Written by Li Yizhi / Translated by Wu Sheng

As an important city in Guangxi’s Beibu Gulf Economic Zone, Fangchenggang has made remarkable achievements in foreign trade,and also boasts great advantages in developing border tourism with its unique resources. In April 2018,China’s State Council approved the establishment of a border tourism pilot zone in Fangchenggang.

It is believed that this move will bring Fangchenggang,both a border and coastal city, more opportunities for its development. “The approval of Fangchenggang as a border tourism pilot zone will give great impetus to the development of border tourism in Dongxing (a countylevel city in Fangchenggang),” said Liu Hongying,Director of Center for Tourism Planning and Research of Guangxi University for Nationalities, in an interview withChina-ASEAN Panorama.

Profound and far-reaching impacts on Fangchenggang

As early as 2015, Fangchenggang conducted the research and study of establishing a border tourism pilot zone in accordance with theOpinions of the State Council on Several Policies and Measures for Supporting the Development and Opening-up of Major Border Areas.

In 2016, Fangchenggang actively moved forward with the application for the border tourism pilot zone, drawing up theImplementation Plan for the Construction of the Border Tourism Pilot Zone in Fangchenggang, and continuously revising it afterwards.

Recognizing its profound and far-reaching impacts,Fangchenggang has attached great importance to the construction of the border tourism pilot zone.

“As Fangchenggang was approved as a border tourism pilot zone, there will be more fl exible policies and better mechanism innovation to drive its border tourism. And practices developed in Fangchenggang border tourism pilot zone can serve as a reference for the opening-up and development of border tourism in other parts of China,” said Liu Hongying.

Fangchenggang’s border tourism, in which encouraging progress has been made, will see further and all-around development through more flexible policies and better mechanism innovation. For example, in 2018, Vietnam government has agreed to pilot Chinese self-driving tours in both Mong Cai and Ha Long, Quang Ninh province. After the establishment of Fangchenggang border tourism pilot zone, more Vietnamese cities are likely to be open to Chinese self-driving tourists. At the same time, exit and entry procedures will be simplified,and the time it takes for exit and entry be shortened.

The establishment of the pilot zone also boosts public confidence in Fangchenggang’s border tourism development. Chen Yiwen, General Manager of Guangxi Overseas Travel Service Co., Ltd., thinks that in building the pilot zone, it is necessary for Fangchenggang to develop cross-border maritime tourism market and create new types of border tourism products. With these efforts, Beibu Gulf Port will have great strengths in launching cruise routes and providing cruise products.

He illustrated his point with the example of a cruise ship, Chinese Taishan. Setting sail from Fangchenggang in 2017, Chinese Taishan once attracted many visitors in Guangxi. However, its operation was suspended due to capital shortage. Now, with the establishment of the border tourism pilot zone, he believes that traveling to Nha Trang and Da Nang in Vietnam, Manila in the Philippines, Okinawa in Japan, and even Australia and European countries by cruise ship from Fangchenggang will materialize in the near future.

Fangchenggang in action

On April 13, 2018, in response to questions regarding the establishment of border tourism pilot zones at a press conference, the related officials of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China said that building the border tourism pilot zones is an important part of comprehensively deepening reform, a significant support for advancing the Belt and Road Initiative,a main content of revitalizing border areas and enriching the people living there, and a major means to promote the transformation of border areas from tourism channels to destinations.

The pilot period for Fangchenggang border tourism pilot zone is set to be 3 years. That is, by the end of 2020, the target level that the pilot zone should achieve in terms of tourism institutions and mechanisms, tourism industry development, and the influence of tourism destinations will be defined.

This requires that the People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region strengthen leadership, establish regular coordination mechanisms, improve supporting policies and measures, and organize the implementation of theImplementation Plan for the Construction of theBorder Tourism Pilot Zonein Fangchenggang. The Fangchenggang Municipal People’s Government must,according to the set goals and tasks, establish a work account, fulfill work responsibilities, refine reform items, and organize full implementation of relevant policies and measures, and ensure well-ordered report for approval of major relevant policies and construction projects in accordance with procedures.

In building the border tourism pilot zone,Fangchenggang should explore new measures for facilitating travel and customs clearance, seek new paths for developing all-for-one tourism, establish new mechanisms for guiding tourism development, create new drivers for transforming and upgrading border tourism, and explore new models for cooperation on border tourism, among others.

Next, Fangchenggang will actively advance the reform of the pilot zone, and explore new border tourism institutions, with a focus on reforming and innovating institutions for management and providing convenient services for travellers and those who drive themselves or travel in groups, thus to create institutional guarantees for the thriving development of border tourism and enhance integration of culture and tourism.