On February 16, Guo Teng, a resident of Meishan City, led his family to visit Jinkouhe District, Leshan City. Guo said: "Children can take a boat or take pictures in ethnic costumes here. They have a lot of fun but do not feel tired. That's pretty good." Before the Spring Festival holiday, Jinkou Grand Canyon Scenic Area created better conditions, both in hardware facilities and the softer aspects, building farm stays and restaurants at the wharf. During the holiday, the revenue from water tourism increased significantly.

This phenomenon is not limited to Leshan. According to the statistics of Sichuan Provincial Navigation and Maritime Management Service Center, during this Spring Festival holiday, the province's waterway passenger trips reached 683,000, up 10.2% year on year. Of the total, the waterway tourist visits reached 290,000 and the revenue amounted to 1,163,000 yuan, growing by 28.3% and 34.4%, respectively. Water tourism products featuring transport-tourism integration have become popular, with a significant increase in tourist visits and revenue, and new consumption scenarios emerging one after another.

Water tourism greatly boosts the economy

In 2022, Sichuan specified the following tasks: developing high-quality water tourism routes, enriching water tourism products, strengthening infrastructure construction, improving the quality of water tourism services, establishing brands for waterway passenger transport, and enhancing the construction of the tourism talent workforce. Relying on rivers such as the Minjiang River, Jialing River, Yangtze River and Jinjiang River, as well as relevant reservoirs and lakes, the province has built multiple short-distance water tourism routes along the Jinjiang River in Chengdu, the Jialing River in Nanchong, the Fuxi River in Zigong, etc. Among them, three routes, namely the Tour Along the Jialing River in Nanchong, the Water Tour in Langzhong City and the Corridor Along the Minjiang River, were included in the national pilot projects of high-quality waterway passenger routes.

After more than a year of vigorous promotion, this new consumption scenario has significantly boosted the economy. "During the Spring Festival holiday this year, Leshan's water tourism recorded an income of 8.98 million yuan. In addition to ticket revenue, consumption at wharves and ferries accounted for 15% of the total." According to the relevant head of Leshan Port and Shipping Center, before the Spring Festival holiday, the local government made plans for the consumption scenarios at wharves in the city to greatly improve the level of software and hardware configuration and services. During the holiday, the tourist visits reached 26,800, and the ticket revenue at wharves increased significantly.

With wharves and ferries as carriers, consumption scenarios are expanding. Jiazhoudu Wharf is divided into several areas for such functions as photography in traditional Chinese style, tea boiling on a stove, and exhibition and sales markets. Besides, there is a yard banquet around Zhouba Ferry in Muchuan County, and consumption areas have been set up at Xinmin Ferry and Xiaogu Ferry in Qianwei County. The lively atmosphere at the wharves also brings wealth.

Sichuan promotes "1+5" integrated development for water tourism

During the Spring Festival holiday this year, the "Night Tour at Jinjiang River" continued to rank among "Top 3 Popular Scenic Spots in Chengdu". Cruise ships and wharves received 388,200 visits, surging by 373.41% year on year. Both the number of visits and the tourism revenue hit record highs.

On the evening of February 6, the "Night Tour at Jinjiang River" launched a hot pot-themed ship named "Sichuan-flavor Jinjiang", allowing tourists to appreciate the beautiful scenery of the riverbank while watching performances with Sichuan characteristics and eating hot pot in the ship. The tickets sold out within seconds after becoming available to tourists. In addition, the newly launched ship lock experience route named "Ancient Shu Flowing Light", as the first of its kind in Chengdu, won favor with many tourists. The lively "Lantern Fair in the 1st Lunar Month" at wharves along the route attracted numerous tourists to enjoy the Spring Festival atmosphere and take photos. Merchants at the wharves also launched innovative festival packages and Spring Festival specialties, with business revenue hitting new highs.

"Before this year's Spring Festival, Sichuan Provincial Department of Transport guided wharves and ferries around the province to innovate consumption scenarios for water tourism based on actual conditions and promote '1+5' integrated development for water tourism," said a relevant person from Sichuan Provincial Navigation and Maritime Management Service Center.

Sichuan's water tourism featuring transport-tourism integration follows the principle of "one theme for one route", and high-quality tourism routes with different features have formed, involving urban landscapes, history and culture, and natural scenery. For example, the "Night Tour at Fuxi River", with salt culture as the theme and with Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival as an opportunity, combines traditional lanterns with modern light and shadow shows to display the lanterns with a history of over 800 years and the culture of the salt capital Zigong. The Water Tour in Langzhong City integrates water and land-based activities. Under the theme "Sleepless City of Langzhong, Tour Along Jialing River", Langzhong connects different scenic spots to display the diversified cultures and the harmonious integration of landscapes and the city from the perspective of water tourism.

To expand the consumption scenarios at wharves and ferries during the Spring Festival holiday, Sichuan Provincial Department of Transport proposed to promote the integrated development of "water transport +" based on actual conditions. Examples include the Leshan Fun Wharf and Yibin Lizhuang Wharf "+ history and culture", the Night Tour at Jinjiang River in Chengdu and Water Tour in Langzhong City "+ catering and entertainment", and the Guang'an Wharf, Nanbu Ferry and Fengyiwan Wetland "+ sports and leisure".

In the next step, Sichuan Provincial Department of Transport will guide all localities to expand new consumption scenarios for water tourism in the direction of "1+5" integrated development, and create a series of innovative water tourism products in terms of catering, accommodation, transport, travel, shopping and entertainment based on one route, one scenic spot and a set of management systems.