Shandong's cultural achievements will be on full display for influential leaders across many bureaus and enterprises

The 2023 Shandong Tourism Development Conference, scheduled to be held in the coastal city Qingdao from March 26 to 27, will display the province's new achievements in the cultural tourism industry while also promoting investment, exchanges and mutual learning, stimulating market vitality and enhancing the brand influence of Shandong.

Wang Lei, head of the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, said the conference plays an active role in expanding the "Friendly Shandong" brand and boosting market confidence along with the high-quality development of the cultural tourism industry.

Sponsored by the Shandong Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Shandong provincial government, the conference is the highest-level and largest-scale cultural and tourism-themed event in the province.

It showcases the latest achievements such as tourism development concepts, models and approaches and serves as a platform for investment promotion in the sector. Since 2020, the conference has been held for three consecutive sessions in Jinan, Yantai and Jining cities.

Titled "Meet with Fashionable Qingdao, Share Hospitality in Shandong", this year's conference strives to create a high-level and unique tourism gala that integrates the public, sharing, display of achievements, exchange, innovation, development, publicity and promotion.

Wang said that compared with previous years' conferences, this year's event is larger in scale, higher in standards, richer in content and more innovative in form, and will surely have a more far-reaching influence.

Those in attendance include leaders from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the World Tourism Alliance.

Also included are government officials from Shandong and tourist source provinces and sub-provincial cities. Executives from State-owned enterprises, financial investment institutions and cultural and tourism companies and representatives from diplomatic envoys in China will attend, as will tourism agencies, representatives from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and overseas travel agents.

Wang Chunsheng, inspector and spokesperson for the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, said the conference will focus on policy guidance, consumption, high-quality development and sharing for the public.

To boost consumer confidence and stabilize consumption, Shandong issued the Policies and Measures to Vigorously Boost Cultural and Tourism Consumption in January to speed up cultural consumption. Ten major measures are put forward for the recovery of tourism consumption.

Shandong is revving up efforts to promote the deep integration of culture and tourism as well as the high-quality development of the tourism industry. The province will issue an array of stimulus policies to boost the high-quality development of rural tourism and the accommodation industry with a series of key projects.

"We will lay a solid foundation for the development of the industry, promote the overall upgrading of cultural and tourism consumption and build a modern tourism industrial system with core competitiveness," he said.

This year's conference will highlight technological innovation and present a "fashionable Shandong", Wang said. "The conference will pay close attention to the combination of inheritance and innovation, and integrate Shandong's cultural characteristics and tourism advantages into all aspects through artistic display techniques and dynamic technological elements, demonstrating the unique charm of 'Friendly Shandong' to the world."

The opening ceremony will combine the agenda of the conference with theatrical performances, titled "Qingdao as my favorite" and incorporating elements such as holographic projection, virtual reality and naked-eye 3D to showcase the city's charm. Enterprises such as Wemake, Goldon Digital Creative, Juhaokan, China AI Media and Entertainment Technology have been invited to participate in the exhibition.

They will make full use of artificial intelligence, the metaverse and other high-tech means to display Shandong's cultural tourism products and innovative achievements.

The organizing committee has designed a traveling route with the unique characteristics of Qingdao's landscape, combining the urban renewal with old city courtyards.

Various activities will be held across the province, such as "Traveling in Qilu and Enjoying Life" and "Hospitality in Shandong, Good Season in the Countryside". Qingdao will also host activities such as the "Friendly Shandong, Fashionable Qingdao" cultural tourism carnival and music festival.

Qingdao features natural, historical and modern charms. CHINA DAILY

A light show is staged in Qingdao, Shandong province. CHINA DAILY

A picturesque port view in Qingdao. CHINA DAILY