Rain-lashed Sichuan suffers
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E-mail China Daily, July 19, 2013
Last year, more than 17 million tourists visited Dujiangyan and Mount Qingcheng, with ticket revenue amounting to 271 million yuan ($44 million). More than 6.4 million tourists visited the rural areas of Dujiangyan city including its rural resorts. Trips to the rural areas earned the city more than 1.2 billion yuan.
"As the temperature in Dujiangyan city is several degrees lower than in Chengdu, many from the provincial capital would spend the searing summer time in its rural resorts before the landslide. But I fear fewer people will stay in the resorts for a long time to come," said Gui Xia, a rural resort owner in Zhongxing.
Because of damage to the mountain road that leads to Jiuzhaigou, a scenic spot known for its colored alpine lakes, travel agencies can now only arrange trips by air to the destination, which is also on the World Heritage List.
"Each day, my company would arrange three groups of tourists from Nanchang (in Jiangxi province) to Jiuzhaigou by road. As road trips are canceled, many tourists have given up their plans," said Li Juan, an employee with the Jiangxi Overseas Tourism Corporation.
Four rainstorms have lashed Sichuan since June 18. Direct economic losses from flooding have reached nearly 28 billion yuan.
Although no figures relating to losses in the tourism sector are available, Wu Mian, deputy chief of the provincial tourism administration, acknowledges they are hefty. But he is optimistic about the recovery of the tourism sector.
"No visitor attractions have been damaged. Only roads leading there are ruined," he said.
