As the summer travel season draws to a close, Zhangjiajie has seen a sustained boom in inbound tourism and cross-provincial travel. To welcome visitors from around the world, the local authority has increased the frequency of domestic and international flights and rolled out a variety of preferential services. On the ground, customized shuttle services are offered to transport tourists directly from airports and high-speed rail stations to their accommodations and tourist attractions. The combination of a multidimensional transport network and people-friendly services continues to stimulate summer cultural tourism consumption in Zhangjiajie.

On August 13, tourists visit the Yuanjiajie Scenic Area in Wulingyuan, Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province. (Photo/Zhang Hongtao)

This summer, Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport has operated a total of 40 flight routes, covering 44 cities at home and abroad. Through the "international direct flights + domestic connecting flights" model, the airport has built an efficient and convenient air bridge for visitors traveling to Zhangjiajie from across the globe. "While continuing to increase the frequency of international flights to Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, we are also making great efforts to tap into long-haul transit passenger markets in Europe and the United States, attracting travelers from these regions to make Zhangjiajie their second stop when visiting China," said Kang Yang, deputy general manager of Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport.

In addition, Zhangjiajie has collaborated with major airlines and cultural tourism authorities to launch an exclusive benefits package of "exploring Zhangjiajie with one air ticket." Passengers with a boarding pass from any airport in Hunan Province within the past seven days can receive discounts at tourist attractions, hotels, restaurants, and performance venues in Zhangjiajie. This initiative allows visitors to experience local folk culture while enjoying substantial savings.

To better serve inbound travelers, Zhangjiajie has launched a special summer campaign for multilingual volunteer services for international visitors. Volunteers can provide overseas tourists with one-stop services such as multilingual translation, travel consultation, route guidance, and cultural tourism promotion. This effectively breaks down language barriers for foreign visitors and significantly enhances the travel experience for inbound tourists.

"Zhangjiajie is truly a fantastic city," said Russian tourist Kanivets, adding that Russian-speaking volunteers in the scenic area offered a great help to them. "We had no idea before we came that we could get a 5% discount on shopping here."

Tourists enjoy performances at the Zhangjiajie Romance Park. (Photo provided by the scenic area)

Zhangjiajie's transportation authorities have continued to advance comprehensive reforms to address "last-mile" travel challenges for tourists. Since 2024, the authorities have built dedicated city-to-scenic area bus routes, launched a model combining dedicated lines and customized services, and deployed 78 pure electric passenger vehicles to ensure transport capacity. In addition, customized shuttle services for scenic areas have been introduced, offering "point-to-point" and "door-to-door" services covering airports, high-speed rail stations, hotels and homestays, and scenic areas. "With the customized city-to-scenic area bus service, it's much more convenient for us to get access to various scenic spots, and it saves us a lot of time," said Wang Yan, a tourist from Hubei Province.

A rich array of cultural and tourism offerings, a high-quality ecological environment, and a comfortable travel experience have fueled a surge in cultural and tourism spending in Zhangjiajie this summer. Statistics show that as of August 24, Zhangjiajie's scenic areas had received more than 5.1 million tourist trips this year, a year-on-year increase of 16.88%, driving consumption of more than 5.2 billion CNY.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: Chinanews