A tourism promotion fair that highlighted the provinces and
regions of the Pan Pearl River Delta (PPRD) gained several billion
dollars in investment that will benefit the region's tourism
industry.
The PPRD Tourism Promotion Fair last Friday was an important
part of the ongoing Guangdong International Tourism and Culture
Festival.
More than 1,200 guests from home and abroad attended the fair.
The fair drew $2.8 billion in domestic and foreign investment into
the PPRD region. The investment covers 138 contracted projects.
It's the third time for the provincial government to hold the
tourism promotion fair. But this year's fair had some special
qualities compared to the previous two.
The mountain areas and west and east of Guangdong, which are
less developed, signed 77 investment projects worth $1.04 billion.
The investment in these areas represents half of the total in the
province.
Some local natural tourism projects are very popular with
investors. For instance, a forest park in the city of Zhaoqing drew
a big investment from the Hong Kong Special Autonomous Region; an
eco-park in Huizhou largely be invested by a Taiwan businessman.
The foreign investment into natural tourism resources is $680
million.
Tourism service projects are most popular in all promotion
projects. At the fair, 105 tourism service corporation projects
were signed, involving an investment of $1.63 billion.
Compared to the previous two fairs, the projects being promoted
are larger. On average, each project was valued at about $15
million.
Chinese tourism has developed rapidly in recent years. China has
become the most desirable international tourism destination, the
World Tourism Organization said.
Given that Guangdong is among the provinces with the most
tourism resources, political and commercial interests worked
together to push the province's resources at the fair.
Tang Bingquan, deputy governor of Guangdong, said the province
is an economic giant as well as a big tourism attraction. The 17th
National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which ended last
month, provided a new starting point for Guangdong. The new State
and provincial policies provided a larger stage for Guangdong's
tourism development.
"Thanks to the improving investment environment of Guangdong,
our group's business is increasingly flourishing," said Song
Hongxia, assistant to the general manager of Shenzhen-based China
OCT Group.
At the same time, more people at the fair said the regional
corporation in the Pan Pearl River Delta is important.
Liu Zhiming, vice-director of Hunan Tourism Administration, said
the province would work harder to improve the communication and
cooperation of PPRD's tourism in the future.
(China Daily November 28, 2007)
