Tourism ignites summer economy amid high temperatures

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- As many cities in China are hit by high temperatures this summer, escaping the summer heat by travelling to cities blessed with abundant summer tourism resources has become an increasingly popular choice among Chinese travellers.

In the third quarter of this year, the overall travel intention of high-temperature cities reached 94.6 percent, according to the data center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Boasting a cooler climate, Changchun City, in northeastern China's Jilin Province, serves as a summer refuge for many domestic tourists each year.

To welcome visitors from across the country, the Zoological and Botanical Garden of Changchun has unveiled a park themed around the famous Chinese novel "Journey to the West." Tourists can catch glimpses of familiar characters like the Monkey King and Pigsy while immersing themselves in the charm of traditional Chinese culture.

During the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday which started on June 22, the park received 149,900 visitors, an 18-fold increase year on year.

"With intellectual properties of traditional culture, China's localized amusement parks have great potentials," said Du Guijiang, who is a project leader of the garden.

"Consumption scenarios like water parks, summer resorts and cold drink stores have become popular this summer," Hong Yong, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, said.

China's summer resort tourism and related markets have reached 1.2 trillion yuan (about 168.26 billion U.S. dollars) to 1.5 trillion yuan in value, according to a report released by the China Tourism Academy.

Data from online travel agency Trip.com Group shows that summer travel orders for destinations in the cities of Chengde, Xining, Yichun, Kunming and Guiyang had grown by 170 percent, 77 percent, 71 percent, 63 percent and 57 percent year-on-year, respectively, as of July 3.

In order to meet the increasingly customized and diversified needs of tourists, popular tourist destinations such as Hubei, Shaanxi and Heilongjiang have been exploring practices including camping bases, intangible cultural heritage experiences and night markets.

The "summer economy" can also drive the development of tourism, catering and other related industries, injecting new vitality into economic growth, Hong said.

China will further optimize its modern tourism system, while promoting the development of business forms such as summer tourism, said a development plan for the tourism sector during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).  ■