Efforts to Boost Tourism Along Silk Route

Tourism is set to become one of the leading industries along the Silk Route economic belt, which covers western China, central Asia and Europe, according to officials and experts. The route has great potential and tourism will be a leading industry for the Silk Route economic belt, said Pavlos Geroulanos, former Greek tourism and culture minister.

But some barriers need to be overcome first. It will be very convenient if more than 20 countries along the Silk Route have the E-visa service, Geroulanos said at a tourism conference held during the Euro-Asia Economic Forum which ended on Saturday in Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.During his visit to Kazakhstan in early September, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the proposal of a Silk Route economic belt to deepen cooperation and make economic ties closer among European and Asian nations.

The Silk Route refers to the land trade route opened when Zhang Qian was sent west on a diplomatic mission more than 2,000 years ago. Starting from the old city Chang’an, known today as Xi’an, the ancient road ran through northwest China’s Gansu Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Central and Western Asia, before reaching the Mediterranean.Xi’an, the start of the ancient road, should take the lead in tourism development, said Pan Qiuling, head of the Tourism School at Xi’an International Studies University.