A promotion conference on the integrated development of leisure agriculture and rural tourism in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region is held in Guilin. [Photo provided to en.gxzf.gov.cn]

The promotion conference on the integrated development of leisure agriculture and rural tourism in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region was held in Guilin, on Dec 12.

Huang Zhiyu, director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, noted that in recent years, Guangxi has established several demonstration sites for leisure agriculture and rural tourism. It has also focused on developing key counties for leisure agriculture.

In 2022, the region's leisure agriculture sector recorded more than 110 million tourists, with a total industry revenue of over 50 billion yuan ($7 billion).

While Guangxi has taken multiple measures to promote the high-quality development of its rural tourism, there are still prominent issues such as serious homogeneity, insufficient depth of integration, and inadequate scale and agglomeration.

Gan Lin of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said that Guangxi should continue to strengthen conceptual innovation and further stimulate its diverse markets.

He added that Guangxi should continue to strengthen its planning guidance and accelerate the development of agglomeration and regionalization in the rural tourism field. Key areas, such as Nanning and Guilin, should be focused on to create a circular tourism network that surrounds the urban-rural fringe.

Efforts should also be made to create a number of high-quality rural tourism areas, boutique rural tourism accommodations, and key rural tourism villages throughout the region.