China To Boost Forest Tourism

China National Tourism Administration and the State Forestry Administration are jointly drafting a "National Tourism Development Plan" to encourage and guide social capital to enter the forest tourism industry.

Jia Zhibang, the director of the State Forestry Administration, said some programs and realms in forest tourism development will be open to social capital within the limits of the law and relevant regulations.

Shao Qiwei, the director of CNTA, said that forest tourism accounts for 10% of the whole tourism industry, and it is anticipated that there will be more room for development in the future.

Shao also said that out of more than 20,000 scenic areas in China, only 5% are used for leisure and holiday. Forest tourism can be a very good supplement to leisure and holiday scenic areas.

Statistics show that there are 2,583 forest parks in China's forestry system. It has now formed a forest tourism system consisting of forest parks, wetland parks, nature reserves and other types of forest scenic areas.