Experts discussed the integration of culture and tourism to boost travel consumption at the Capital Tourism Development Forum in Beijing in late December.
The forum held by the Beijing Tourism Society and Beijing Union University aimed to find solutions to better tap the capital city's cultural and tourism resources and optimize the tourism-business environment.
The pandemic is expected to cause a 50% year-on-year drop in domestic tourist visits and consumption for 2020, China Tourism Academy president Dai Bin says.
Inbound tourism plummeted by 90%.
"Yet we can see that the massive tourism demand based on national consumption has never disappeared, and digitally driven smart tourism has continued to innovate," Dai says.
He expects pandemic controls, increased consumption and innovation-driven industry upgrades will become focuses of the tourism sector this year.
Beijing's tourism plan for 2021-25 has been formulated. Priority will be given to technical reforms and innovation to boost cultural and tourism infrastructure, enhance consumption and advance new business models, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism deputy director Wang Yue says.
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