Sichuan Province will boost modern service and tourism industries in 2017, it was revealed at the Fifth Session of the Twelfth Sichuan Provincial People’s Congress.

In reviewing the work of 2016, Yin said the service sector continued its leading growth rate and outgrew the secondary industry in terms of their proportions in the local GDP. The total income that tourism raked in rose by 24 percent while that of finance was estimated to grow by 11 percent.

In 2017, in addition to modern service and tourism, Sichuan will also vigorously develop the cultural and creative industry, music and entertainment industry as well as sport and fitness industry.

In order to boost tourism, Sichuan will increase and improve tourism infrastructure and build itself into an international destination.

It will also focus on developing demonstrative zones for region-based tourism, increasing inbound travelers through incentives and more advertisement, fostering ecotourism and red tourism, attracting more investment, relieving poverty through tourism and improving transportation facilities to promote tourism development.

Sustained efforts will also be made to organize the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization and the International Tourism Commodity Expo. With these efforts in place, Sichuan is expected to deliver better tourism service and management.

Sichuan also aims to achieve an 8.5 percent increase in tourism added value and vigorously develop new tourism forms like rural tourism and rural e-commerce.

The province also encourages the building of a national destination for health tourism.

It will encourage the ecological and economic zone in northwest Sichuan to develop region-based tourism as well as agriculture and distinctive animal husbandry so as to speed up the establishment of national demonstrative zone for ecological civilization.