During an interview at the 2024 Hainan Provincial Tourism Development Conference on October 19, Dai Bin, the director of the China Tourism Academy, highlighted the ocean as a strategic new frontier in building a tourism powerhouse. He stated that the ocean is foundational for a modern tourism system and represents an emerging market. Dai emphasized that the new ocean tourism strategy should aim to create a “land-sea link, three-dimensional travel” framework, enhancing the modern tourism structure and promoting steady, high-quality growth in the industry.
Dai noted that while China is one of the earliest nations to explore and utilize the ocean and possesses the largest domestic tourism market in the world, the national awareness of ocean issues remains relatively weak due to historical factors. As a result, ocean rights, including tourism, have not been effectively showcased. He argued that developing ocean tourism could help expand resource bases and market opportunities, as well as foster a stronger national consciousness regarding the ocean.
“With rising living standards and an increase in travel experiences, we can expect more Chinese tourists to seek beach relaxation and island vacations,” Dai posited. He pointed out that classic coastal tourist spots like Jinshitan in Dalian, Beidaihe in Qinhuangdao, and Tianya Haijiao in Sanya will continue to serve as primary spaces for the public’s ocean tourism experience. Islands such as Meizhou, Weizhou, and Chongming remain vital resources for island tourism. Moreover, he emphasized the importance of incorporating South China Sea islands and reefs into the broader ocean tourism strategy.
Dai proposed that to develop ocean tourism in China effectively, it is crucial to connect key areas through air and sea routes, coastal expressways, and inland river pathways like the Yangtze, Pearl, and Grand Canals. This network would link the Bohai Bay, Yangtze River Delta, Greater Bay Area, and the west coast of the Taiwan Strait, creating a new travel framework supported by urban cruise boats, inland yachts, maritime cruises, express highways, high-speed rail, and low-altitude air routes.
He added that the development of ocean tourism must consider various dimensions, including coastal, nearshore, mid-sea, and deep-sea environments, as well as thematic elements like marine space, seasonal changes, tourism products, and equipment manufacturing. This multi-faceted approach will ensure that ocean tourism emerges not only as a new demand and market but also as a fresh supply and innovative business model. Dai underscored that unlike recent trends such as nighttime tourism and culinary tourism on land, ocean tourism spans a wider array of components, necessitating integration with national strategies aimed at fostering a strong maritime nation, advanced tourism, technological advancement, and robust manufacturing sectors.
“Developing ocean tourism cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach,” Dai explained. He suggested focusing on core areas and key cities within ocean tourism development zones, nurturing cities like Sanya, Haikou, Beihai, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Shanghai, Qingdao, Tianjin, and Dalian to become pivotal hubs in driving ocean tourism growth. By aligning national and regional development strategies with policies related to marine resources, fisheries, transportation, shipbuilding, finance, and tourism, China can sequentially harness and develop its ocean tourism resources.
