China takes steps to develop public services in tourism sector – Xinhua

BEIJING, July 4 (Xinhua) — China aims to establish a fundamentally sound tourism public service system with a complete structure, sound standards, smooth operation and high quality in the next three to five years, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China (MCT).

The guidelines issued jointly by the MCT and eight other departments on improving public tourism services aim to improve the capacity to provide public tourism services in areas with weak demand, during peak hours and for groups with special needs, so as to ensure that the system is consistent with the high-quality development of the tourism sector.

The guidelines stated that the layout of tourist centers should be optimized and online services for tourist information should be improved. They also called for attention to be paid to the construction of tourist transport infrastructure and tourist transport services.

The guidelines also indicate the need to improve public services for inbound tourism and tasks aimed at strengthening emergency services in the tourism sector and promoting the integrated development of public cultural services and public tourism services.

The MCT committed to making efforts to study and formulate appropriate standards for public tourism services and to establish a regular supervision and management mechanism. ■