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China’s airlines actively expand ‘red tourism’ routes to meet growing demand
Published: Sep 22, 2021 09:28 PM
Tourists crowd a red tourism attraction in Shanghang County, Southeast China's Fujian Province, on February 10. Photo: VCG

Tourists crowd a red tourism attraction in Shanghang County, Southeast China's Fujian Province, on February 10. Photo: VCG



After celebrating the 100th anniversary of Communist Party of China, Chinese airlines, including Air China and Southern Airlines continue to expand the aviation network for travelers seeking "red tourism" holidays. 

Air China has opened routes from Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai to Bazhong in Southwest China's Sichuan Province since February 2019. The city was once the center and capital of the Sichuan-Shaanxi revolutionary base, still home to many red revolutionary sites and relics.

With the opening of the Bazhong-Chengdu route, local residents can reach Bazhong within one hour instead of four-hour bus journey, according to Zheng Xiangrui, a manager from Southwest Marketing Center in Air China, adding that these routes have help Bazhong raise its profile and popularity. 

Zheng added that at present, the throughput of Bazhong Enyang Airport is growing year by year, especially in 2020, Air China has run more routes and flights around the city, with obvious advantages of its dominant position in the market.

In 2021, Shenzhen Airport, together with more than 10 Chinese airlines including China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines, has continued to expand red tourism routes, launching over 20 high-quality routes including flights from Shenzhen to Wuhan, Jinggangshan and Yan'an, among which nine routes including flights from Shenzhen to Jinggangshan have been listed in the 100 red boutique routes released by Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

According to a plan released by CAAC on May 10, the administration will strengthen airports construction and improve the layout of airports in red tourism areas. By 2025, the civil aviation industry will more deeply integrate red tourism as part of its overall agenda, with the infrastructure of civil aviation facilities located in red tourism areas will be further improved.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism and CAAC said in May that it published guidelines outlining the need to accelerate the construction of airports in the red tourism areas, and support airlines to increase capacity, open more routes, and increase flights at airports in red tourism regions.

Red tourism sites across China received more than 1.4 billion visits and jointly created more than 400 billion yuan ($62.2 billion) of revenue in 2019, China's National Cultural Heritage Administration revealed recently at a press conference.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism said the number of red tourism tourists in China in 2020 will exceed 100 million. In the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), the number of red tourism recorded steady growth, holding a market share of more than 11 percent within the overall domestic tourism market.

Global Times