Shenzhen to begin tourism program for locals

BEIJING, Feb. 2 -- A citywide program will be

launched in Shenzhen's enterprises and public institutions to promote tourism in

the city.

Called the Residents' Tourism Program," it will

encourage award tours, welfare tours and study tours in these entities,

officials with the city's tourism bureau said, without elaborating.

The program will be one of the measures to be taken

by the city government this year to establish a tourism service system for local

residents.

Bureau officials have vowed to take a people-oriented

approach in establishing the service system.

Besides setting up a platform and an inquiry station

offering updated tourism information, efforts will also be made to encourage

travel services to open outlets in communities to help residents plan their

domestic and overseas tours more easily. Campaigns will also be launched to

promote tours to Hong Kong and Macao.

High-end tourism will be the focus of the city's new

drive. High on the agenda are the development of the tourism project in Dapeng

Peninsula and a study on how to build the eastern coast into a high-quality

coastal resort. Among the key tourism projects listed by the city government are

Phase II of OCT East, the Happy Coast theme park and the renovation of the

15-kilometer Haibin Thoroughfare.

Other measures include building more upmarket hotels

in Bao'an and Longgang districts, promoting tourism relating to yachts,

passenger liners, golf, hiking and gliding as well as individual travel, apart

from attracting top travel agencies in Japan, the United States and Europe to

set up branches in Shenzhen.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily)