Published on: 2026-09-16
Source: People’s Republic of China — Translation
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Beijing, September 16 /Xinhua/ — China will continue to develop the country’s tourism industry, exploring opportunities for the integrated use of natural resources, including land plots and forests. This is stated in the guiding principles released on Tuesday.
The guidelines, jointly issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources of China, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, and the State Administration of Forestry and Grassland of China, presented measures covering areas such as the implementation of innovative land allocation models and the improvement of regulatory frameworks for the tourism sector.
The guidelines note that China will strengthen support in the field of territorial planning to stimulate tourism growth, and also indicate that the needs for territorial resources for the development of the country’s tourist zones will be taken into account in the national territorial and spatial planning during the implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030).
According to the document, ecotourism such as camping, hiking, sightseeing, educational trips, and wellness retreats in the forest will be supported in areas outside the main protection zones of nature reserves, provided that the “red line” in environmental protection is observed.
This document was prepared against the backdrop of China having already created the world’s largest domestic tourism market. In the first half of 2026, China’s domestic tourism market continued to grow – residents of the country made over 3.46 billion domestic trips, which is 5.4 percent more than in the same period last year.
According to data published by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the PRC, spending on domestic tourism during this period increased by 2 percent and amounted to 3.21 trillion yuan /about 473.4 billion USD/.
In China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for the further development of tourism, the following target indicators are defined – to reach 8.3 billion domestic trips and 7.7 trillion yuan in domestic tourism expenditures by 2030.
To address the difficulties encountered in implementing small tourist projects, state support measures will be introduced aimed at the construction of public service facilities such as gas stations and service areas in remote or rural areas.
The manual also emphasizes that the designated purpose of the land must be strictly determined in accordance with territorial planning. It is categorically prohibited to arbitrarily change the current status of land plots or their planned use under the pretext of implementing tourism projects for the construction of villas and other real estate facilities, golf courses, etc. -0-
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