Scenic spot in Sichuan helps recover tourism

Mount E'mei, a 5A-level scenic spot in Sichuan province of Southwest China, hopes to make further recovery of the local tourism market by launching a group of preferential policies.

Located more than 100 km from the two airports of Chengdu, the city of E'mei has been renowned for its history and culture. By the end of August, Mount E'mei plans to launch more night tourism events, according to the local government.

With rich hot spring resources and a high forest coverage rate, Mount E'mei has been a popular destination for visitors who are seeking health recuperation. As of Aug 19 this year, the mountain saw its number of visitors reach 2.18 million, and it aims to attract 3.5 million visitors in total for the whole year, said the local government.

Between July 1 and Feb 28, 2023, the sightseeing spot will offer complimentary entries for minors who are under the age of 18. Between July 1 and Dec 31, Mount E'mei will provide some special offers for travel agencies and free admissions for key opinion leaders who are active on social media platforms.

"Chinese consumers have been showing an increasingly higher demand of high-quality cultural and travel products. The launch of various travel products in Mount E'mei is expected to inject new momentum into the recovery of the domestic tourism market in the second half of this year," said Zhao Guoying, deputy director of the Palace Museum.

With cooperation of Tongcheng Travel, a Suzhou-based online travel agency, the local government of E'mei aims to attract more visitors and further drive the rebound of the local travel market since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have introduced various preferential policies regarding potential visitors who come from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions, and we will cooperate with more airlines and airports to launch some discounts, and thus contribute to the expanding of the consumption market and further stimulating domestic demand," said Lu Yujie, director of ticket and vacation business department of Tongcheng Travel.

Among all domestic travelers who visited Mount E'mei, 32 percent of its total visitors came from the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei provinces, with most visitors being business travelers and young people. The majority of travelers booked their trips on the day of or one day in advance, according to Trip.com Group, China's largest online travel agency.