Zhang Qingwei, vice-chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, attended and addressed a symposium marking the 10th anniversary of the promulgation of the Tourism Law in Beijing on Nov 27.

Zhang said that in the past 10 years, the Tourism Law has played a critical role in safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of tourists and tourism business operators, regulating the tourism market, and promoting the sustainable and sound development of the tourism industry.

He noted that improving and implementing the Tourism Law is of vital importance to promote high-quality development and foster a new development pattern. It is an immediate need of accelerating the integrated development of culture and tourism and meeting the people's aspirations for a better life, Zhang said, adding that it is also an important tool for bolstering rule of law in the industry and regulating the tourism market.

He called for more efforts to improve the tourism legal system, enhance law publicity and enforcement, and optimize the supply of tourism products and services in accordance with the law, so as to push for the high-quality development of the tourism industry, enabling it to play a bigger role in Chinese modernization.

The symposium was co-hosted by the NPC’s Financial and Economic Affairs Committee and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.