiple measures to promote the region's tourism to speed up its economic recovery.

In June, Xinjiang received 23.92 million tourists, up 66.4 percent from the previous month, and the tourism revenue reached 17.4 billion yuan, up 89.7 percent from the previous month. Official data show that from July 1 to 21, the number of tourists climbed to 25.54 million, with the tourism revenue reaching 19 billion yuan.

"The tourism boom in Xinjiang is the result of the steady release of dividends of Xinjiang's stability, and is also due to the combination of accurate and scientific epidemic prevention policies and the steady progress of Xinjiang's tourism strategy," the spokesman said.

In order to attract more tourists to Xinjiang, especially in the current peak tourist season, relevant departments will look to further improve services and at the same time stay alert for COVID-19 epidemics, said Xu Guixiang, another spokesman of the regional government.

The region will continue to implement the measures of limiting the number of tourists and encouraging tourists to make appointments during the peak period, and increase the number of ticket service windows in tourist spots and the transport capacity, Xu said.

More tourism routes will be introduced, and efforts will also be made to standardize and supervise the operation order of the tourism market, he said.