Qingdao expands its sea tourism with new and popular routes. [Photo by Wang Lei/Guanhai News]

Qingdao is gearing up to host the 2023 Shandong Tourism Development Conference from March 26 to 27 as part of its ambitious plan to boost its tourism quality.

With a focus on marine tourism, Qingdao is implementing innovative formats to drive growth and consumption.

One major initiative is the integration of major coastal tourist terminals, which will help expand sea tourism routes and accelerate the development of key islands. A partnership agreement has been signed between two local companies to facilitate this process.

Currently, the city has opened seven core routes to different islands, with one more route about to launch and four others advancing in an orderly manner. The routes provide visitors with diverse options for island tourism and a variety of marine activities, such as sailing, yachting, scuba diving, surfing, as well as parasailing.

The "tourism+" initiative, which integrates sectors like healthcare, agriculture, hot springs, and traditional Chinese medicine, has been implemented. Furthermore, a campaign to distribute consumer vouchers has been initiated to stimulate consumption.

The city has allocated 80 million yuan ($11.62 million) to support cultural and tourism consumption and attract more visitors. More than 40 tourism-related performances are scheduled to break ground in the tourism and performing arts sector. To encourage tourism, 12 State-owned A-level tourist attractions are offering free entry from Jan 21 to March 31, while 23 non-State-owned A-level attractions are providing at least a 50 percent discount.

Qingdao has been incentivized by the State Council for its cultural and tourism industries. It is cultivating key enterprises, projects, and parks to enhance industries like film and television culture, as well as marine tourism. Projects, such as the Qingdao Mediterranean Club Project and Jiaozhou Film Park, are progressing.

To provide convenient and efficient tourist services, Qingdao launched the "Tour Qingdao with One Mobile Phone" platform in January. Construction of six municipal-level tourist service centers and 23 small and medium-sized tourist service stations is also being accelerated.

Qingdao is striving to have a cultural and tourism industry scale of over 350 billion yuan by 2025, aiming to become a vibrant, livable, and maritime city by enhancing tourism quality.