Pingtan Speeding up the Development of Tourism

Pingtan International Tourism Island received floods of tourists during this Spring Festival, with over 258,500 visitors visited. The year-on-year growth of visitors is 48.55% and 77.38% for tourism revenue, which was RMB 231 million. Benefiting from the attraction and the development of the International Tourism Island, Pingtan has gained its reputation and been known to the world, "Pingtan Blue" has become a signature image for Pingtan tourism.

Responsible staff from Management Committee, Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone said, "Guided by the concept of 'ecology and modernization', Pingtan is taking advantage of the beautiful sceneries such as sea and stone houses, highlighting the sea in its vicinity and its coastal island feature and endeavoring to launch a series of competitive tourism products in a coastal city, in order to establish the tourism brand name of 'Pingtan Blue'."

Pingtan enjoys the advantage of having a "Pilot Zone", a "Free Trade Zone" and an "International Tourism Island", attracting a growing number of enterprises to Pingtan for their pot of gold.

The cross-strait collaboration has eased the restrictions of trading between Pingtan and Taiwan. Pingtan has implemented "hierarchical management", a new management policy, to facilitate the process of customs, inspection and quarantine by mutual recognition of supervision, mutual assistance in law enforcement and information exchange, and to simplify customs inspection by the way of "one-step declaration, one-step inspection and one-step release, making significant efforts in building an international trade "sole window".

Following the promulgation of the policies, there is more room for entrepreneurship. The dividend policy made available to Taiwan and overseas countries has unprecedentedly attracted more and more overseas enterprises to set foot in Pingtan. Aided by preferential policies handed down by central government, ministries and commissions and provincial government, the advantage of the special area is becoming ever evident.

Based upon the concept of building a "Cross-Strait Common Homeland", Pingtan took the initiative in opening up towards Taiwan via the approach of "four in one", namely, expanding tourism business, being the first to recognize Taiwan tourism practicing certificate, facilitating the employment for young tourists from Taiwan and developing new featured tourism products through cross-strait collaboration, and it has created new highlights in cross-strait tourism. Currently, there are 8 joint venture travel agencies established in Pingtan and 128 tour guide from Taiwan gained training with their Taiwan qualifications in Pingtan Free Trade Zone. Pingtan has also promoted the collaboration of Pingtan - Taiwan tourism industry through organizing cross-strait bed and breakfast symposiums and introducing 7 Taiwan bed and breakfasts, such as "The Singing Rock" and "Gone with the Wind".

"It is truly, no pain, no gain." Wang Peilin, a Taiwan resident said. Wang Peilin came to Pingtan as a skilled Taiwan professional, currently working at Tourism Development Committee, Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone. In recent National Tour Guide Certificate Test, accepting Taiwan candidates for the first time, Wang Peilin was one of the first Taiwan candidates who have passed the test.

Chen Daojin, the Director of Tourism Development Committee, Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone said, "Pingtan will take full advantage of its location, in particular the closeness to Taiwan, to build a holistic tourism demonstration zone. By making steadier measures, putting in more efforts and aiming at higher goals, Pingtan will accelerate its tourism industry and the development of national holistic tourism demonstration zone."

Tourism is the biggest resource in Pingtan, therefore, better ecological environment is its treasure. It is of the upmost importance to protect the environment in order to build an international tourism island.

Xu Xu, the Deputy Direct of Department of Industry, Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone said that there is an increasing number of travelling merchants thinking highly of Pingtan due to the advantage of its location and supportive policies. At present, tourism has been included in Pingtan enterprise preferential income tax list, with 7 tourism associated industries enjoying 15% of preferential tax rate. Our goal is to expand and enhance the industry chain, forming a win-win "industry forest" to support, rely on and collaborate with one another, in order to attract more good enterprises to set foot in Pingtan.

In addition, Pingtan is making significant efforts in improving tourism infrastructure and refining main tourist hotspots by enhancing tourism transport network, facilitating the development of A Class tourist attractions, building comprehensive tourism service platforms and enhancing tourism service, which has laid a sound foundation for the development of international tourism island. In order to bring an end to the road cracks and disorganized overhead power lines and waste of land resources, Pingtan is speeding up the development of underground utility tunnels. In the near future, this unseen underground development will bring into practice an informative and intelligent management system for power grid, communication network etc. In the meantime, Pingtan is imposing a harsher ban on illegal buildings, meaning such buildings, pig farms and duck farms will be demolished. All the above will lay a sound foundation for a sound reputation for Pingtan as an international tourism island.