Region-based tourism is an innovative model of tourism that sees an entire region as a tourist destination, rather than a few individual sightseeing spots.
This holistic approach tries to involve all areas of society in creating the best travel experience possible to visitors to the region, including governments, companies and even local residents.
Its focus is on the quality of the travel experience rather than the quantity of tourists visiting a place.
One place that is taking a keen interest in region-based tourism is Tai'an, a city in Shandong province built in the shadows of the famous Mount Tai.
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Tai'an launches its region-based tourism development alliance on April 28, 2016. [Photo/tata.gov.cn]
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The city has been making efforts to tap into its historical and cultural resources to develop region-based tourism since early 2016, and it was recently been listed as a national demonstration base for this kind of tourism by China's Tourism Administration.
Tai'an has sought to leverage its beautiful natural landscape and cultural heritage to develop its tourism industry for years, but in April 2016 the city launched a more ambitious project to implement region-based tourism.
The city initiated an alliance to put the concept into practice with the involvement of various industries, including tourism and other service industries, public transportation, finance, art and sports.
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| A map of the tourist attractions at Mount Tai [Photo/ tata.gov.cn] |