Xinjiang improves homestay experiences to boost tourism

As the tourism industry continues to thrive in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in recent years, local authorities are exploring new ways to improve tourists' experience.

In Tekes County, building high-quality homestay properties with local characteristics is one of the new approaches to attract more visitors and boost local tourism sector. So far, the county has 227 qualified homestays.

The interior design of a local homestay with ethnic features in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China. /Xinhua

Most of the tourists who traveled to the county chose to stay in local homestay facilities to experience the distinctive ethnic charms and fascinating culture.

Wen Yanjun, Party secretary of the local culture and tourism bureau, said that they had set up a service center in 2019 for homestay properties and issued measures to regulate the market by improving the quality of the homestay facilities.

The yard of a local homestay in Tekes County. /Xinhua

Hosts can receive professional training at the local service center to run their business more efficiently and improve the quality of their services.

A classification and rating system has been put in place to strengthen management in this kind of property.

Homestays in the region feature distinctive and innovative architectural styles and local folk culture.

The exterior of a homestay property in Tekes County. /Xinhua

A plan has been rolled out to promote the evaluation of homestays with a star-rating mechanism that eventually aims to reward those that stand-out. The outstanding homestays will be an example for others thus boosting the development of the whole industry, said Wen.

Interior of a local homestay. /Xinhua

Tourism has played an "extremely important" role in helping China's impoverished families out off poverty, said Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism Li Jinzao at a press conference. Developing rural tourism has proved to be quite effective in driving the regional economy and improving rural livelihood in Xinjiang.

A project launched in 2016 by Xinjiang's regional tourism bureau launched for boosting tourism has aimed at getting 300,000 people out of poverty by 2020.

Over the years, the autonomous region has drawn millions of tourists from home and abroad and is still on many travelers' bucket list for mysterious adventures.

(Cover Photo: Homestay properties with local characteristics are built along the street in Tekes County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. /Xinhua)