A view of a sea island in Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province (CFP Photo)

Jiangsu's culture and tourism market has showed a strong recovery momentum since the beginning of this year.

Data reveals that the province's tourism revenue in the first half of the year reached 610 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 83.5%. Payments made through the China UnionPay network for cultural and tourism spending amounted to about 252.36 billion yuan, reflecting a growth of 31.8% and accounting for 10.2% of the country's total, the highest among province-level regions nationwide.

A view of the historic and cultural block of Pingjiang Road in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province (CFP Photo)

At present, Jiangsu has 25 tourist attractions with 5A rating, 60 villages and towns recognized as national-level rural tourism destinations, two national cultural industry demonstration parks, and six tourism and leisure blocks, all ranking among the highest in the country.

The province's Culture and Tourism Department has implemented a series of measures to promote rural tourism, and the application of Internet in tourism sector. Efforts have also been made to guide and support cultural and tourism companies to pursue innovation-driven growth and upgrade.

Jiangsu has also made it a priority to stimulate the night-time economy. In the first half of the year, 45 destinations offering culture and tourism consumption at night registered a revenue of 30.26 billion yuan, an increase of 153% year-on-year.

To accelerate the digital transformation, over 20% of the province's tourist attractions support settlement with digital yuan. By 2023, 90 scenic areas above 4A rating and 120 cultural venues above county level will incorporate the e-CNY payment.

In terms of outbound tourism, Jiangsu had organized 1,304 tour groups with 28,300 tourists to visit overseas destinations by the end of June.