Deals lure tourists before Spring Festival

As the winter school holiday begins and Spring Festival approaches, many places in China, including Guizhou province, Sichuan province and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, have released preferential policies to promote tourism.

From Jan 1 to April 30, passengers who fly to Guizhou will be eligible for free admission to certain scenic spots within three days. The scenic spots will set up fast-track lanes to provide better access to the scenic areas for tourists.

To support tourism companies, a one-time subsidy of 60 to 200 ($8 to $28) yuan per person will be provided by the local government for organizing tour groups of 20 or more people from outside Guizhou.

"In order to better serve passengers on flights, Xingyi, Tongren, Kaili and Libo airports under the Guizhou Civil Aviation Group will provide exclusive check-in counters, security check channels and tour bus parking spaces," said Li Shijiong, president of Guizhou Civil Aviation Industry Group.

The policies have been welcomed by the market. Liu Xiaoping, president of Guizhou Yuanzhi Travel Service, said the policies will undoubtedly bring more business opportunities.

"Recently, there were not many tourists because of the slow winter season. But after the government released new policies, there have been many inquiries and bookings for scenic spot tickets, hotels and car rentals. Family and group tours are back in huge demand," Liu said.

He added that to meet market demand during the winter vacation from January to February, the company has developed personalized tours for two to six people, self-driving tours, family tours, group tours and study tours.

A tourist surnamed Li arrived in Guizhou on Jan 11 for a six-day holiday.

She said she will go to Fanjing Mountain, Libo county and the Huangguoshu Waterfall, visit the Guizhou Provincial Museum, the Geological Museum of Guizhou, the Long March Digital Science and Art Museum and try local snacks.

"Thanks to the preferential policies, my journey in Guizhou will be cheaper by 2,000 to 3,000 yuan, including plane and scenic spot tickets, and hotel and vehicle fees," she added.

Apart from Guizhou, several regions in China are releasing preferential policies to promote winter tourism.

In Guangxi, about 200 scenic spots are offering free admission to tourists from China's Northeast region. Some hotels have introduced package deals and late check-out options. Furthermore, Sichuan is providing a winter flight subsidy and scenic spot ticket discount to tourists, China Culture Daily reported.