Sansha eyes cruise industry

China's southernmost city of Sansha, in Hainan Province, will improve cruise services and develop new tour routes as part of its efforts to boost the tourism industry, officials with the city said on Monday.

Sansha is bidding to attract cruise ships to register at the city so as to attract tourists to islet resorts of Xisha, and construction of tour facilities is expected to start this year on these islets, Xiao Jie, secretary of the Sansha City Committee of the Communist Party of China, said at the ongoing annual legislative session of Hainan.

Xiao said the city will also develop the marine culture industry and build a maritime museum.

Sansha has finished compiling a plan for development of tourism including the cruise industry, according to the official. The plan is expected to be released in June.

On Monday, the Hainan provincial government announced its intention to boost tourism in Sansha and establish it as a national pilot zone for development of the cruise sector.

Sansha was established in July 2012 to administer more than 200 islets, sandbanks and reefs in the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups, as well as two million square km of surrounding waters in the South China Sea.

Currently, cruise tours between Xisha and Sanya City, and the provincial capital of Haikou are available.