On Oct 28, Shandong province held a promotional event to attract investment in high-quality tourism hotels, resulting in the signing of 21 new projects with a total investment of 11.2 billion yuan ($1.5 billion). Five major hotel groups and representatives from 16 cities from across the province were present.

The strength of Shandong's tourism industry is evident in the first three quarters of this year as the province welcomed 670 million domestic tourists spending an average of 1,262 yuan per person, which was a 1.5 percent year-on-year increase. Accommodation expenses accounted for 19.2 percent of total spending.

Encouraged by the thriving tourism and supportive government policies, both domestic and international hotel chains have been accelerating their expansion in Shandong, aiming to upgrade the province's tourism accommodation sector. Currently, Shandong has 459 star-rated hotels, including 47 five-star hotels and 169 four-star hotels. The total operating revenue of star-rated hotels in Shandong grew by 47.6 percent year-on-year in 2023.

Shandong has set an ambitious target to increase the number of star-rated hotels to over 600 by the end of 2025 and more than 50 five-star hotels.