Rural tourism flourishes in Hechi

In recent years, Hechi has developed its leisure agriculture and rural tourism industry, relying on its natural ecological resources, human resources, customs, and culture. It has promoted a number of travel routes and scenic spots, making positive contributions to local farmers, rural areas, and its agricultural development.

In 2019, the city had 305 leisure agriculture operators, a year-on-year increase of 5.9 percent, received 7,183,363 rural tourism tourists, an increase of 19.7 percent from 2018, and generated 82.91 million yuan ($120.87 million) in leisure agriculture business, an annual increase of 16.13 percent. A total of 18,241 people were employed in the rural tourism industry, an increase of 31.12 percent from 2018.

Based on the establishment of Hechi's advantageous agricultural industry and demonstration zone, the city has created a batch of ecological rural tourism routes and products integrating agricultural production, agricultural sightseeing, farming experiences, folk customs inheritance, popular science displays, food tastings, as well as product processing and sales.

At present, Hechi has one national leisure agriculture and rural tourism demonstration county, one national rural tourism high-quality route, seven rural tourism three-star and four-star model enterprises, as well as 20 autonomous region-level and above rural tourism demonstration sites.

In the future, Hechi will integrate local history and culture to rural tourism projects, increase infrastructure construction and develop characteristic themed tour routes, as well as create several green ecological farms. It will also strengthen the education and training of employees, cultivating a group of eco-tourism agricultural senior management talents and practical skills talents to improve the reception ability and service level of scenic spots.