Over 200 tourism bureaus, travel agencies, and other tourism enterprises attended the event, promoting the development and exchange of China-Russia tourism markets. To further develop the South Korean market, a series of tourism promotional activities were held in South Korea leveraging major event platforms such as expos. At the same time, ten TV stations from Russia’s Far East, as well as Fujian Strait TV and Shanghai TV—key media outlets in major source markets—were invited to film and broadcast special programs on Qinhuangdao tourism, enhancing its promotional reach and influence both domestically and internationally.
According to reports, to attract overseas tourists, Qinhuangdao has installed nearly 400 bilingual and trilingual signage sets in key transportation hubs, tourist distribution centers, star-rated hotels, and A-level or higher scenic spots. These signs comply with national public information graphic standards and are available in Chinese, English, and Russian.
Known as China’s “Summer Capital,” Qinhuangdao has in recent years turned its tourism focus toward the cold winter months, striving to create a year-round tourism “boiling point.”
According to Wang Qiang, previously most tourists visited Qinhuangdao during July and August. Now, the peak tourism season spans from May 1 to October 1 each year. Moreover, winter tourism in Qinhuangdao is showing an upward trend. In the past, nearly all hotels in scenic areas closed during winter, but now over 20 hotels remain open year-round.
Wang Qiang said that Qinhuangdao’s winter tourism includes traditional offerings such as visits to scenic spots like Shanhaiguan. It also features a variety of indoor and outdoor sports activities, such as skiing and ice sculpture viewing, as well as locally themed festival events and specialized tourism options like photography, bird-watching, and wine tasting. The number of tourists visiting Qinhuangdao in winter is steadily increasing.
To stimulate winter consumption, from January 1 to February 28, 2013, Qinhuangdao offered substantial discounts at 17 scenic spots open during the off-season and 22 three-star or higher hotels operating in the off-season. The discounts applied to both residents and tourists from home and abroad, with average ticket and accommodation prices reduced to less than 40% of the original rates.
In addition to what officials described as “unprecedented” discount levels in history, the city also planned and packaged over 20 strategic and structural projects aimed at activating the off-season, extending the peak season, and creating strong spillover effects. These include hot spring resorts, wellness and fitness centers, high-end hotels, conference and exhibition venues, and large-scale performances. The projects are centered around two leisure industry clusters—coastal leisure and wine culture experiences—and the development of a Great Wall mountain leisure tourism resort belt.