Tourism essential to Guangxi's economic growth

Nanning (CNS) – Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region's annual tourist income for the year 2011 exceeded 100 billion yuan for the first time and probably will reach 119 billion yuan by the end of December 2011, accounting for 10 percent of Guangxi's GDP, said Guangxi's Tourist Administration on December 30.

Guangxi has enhanced cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)and established a free trade zone. About 31,000 travelers from Southeast Asia visited Guangxi in 1997, but by 2007 the number had risen considerably, to 450,000, and even soared to 650,000 in 2010. To a large degree, the prosperity of the Guangxi's tourist market has been attributed to this cooperation with ASEAN.

Tourism has now become the core industry expected to boost Guangxi's economic growth, and the region is progressively evolving into a hot international tourist destination.