This summer, Xinjiang was "crowded" by tourists, and it is no longer necessary to "stop crying" and need service upgrades
Our reporter Wu Duosi
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The surge in tourists to Xinjiang this summer, and the "crowding" of tourists is a signal of the industry's recovery, and it also reflects the inherent need to upgrade the tourism industry.
"It takes 8 hours to drive the 100-kilometer road", "It takes two hours to ride a horse on the ancient Xiata Road", "There are not enough tour guides, and there are not enough horses"... This summer, many phenomena in Xinjiang have been frequently searched on major online platforms due to the surge in tourists. .
The reporter of "Worker's Daily" learned from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region's Department of Culture and Tourism that in June this year, Xinjiang received 23.92 million tourists, a month-on-month increase of 66.39%; tourism revenue was 17.412 billion yuan, a month-on-month increase of 89.69%.
From July 1st to 21st, the region received a total of about 25.54 million tourists, a year-on-year increase of 15.7%; tourism revenue was about 19.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.67%.
The policy adjustment of itinerary cards "catch the stars" and inter-provincial tours "fuses"... Behind Xinjiang's "crowding" of tourists is a signal of industry recovery, and it also reflects the inherent need for the upgrading of tourism.
The ancient city of Kashgar receives more than 10,000 tourists every day
"I called more than 30 Xinjiang specialty restaurants, and the boxes were all fully booked!" On July 22, several of Mr. Wu's friends came to Xinjiang for a trip, and the first stop arrived in Urumqi. As the host, he wanted to find a specialty restaurant to receive them. Friends, but did not book.
July is the peak tourist season in Xinjiang. Famous tourist attractions such as the Ili River Valley, Duku Highway, and the Pamir Plateau are all the best seasons of the year.
"The Kashgar Ancient City Scenic Area currently receives more than 10,000 tourists every day. On July 9, the scenic spot received more than 40,000 visitors." said Azguli Turxun, deputy director of the Gaotai Residential Cultural Center in the Kashgar Ancient City Scenic Area.
According to data from the Xinjiang Cultural and Tourism Department, since July, the average daily occupancy rate of star-rated hotels in Xinjiang has reached 53.87%.
Sun Li, secretary general of Xinjiang Tourism Hotel Industry Association, told reporters: "The occupancy rate of star-rated hotels in Urumqi is over 60%. In some places in Yili and Altay, the occupancy rate of star-rated hotels has even reached 90%."
Since June, special tourist trains and charter flights have been launched in many places in Xinjiang.
The "I Love Zhejiang and Xinjiang" series in Aksu area has more than 40 charter flights and special trains scheduled by the end of July. More than 680 Zhejiang tour groups will come to Xinjiang. Basically, a special train group and an encrypted flight will be sent every other day.
Xinjiang Railway Group plans to launch 102 special travel trains, and civil aviation has increased flights to popular tourist sources such as Guangzhou, Xi'an and Chengdu.
The booming tourism industry has increased the income of many people.
In Burqin County, the "Fairytale Border Town", I walked into Hezilhaying Village, Chonghur Town, which has won the title of "Chinese Minority Characteristic Village". Tourists, "receiving more than 20 people a day, with a net income of thousands of yuan".
"Family wealth" is rich, making it worthwhile for tourists to play
"The scenery in Xinjiang is very beautiful, and the scenery is on the road, so it is more suitable for slow travel." Ms. Bao from Fujian said that their group of 8 chose a customized high-end tour, and it took more than 20 days to travel around the northern and southern Xinjiang. " Expensive, but worth it!”
Why is Xinjiang tourism so popular this summer?
This aspect is related to local publicity and promotion. In recent years, Party committees and governments at all levels in Xinjiang have attached great importance to the development of tourism, and actively promoted the brand of "Xinjiang is a good place".
On the other hand, it benefits from Xinjiang's own "family" - rich tourism resources, deserts, lakes, grasslands, glaciers, Populus euphratica...
Recently, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism identified 12 tourist attractions as the new batch of national 5A-level tourist attractions, and Jiangbulak scenic spot in Xinjiang is among them. So far, Xinjiang has 17 national 5A-level tourist attractions, ranking third in the country.
In addition, Xinjiang also has 84 S-level ski resorts, 5 national-level global tourism demonstration counties, 42 national rural tourism key villages (towns), 12 national-level red tourist attractions, 11 world heritage scenic spots, and national-level ski tourism. The two resorts are among the top in the country.
Zhang Chunming, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Yili Prefecture Culture and Tourism Bureau, said that Xinjiang tourism has changed from a sightseeing tour to a holiday tourism mode. "More than 60% of the tourists who come to Ili are holiday tourists. greatly elongated."
Travelling in Xinjiang by train is very popular among tourists.
"The railway department focuses on tourists from outside Xinjiang, enriching the products of the northern and southern Xinjiang tourism routes, and connecting the northern and southern scenery of the Tianshan Mountains through the train circle, so that tourists can not only see the beautiful scenery of northern Xinjiang, but also experience the folk customs of southern Xinjiang." Huang Tingfen, head of the Railway Tourism Development Group and Urumqi Railway International Travel Agency, said, "The special train from north to south Xinjiang not only 'introduces tourists to Xinjiang', but also promotes 'Xinjiang people to travel to Xinjiang', so that more tourists from inside and outside Xinjiang can travel by train to Xinjiang."
No longer "blocking crying", need service upgrade
While the tourism in Xinjiang is hot, the phenomenon of "one room is hard to find" has appeared in some popular scenic spots. There are long queues for restaurants, ticket stations, shuttle buses, etc. in some grassland scenic spots, and even horses are in short supply. The library road has become a "crying road"...
"The number of hotels in Bayinbulak itself is not many. The surge in the number of tourists has made it difficult to find a room near the scenic spot. Most of the self-driving tourists are looking for a temporary room in the local area. Wang Lei told reporters.
In fact, various tourism infrastructures in Xinjiang, including the development of smart tourism, have achieved many achievements in recent years, such as the launch of "One Mobile Phone Tour of Xinjiang", but there are still deficiencies and need to be further upgraded and improved.
Because of its vast territory, diverse cultures, and rich landforms, Xinjiang needs broader, more unique and more convenient information services for tourists.
The region-wide tourism development conference held not long ago put forward 7 measures to promote Xinjiang from a large area of tourism resources to a strong tourism economy area, including "improving infrastructure, improving service quality", "strengthening market entities, and optimizing development environment". Measures for tourists and practitioners.
On July 20, the Xinjiang Department of Culture and Tourism issued a notice requesting to further standardize the tourism market order in peak seasons and improve service quality. Local cultural and tourism departments should sort out and summarize the price list of A-level scenic spots within their jurisdictions, including fees for tickets, packages, shuttle buses, etc. The project, the Department of Culture and Tourism will publicize the project through the official website and the WeChat public account of "Xinjiang is a good place".
The notice also requires all localities to establish and improve a working mechanism for the relevant administrative departments to jointly handle tourism complaints, and to clarify the tourism complaint handling agency.