China News Service, Chengdu, September 29 (Reporter Wang Peng) From landscape sightseeing to leisure vacations, from traditional culture to digital creativity, from single tourism consumption to cross-industry integration... Currently, Sichuan is taking "cultural tourism + all industries, all industries + cultural tourism" as the starting point to promote the in-depth integration of culture and tourism and expand new space for industrial development.
On September 28, the 2026 Sichuan Provincial Culture and Tourism Development Conference and the 12th China (Sichuan) International Tourism Investment Conference were held in Chengdu. At the meeting, Sichuan released new plans for the development of the cultural tourism industry and key investment projects, releasing investment opportunities in the face of the "15th Five-Year Plan", promoting the cultural tourism industry from resource integration to industrial synergy, and injecting new momentum into the construction of an important tourist destination in the world.
From “culture and tourism integration” to “culture and tourism + various industries”, Sichuan opens up new industrial space
"Embarking on the new journey of the 15th Five-Year Plan, we are accelerating the construction of the world's important tourist destinations and implementing the action of building a strong chain of cultural tourism industries." Chen Guanghao, director of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, said at the meeting that Sichuan will deepen "cultural tourism + all industries, all industries + cultural tourism", improve the quality and upgrade of comprehensive cultural and tourism services, improve inbound tourism service guarantees, optimize the business environment, and expand broad space for industrial investment and development.
The picture shows the conference scene. Photo by reporter Zhang Lang
In recent years, Sichuan has continued to promote the integration of cultural tourism with commerce, sports, agriculture, health care, science and technology. Events, performing arts, and festivals have become new entrances connecting scenic spots, catering, accommodation, and commerce. Resources such as tea gardens, villages, and intangible cultural heritage have been transformed into tourism products through experiential and scene-based development. Digital technology has provided new expressions for traditional cultural resources.
This idea is also reflected in the industrial layout during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period. Sichuan will accelerate the construction of an important tourist destination in the world, implement the action of building circles and strong links in the cultural tourism industry, and promote the implementation of key tasks such as brand building, diversified supply, and service improvement.
"Splendid Tianfu·Easy Sichuan" has become an important brand carrier for this layout. Sichuan not only has natural landscapes such as Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong, and Mount Emei, but also has unique cultural resources such as Sanxingdui, Jinsha Ruins, and Sansu Temple. Sichuan cuisine, Sichuan wine, Sichuan tea, Sichuan opera, and Shu embroidery have further expanded the cultural tourism consumption space. How to transform resources from "attractions" to "products" and from "traffic" to "retention" has become an important direction for the integration of culture and tourism.
At the same time, inbound tourism is becoming a new growth space. According to data from Daolu, an intelligent tourism resource distribution platform, the number of inbound tourists in Sichuan increased by 282% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, and the popularity of inbound tourism in Chengdu ranked fifth among cities in the country.
The transportation and service foundation supporting the growth of inbound tourism is also continuing to improve. As of August 2026, Chengdu Tianfu International Airport has 64 international and regional passenger routes, ranking first in the central and western regions; from January to August 2026, the total airport transfer volume reached 6.335 million passengers, a year-on-year increase of 8.9%, and the shortest international transfer time has been compressed to less than 90 minutes.
334 high-quality projects were unveiled, and the cultural and tourism industry investment landscape was further expanded.
The integration of culture and tourism is advancing in depth, which also brings new investment space. At the meeting, Sichuan released the "2026 Sichuan Province Key Cultural and Tourism Project Investment Guide" and launched 334 high-quality cultural and tourism investment projects with a total investment of 181.206 billion yuan, covering 21 cities (prefectures) and 11 categories in the province.
In terms of project types, Sichuan’s cultural tourism industry layout is more diversified. In the field of digital culture, six projects were launched, including Chengdu Wuhou Digital Cultural Creative Center and Deyang Micro-Short Drama Industry Integration, with a total investment of 3.64 billion yuan; in the cultural and creative design field, four projects were launched, including Meishan Sansu Cultural Inheritance and Development Promotion and Chengdu Qiongyao International Ceramics Village, with a total investment of 3.94 billion yuan; in the film and television industry, three projects were launched, including Yibin Lizhuang Cultural and Creative Group and Meishan Huantian Film and Television Culture Industry, University and Research Base, with a total investment of 1.23 billion yuan.
The traditional tourism industry is also upgrading. This time, 56 leisure and vacation tourism projects were launched, with a total investment of 54.402 billion yuan; 8 rural tourism projects, with a total investment of 9.36 billion yuan; 6 health tourism projects, with a total investment of 9.28 billion yuan; and 5 study tourism projects, with a total investment of 1.952 billion yuan.
From Lugu Lake Resort and Bazhong Tianxingqiao Resort, to Panzhihua Sub-Plateau Outdoor Sports Base, Neijiang Yangtze River Forest Park Resort, to Zigong Dinosaur Cultural Tourism Industrial Park, and the Laer River Giant Panda Entrance Community, a number of projects integrate natural ecology, cultural resources, health and wellness sports, popular science and research and other elements, showing the trend of Sichuan's cultural tourism industry transforming from "scenic spot development" to "comprehensive industrial development".
For enterprises, this industrial integration also means new market space. Yuan Songtao, vice president of InterContinental Hotels Group, said that the group has opened more than 80 hotels in Sichuan, and the number of hotels in Chengdu ranks second in the group's national city layout. In July this year, the group signed a cooperation agreement with the New Hope Group on the Regent Hotel in Chengdu. The luxury brand Regent Hotels and Resorts will be located in Chengdu for the first time.
"Foreign-funded enterprises choose a city or a market not for short-term popularity, but for long-term certainty." Yuan Songtao said that facing the "15th Five-Year Plan", the group will continue to deploy luxury and lifestyle hotels in the core urban areas of Chengdu, while developing vacation products in cultural tourism destinations and integrating more Bashu cultural elements into design and services.
From project attraction to industrial co-construction, Sichuan unleashes new opportunities for cooperation
"Project promotion is just the beginning; high-quality service is the core confidence." Chen Guanghao said that Sichuan will further strengthen factor protection, improve the efficiency of approval services, promote policy implementation, and solve project problems, so that investors can invest with confidence, operate with peace of mind, and develop with peace of mind.
This conference is also an important platform for Sichuan to expand open cooperation in cultural tourism. The conference invites ambassadors from relevant countries to China, officials from foreign government tourism departments, officials from international tourism organizations, overseas travel agents, as well as representatives from national cultural enterprises, tourism groups and well-known cultural and tourism enterprises to participate in the conference to build a cooperation platform for Sichuan with international markets and domestic enterprises.
Huang Shunhua, Greater China Ambassador of the Asia Pacific Travel Association, said that Sichuan has continued to promote the integration of culture and tourism in recent years, create new cross-field tourism products, improve multilingual services and overseas payment facilities, and its international tourism appeal has continued to increase. In the future, the Asia Pacific Travel Association is willing to further strengthen cooperation in international market development, destination marketing, tourism product development, talent training and other aspects to help Sichuan promote high-quality cultural tourism resources to the global market.
From the creation of the "Splendid Tianfu·Easy Sichuan" brand to the continued rise in inbound tourism; from the concentrated debut of 334 key investment projects to the continuous increase of international hotel groups; from the development of traditional scenic spots to the accelerated layout of new tracks such as digital culture, health and wellness vacations, rural tourism, and study tourism - Sichuan is using "cultural tourism + all industries, all industries + cultural tourism" as the starting point to promote further integration of resources, industries, capital and markets.
As the development blueprint for the “15th Five-Year Plan” period gradually unfolds, cultural tourism is not only an industry for Sichuan, but also becoming an important link connecting culture, consumption, cities, rural areas and international markets. How to transform rich landscape and cultural resources into more competitive industrial projects, convert tourist flow into increased consumption, and transform investment projects into increased industry is becoming the key to Sichuan opening up a new space for the integrated development of culture and tourism. (over)
