Experts have called for closer cooperation between the nine provinces and two municipalities along the route of the proposed Yangtze River economic belt to realize the goal of building an international tourism area along the river, in line with proposals presented more than a year ago.

In October 2015, the heads of the tourism departments of the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, and the municipalities of Shanghai and Chongqing, convened in Shanghai to sign a declaration of cooperation to integrate their travel resources and develop tourism along the river into a global brand.

Regular meetings and mechanisms for discussions must be established to tackle one of the primary difficulties in realizing that goal - setting a consistent standard for tourism services in the different regions along the economic belt.