Tourism outpaces luxury goods

A scenic area in the desert of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region's Turpan.[Photo provided to China Daily]

The policy has been replicated in some form by Shanghai; Sichuan province's capital, Chengdu; Guangdong province's capital, Guangzhou; Chongqing; Liaoning province's capital, Shenyang, and Dalian city; Shaanxi province's capital, Xi'an; the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region's Guilin city; Yunnan's provincial capital, Kunming; Hubei's provincial capital, Wuhan; Fujian province's Xiamen city; Tianjin; and Zhejiang's provincial capital, Hangzhou.

This year, Beijing is offering tax refunds on purchases made by overseas visitors.

Foreign tourists, as well as those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, who've stayed no more than 183 days on the Chinese mainland, will be eligible for an 11 percent rebate on consumer goods bought at designated stores.

The capital received about 260 million visitors last year, up 3.8 percent. It raked in 428 billion yuan, up 8 percent, says the Annual Report on Beijing's Tourism Development (2015) by the Beijing Tourism Society, a non-governmental academic organization.

Roughly 280 million visitors are expected to spend 460 billion yuan this year, the report says.

The Belt and Road Initiative is expected to drive tourism further and from new countries, Zhang says.

Roughly 85 million visitors from nations along the Belt and Road are anticipated to visit China in the next five years and contribute $110 billion to the economy, China National Tourism Administration Director Li Jinzao said early this year.

China has named 2015 the Year of Silk Road Travel to boost travel cooperation with Southeast, South and Central Asia.

The ancient Silk Road left many alluring heritage sites, Li says.

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is particularly placed to benefit from the initiative.

It's strategically located at the Silk Road's front and center.