Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has enjoyed great success in its tourism-driven rural vitalization efforts, according to a report on the functions of Guangxi's tourism industry in rural vitalization that was released during a July 20 conference.

Statistics showed that Guangxi received 386 million rural tourism visitors in 2021, with a year-on-year increase of 25.7 percent, ranking first in China. The number made up 48.4 percent of Guangxi's total domestic tourists, which stood at 798 million.

The region's overall rural tourism consumption grew by 28.8 percent year-on-year to 258.48 billion yuan ($38.23 billion) in 2021, ranking second countrywide and accounting for 28.5 percent of Guangxi's total domestic tourism consumption, which hit 906.3 billion yuan.

Guangxi has built 40 national key rural tourism villages since the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20) and the region has distributed 370 million yuan since 2021 to improve the public service capacity of its rural tourism industry.

An investment of 257.07 billion yuan will go to the construction of a group of demonstrative rural tourism projects, while 15 high-quality rural tourism routes showcasing the charms of Guangxi will also be released.