News | China's Ice and Snow Tourism Promotion Enters Indonesia

Currently, China’s tourism industry is experiencing sustained and rapid growth, shifting from scenic spot tourism to all-for-one tourism, as the era of mass tourism quietly emerges. China not only boasts the world’s largest outbound tourism market and the largest domestic tourism market, but also continuously attracts tourists from all over the world. In 2016, China received 138 million inbound tourists, including 28.15 million foreigners, an increase of 8.3% compared to 2015; this number is expected to rise to 143 million in 2017. Within the broader landscape of China’s inbound and outbound tourism market, the regions along the Belt and Road in Southeast Asia hold a significant position.

▲ Group photo of the “Beautiful China - Ice and Snow Journey” Promotion Event

Tourism has been designated by the Chinese government as the “top priority among the five happiness industries,” and the “13th Five-Year Plan” for tourism, a national strategic plan, has been smoothly implemented. Guided by the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s tourism industry is opening up at an accelerated pace, with continuous improvements in the quality of tourism services and the supply of tourism products. China boasts abundant ice and snow tourism resources, mainly concentrated in the northern regions, and featuring various forms of development such as sightseeing, sports, leisure, festivals, and performances. The scale of participants and practitioners is rapidly expanding. In 2022, the 24th Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing and Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, bringing new opportunities for the development of China’s ice and snow tourism. On March 16, 2017, the China-ASEAN Tourism Cooperation Year was successfully launched in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, with a series of celebratory and exchange activities to follow, injecting new and strong momentum into the continued quality upgrading of China-ASEAN relations in the new era.

▲ Group photo of key guests at the “Beautiful China - Ice and Snow Journey” Promotion Event

At the end of 2015, under the guidance and support of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), the Heilongjiang Provincial Tourism Administration initiated the establishment of the “China Ice and Snow Tourism Promotion Alliance.” Member provinces including Beijing, Hebei, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, under the alliance mechanism, strengthened resource sharing, information exchange, market expansion, and visitor exchanges, jointly promoting the growth of China’s ice and snow tourism industry and the international outreach of China’s ice and snow tourism culture.

▲ Address by Liu Xiaohui, Director of the China National Tourism Administration’s Singapore Office

To strengthen tourism exchange and cooperation between China and Southeast Asia, and to promote China’s ice and snow tourism resources and products to countries along the Belt and Road, the China National Tourism Administration’s Singapore Office traveled to Bandung, Indonesia’s fourth-largest city, on December 19 to hold the “Beautiful China – Ice and Snow Tour” promotional event, along with a series of exchange and洽谈 activities with local tourism industry peers. This marks the grand return of the “Ice and Snow Tour” promotional event following its visits to the UAE, Malaysia, and Singapore this past May.

▲ Speech by Hj. Ida Hernida S.H, M.Si, Head of the West Java Provincial Tourism Office

Currently, there are direct flights between multiple cities in Indonesia and China, making travel convenient. The facilitation of policies such as visas, customs clearance, logistics, and tax refunds for shopping between China and countries along the Belt and Road, including Indonesia, has gradually improved, benefiting tourists from both sides. With the advancement and implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, tourism exchanges and cooperation between China and the countries along the route are bound to reach new heights.

▲ Zhou Zheng, Deputy Director of China National Tourism Administration’s Singapore Office, presents the first prize to a lucky tour operator.

Before the promotion event, Liu Xiaohui, Director of China National Tourism Administration’s Singapore Office, and Hj. Ida Hernida S.H, M.Si, Head of the West Java Tourism Agency, exchanged views on issues related to tourism cooperation between the two countries and reached broad consensus. Since the beginning of this year, both sides have actively engaged under the framework of the “China-ASEAN Tourism Cooperation Year,” and China has now become Indonesia’s largest source of tourists. In 2016, the number of Chinese citizens traveling to Indonesia reached 1.43 million; the number of Indonesian citizens visiting China was 630,000, a year-on-year increase of 16.2%. According to statistics, in the first three quarters of this year, 1.675 million mainland Chinese tourists visited Indonesia, accounting for 16.09% of total international visitors to Indonesia. As of October this year, the number of Indonesian citizens visiting China reached 560,000, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%.

To attract Chinese tourists, Indonesia has launched new regular flights from Chinese cities such as Zhengzhou and Changsha to Indonesia this year, and also arranged charter flights from several Chinese cities to Manado and Bali. Additionally, the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism has held promotional events in Chinese cities including Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu to enhance the Chinese public’s understanding of Indonesia’s tourism resources.

▲ Before the promotion event, Liu Xiaohui, Director of the China National Tourism Administration’s Singapore Office, and Hj. Ida Hernida S.H, M.Si, Head of the West Java Provincial Tourism Office, exchanged gifts.