Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has wrapped up a record-breaking summer travel season with over 130 million tourist visits, fueling a surge in local jobs and consumption.
Official data shows tourist visits rose 11.15 percent year on year, with travelers spending 142.56 billion yuan (about 20.04 billion U.S. dollars), up 11.59 percent across the region from the previous year.
In Urumqi, the region's capital, the International Grand Bazaar has emerged as a vibrant epicenter of the travel boom, where singing and dancing performances, and packed storefronts are driving both consumption and employment.
"Business's pretty good, we do about 1,000 to 2,000 yuan a day. Especially in July and August, there are many tourists, and the evenings are especially busy. We're tired, but it's a good kind of tired," said a vendor at the International Grand Bazaar.
"Tourism has really boosted spending, created jobs, and helped hotels and restaurants grow. Take the International Grand Bazaar area where we are now, it's a clear example, here alone, cultural tourism has created jobs for more than 10,000 people," said Wang Juan, deputy director of Urumqi culture and tourism department.
Visitors said they were impressed by the city's classic, cross-civilizational blends of cuisine and picturesque sceneries.
"I spent 14 days in Xinjiang. It's so beautiful, the food was great, it was a lot of fun, and the scenery was amazing. I'll definitely go back to explore more," said a visitor.
Patently growing in popularity with domestic tourists, the next goal for this frontier city is attracting more international visitors, said officials.
"Our goal is to build Xinjiang into a world-class hub on the Silk Road Economic Belt, attracting more overseas visitors through innovation and new infrastructure," said Wang
Xinjiang summer travel season breaks records, boosts economy
