(Photo provided to Xinhua Daily)

From January to August this year, tourist arrivals and tourism spending in Jiangsu grew by 10.43% and 9.94% year-on-year, respectively, according to the provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

Cross-regional cultural and tourism spending processed through China UnionPay rose by 14.86%, accounting for 10.28% of the national total. This continued to rank the province first in the country.

During this summer school holiday, innovative night tours hosted by museums boosted night-time consumption by 25%. Highlights included the “Journey to the West” storytelling shows in Lianyungang and immersive performances at the Jiangning Imperial Silk Manufacturing Museum in Nanjing.

The province’s booming tourism sector has also been supported by the upgrading of 53 food streets since the start of this year, further enhancing the global reputation of Yangzhou and Huai’an as UNESCO “Cities of Gastronomy.” From January to July, catering revenue in Jiangsu reached 282.81 billion yuan, up 5.1% year-on-year, 1.3 percentage points higher than the national average.

Sports and tourism have also become more closely integrated, driven by the Jiangsu Football City League and other popular events. Data shows that the number of tourists from outside the province has since increased by more than 11%.