Diving coaches lead tourists to explore the coral reef ecosystem at Baifu Bay in Sanya, Hainan province, on Tuesday. WANG CHENGLONG/FOR CHINA DAILY
China has rolled out new guidelines to cut red tape for tourism projects and prevent the misuse of land in the name of cultural development, a move aimed at supporting the continued growth of the country's tourism industry, senior officials said at a news conference in Beijing recently.
The guidelines, jointly issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, cover land-use planning, the supply of land for tourism projects, the use of idle spaces and the improvement of services and regulatory efficiency.
"Tourism is a strategic pillar industry of the national economy, playing a vital role in expanding domestic demand, boosting employment and income, advancing rural vitalization and meeting people's aspirations for a better life," said Xie Haixia, director of the territorial spatial planning bureau at the Ministry of Natural Resources.
But the rapid growth of new tourism formats, including rural tourism, nature-based wellness retreats and camping, has also created challenges, Xie said. These include difficulties in coordinating land use, making better use of idle resources and providing supporting facilities. In some places, artificial landscapes and antique-style buildings have also been constructed under the guise of cultural tourism development, she said.
To address these problems, the guidelines call for incorporating tourism development needs for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30) into the country's overall land-use planning system. They also encourage local authorities to combine detailed plans for scenic areas with plans for the surrounding land, so that tourism projects can be better coordinated with local development.
"We can no longer treat cultural and tourism projects with a one-size-fits-all approach to construction land allocation," said Pang Chong, deputy director of the territorial spatial planning bureau.
The new guidelines simplify approval procedures for some small-scale tourism facilities. For example, small supporting facilities can retain their existing land-use classification and do not need to go through formal procedures to convert the land for construction use.
The same applies to simple recreational vehicle campsites that provide only basic parking, water, electricity and sewage services and do not require the ground to be paved or otherwise hardened.
Fu Hanxiao, deputy director-general of the industrial development department at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said the emergence of new tourism products has helped meet people's growing demand for cultural, leisure and travel experiences. However, the sector still faces problems such as unclear land-use rules, difficulties in getting projects off the ground and inadequate supporting infrastructure.
The guidelines call for better tourism services and more supporting facilities outside urban development boundaries. Because many new tourism activities are spread across rural and natural areas rather than concentrated in cities, the document allows gas stations, service areas and rest stops for tourists to be built outside these boundaries. The move is intended to improve services for outdoor recreation and self-driving tours.
"The guidelines also propose exploring the addition of new land-use categories tailored to tourism development within the national territorial space planning classification system, alongside the implementation of differentiated regulatory policies," Fu said.
Yan Guoqiang, deputy director-general of the State-owned forest farms and seedling management department at the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, stressed the need to balance environmental protection with high-quality development.
"National ecotourism visits reached 3.12 billion person-times in 2025, hitting a record high and establishing ecotourism as a pillar industry in the forestry sector with an annual output exceeding 1 trillion yuan ($149 billion)," Yan said.
Under the guidelines, suitable areas within zones where ecological protection is subject to general controls may be designated for ecotourism activities, Yan said.
