The 2025 Shandong High-quality Cultural and Tourism Industry Development Conference opened in Dezhou, East China's Shandong province, on April 24, with the goal of enhancing the high-quality development of the cultural tourism sector.

At the opening ceremony, agreements for 18 key cultural tourism projects were signed to serve the high-quality development of the cultural tourism industry.

A plaque-awarding ceremony was held for overseas inbound tourism partners and a cultural and tourism consumption incentive package was officially released. With total discounts exceeding 300 million yuan ($41.1 million), the package is expected to generate over 30 billion yuan in direct consumer spending.

An overseas sub-venue was also held for the first time. In partnership with the China National Tourist Office in Singapore and China Cultural Centre in Singapore, Shandong hosted the 2025 China-Singapore Tourism Cooperation Forum and Cultural Tourism Promotion Conference, bringing together experts, airline businesses, representatives of scenic spots and travel agencies from both countries to explore cooperation.

As the host city of this year's conference, Dezhou has been actively promoting the high-quality development of its cultural and tourism industry in recent years. In 2024, the city recorded a tourism revenue of 23 billion yuan, a 6.17 percent year-on-year increase.

Shandong has been actively expanding cultural and tourism consumption while promoting the high-quality development of the industry. In 2024, the province received 900 million domestic tourists, generating over 1 trillion yuan in domestic tourism revenue. The added value of the cultural and tourism sector and related industries accounted for approximately 6.7 percent of the province's GDP.

A plaque-awarding ceremony is held for overseas inbound tourism partners during the opening ceremony on April 24. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Conference guests enjoy a cultural tour as a sub-event for the 2025 Shandong High-quality Cultural and Tourism Industry Development Conference. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]