(Yicai Global) Aug. 6 - Hubei province, once the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic in China, has been recovering rapidly recently as the pestilence recedes. Since the restart of the cross-provincial team tour business last month, the cumulative number of visitors to local scenic spots above A-level reached 2.04 million from July 17 to Aug. 4, Yicai Global learned from the local culture and tourism office.

The central Chinese province welcomed 246,000 tourists on the first weekend of this month alone. The Wudang Mountain Scenic Area in Shiyan City received nearly 10,000 of these visitors, including 11 tour groups, of which 25 percent were from outside the province. More than 10 homestays on the mountain were also full, a staffer at the attraction told Yicai Global.

As of yesterday, 367 scenic spots above A-level in the province had reopened, of which all 12 at the highest level were open, with most of the others that were not yet undergoing renovation.

Tourism in Hubei has greatly rebounded since the start of this month, and the order volume of group tours has returned to half of its pre-pandemic levels. Most outsiders still harbor concerns about travel to the province and tourism sector operators are thus calling on the government to boost promotion efforts by, e.g. issuing tourist vouchers to lure more travelers from outside, Yicai Global learned from local travel agencies.

The consumption needs of tourists, travel methods, and ticketing have all changed in the wake of the pandemic, which will speed up the process of smart tourism. Online operations, real-name registration, scheduled visits and contactless services will become the norm in the tour business, Zhang Quan, chairman of the only listed Hubei province-based tourism company Wuhan Sante Cableway Group, told Yicai Global.

As an important hub in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, Hubei Province has rich tourism resources, including Wudang Mountain, the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River and the Shennongjia UNESCO World Heritage Site with its lofty peaks and lush forests. The province received 727 million tourists from whom it netted revenue of CNY634.4 billion (USD91.5 billion) in 2018, government statistics show.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Ben Armour