The State Council issued a circular on Jan 21, assigning provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities and relevant departments with different tasks to boost tourism.

This circular is based on a guidance issued on Aug 21, 2014 to accelerate reform and development in the tourism sector.

The Ministry of Public Security, Foreign Affairs and National Tourism Administration should take measures to benefit border tourism and strengthen regional tourism cooperation with Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Northeast Asia and Central and Eastern Europe countries. The measures should generate practical results by the end of 2016.

Besides, enhancing bilateral tourism cooperation and holding a successful tourism year of relevant countries should be a continuous task for the Ministry of Public Security, Foreign Affairs and Finance.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Land and Resources and National Tourism Administration are asked to pay attention to people’s need for holidays and leisure, and construct projects to meet such a demand.

By the end of 2015, State Railway Administration should run more trains connecting tourism destinations and cities with a large outbound tourist population.

The government is pushing forward a series of rural tourist projects and encourages college graduates, art and scientific workers and other professionals to work voluntarily in villages to help them attract tourists. The government is working to set up a special fund for the tourism industry.

The tourism sector is encouraged to enhance cooperation with universities to train more expertise for the industry. The National Tourism Administration, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security should take on the task, which should obtain practical achievements by the end of 2015.