The eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province shared its experiences and practices in building an international coastal tourism destination at a forum during the 2021 Shandong Conference on Tourism Development.

The night view of Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center [Photo/guanhai.com.cn]

The 2021 Shandong Conference on Tourism Development, which was held in Yantai, Shandong province from Sept 22 to 24, is designed to enhance Shandong's international and domestic appeal.

Qingdao continues to be a popular tourist destination that prides itself for the natural beauty of its coastal areas. The city is home to many European-style historical buildings including the Guest House, a Christian church on Jiangsu Road and the Badaguan architectural complex.

Qingdao has been listed as a national historical and cultural city. In 2020, Qingdao was selected as one of the first national demonstration cities for culture and tourism consumption, one of the top 10 popular destinations in the Red Coral Award of Asia Tourism, and one of the top 20 vacation destinations in the world.

By leveraging its fashion economy and tourism industry, the city has in recent years built itself into an international coastal tourism destination. It has joined hands with Yantai, Weifang, Weihai and Rizhao to accelerate the high-quality development of cultural and tourism integration in the Jiaodong Economic Circle as well as inject new vitality to regional growth.

The 369-meter-tall Haitian Center, which dominates the skyline of the coastal hub of Qingdao, is the city's new urban landmark. [Photo/guanhai.com.cn]

According to the latest "Competitiveness Report of China's Coastal Leisure Cities" recently released by the China Tourism Academy (Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism), Qingdao ranked second in terms of livable and tourism competitiveness.

In 2020, Qingdao received 63.12 million tourists, generating a total tourism revenue of 101.93 billion yuan ($15.78 billion), which accounted for about 8.2 percent of the city's GDP.

The city has 603 travel agencies, 109 A-level scenic spots and 88 star-rated hotels, laying a solid foundation for the development of coastal leisure tourism in Qingdao.