The picturesque Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.
The picturesque Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.
The ongoing recovery of China's tourism market in the post-pandemic era has triggered explosive growth in the number of overseas visitors to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Hunan province.
Official data show the park received 136,000 visits by tourists from abroad during the first half of this year, skyrocketing by 12,117 percent from the same period in 2022.The resumption of international flights, coupled with policy incentives rolled out to encourage inbound tourists, contributed to the proliferation.
Local authorities fully support the renewed operation of international passenger flights, with nine airlines currently linking Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport with Bangkok, Thailand; Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam; Incheon and Busan in South Korea; and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
Zhangjiajie boasts thousands of unique peaks and hundreds of waterways. With abundant natural resources such as rocky canyons, cave hot springs, lakes, streams and primeval forests, the park is renowned for its magnificent karst landform and sandstone peaks.
"Currently, the seat occupancy rate of flights between Thailand and Zhangjiajie consistently remains above 80 percent, while charter flights to and from Vietnam have a seat occupancy rate of about 75 percent," said Xiong Liyan, chairman of a Hunan-headquartered international travel agency.
Since the resumption of international flights to and from Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport in the first half of this year, Xiong's company has brought over 10,000 overseas tourists to Zhangjiajie, and he said that number is expected to reach 30,000 by the end of the year,
Zhang Wei, an executive of Zhangjiajie Neodalle International Travel Service, said South Korea has long been the largest source of international tourists to Zhangjiajie, accounting for around 60 percent of inbound visitors. This year, through optimized travel routes and enriched tourism products, the city has further increased its profile in South Korea and attracted a growing number of tourist groups.
With the rebound in international traffic, Zhangjiajie has launched a series of innovative marketing campaigns in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Thailand, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates, and invited tourism businesses from more than 40 countries and regions to conduct inspections this year.
Zhangjiajie has also launched an initiative to reward tourism businesses for reception of inbound tourists by holding international conferences and operating international or regional air routes and flight services aimed at boosting confidence in expanding overseas tourist markets.
Further enhancing the city's reputation as a fun destination, the government of Zhangjiajie has launched a series of creative marketing strategies that combine tourism with sports and music. For example, the 2023 Huangshizhai slackline competition was held at Huangshizhai Scenic Area in the national forest park in August, attracting 18 international contestants to show their prowess walking a slackline between the peaks of Huangshizhai at an altitude of roughly 1,000 meters.
Local officials said such events further boosted Zhangjiajie's international profile as a vibrant tourist destination, with more to follow.
