Surge of investment pours into renowned holiday destination

Sichuan province, the home of pandas, is making full use of its diverse tourism resources to attract investment in the industry.

The 22nd General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization took place in Chengdu, Sichuan’s capital, from Sept 11 to 16.

As one of the highest-level meetings in the international tourism community, the assembly attracted more than 1,000 delegates from 137 countries and regions, as well as 41 international organizations.

Chengdu presented 120 high-quality tourism projects seeking investors during the event, which involved a total of 685.33 billion yuan ($104.18 billion) in investment.

Major companies such as HNA Group and COFCO Group signed six key cultural and tourism projects with Chengdu, bringing in a total of 61 billion yuan in investment.

HNA Group and the city government forged a strategic partnership, with the company’s subsidiaries — HNA Tech and HNA Modern Logistics — set to invest in the Chengdu Hi- Tech Industrial Development Zone.

HNA Tech pledged to establish a special fund for the science and technology innovation and business startups in the zone, which will involve at least 30 billion yuan in investment.

The fund will be used to invest in HNA Tech’s headquarters in western China, an innovation and startup park and a cooperative bank in the zone.

Another project, a 266.67-hectare model airport industrial zone, will cost HNA Modern Logistics 20 billion yuan, which is designed to house modern logistics, air shipment facilities, aviation companies and other related facilities.

Chen Feng, board chairman of HNA Group, said that Chengdu enjoys distinct development advantages given its location on the Silk Road.

HNA will continue to support Chengdu’s development and wishes to achieve winwin cooperation with the city.

Online travel giant Ctrip also poured 100 million yuan into building its smart tourism operation’s headquarters in Chengdu, featuring big database businesses.

To date, Ctrip has registered the project with the city government. In the future, its business is expected to reach not only western China but also Southeast Asia, according to Zhang Guoqiang, general manager of the western region of Ctrip.

“Ctrip tends to fulfill its major businesses in Shanghai, where the group is headquartered. But this time, Chengdu is an exception,” Zhang said.

At the third International Toursim Investment Conference held in Sichuan in July, 31 projects worth 86.89 billion yuanwere signed with Sichuan, reflecting its new move toward upgraded tourism.

Just a couple of months later, the province netted itself another 28 projects totaling worth 68.5 billion yuan, during the fourth Sichuan international Travel Expo in Leshan from Sept 17 to 24.

Since 2014, the province has made it a priority on the local government’s agenda to attract investment in the tourism industry.

An influx of capital has injected new vigor into the sector.

Last year alone, the province signed 135 billion yuan in tourism deals, with 104.2 billion yuan in investment already in place.

Actual investment increased 18.5 percent last year on 2014.

In 2015, Sichuan secured tourism projects with combined investment value of 142.9 billion yuan, with nearly 110 billion yuan already in place.