The overall income from tourism in the Chinese Hunan province is projected to exceed 100 billion yuan ($14.6 billion) this year. In 2014, it is expected to grow still further, doubling to 200 billion yuan and accounting for 14 percent of the province’s GDP, according to a high-ranking official in the provincial tourism industry. Yang Guangrong, chief of the provincial tourism administration, said: “We are sparing no efforts to establish Hunan as one of the top 10 tourism provinces in China over the next five years.”

In the first half of this year, the province welcomed nearly 670,000 foreign tourists and 70 million domestic travelers, earning $235 million and 44 billion yuan respectively. The number of overall tourists increased by 38.19 percent over the same period last year, with income rising by 34.92 percent year-on-year. The provincial government has designated 2009 as “tourism projects construction year” and is developing 251 tourism initiatives, including 20 provincial-level projects, 50 city-level, and 100 county-level tourism projects, with an overall investment of 138 billion yuan. “These projects aim to significantly improve local tourism infrastructure, scenic site and other tourism-related industries, and thus make Hunan an even more popular tourist destination,” said Yang.

Source: China Daily