ENDOWED with abundant natural resources, a rich history and strong culture, Chengdu is expanding its tourist industry into one of the major pillars of the local economy.

"Chengdu tourism is characterized by a profound cultural heritage, diverse tourist resources and well-developed supporting facilities," said Chen Shi'an, deputy director of Chengdu Municipal Tourism Administration.

"Benefiting from China's 'Go West' strategy, Chengdu tourism is experiencing leapfrog development as the government strives to promote the upgrading of the industry and enhance its driver effect on the economy," said Chen.

Widely known as the Land of Abundance, Chengdu boasts many tourist attractions. Historic sites such the Jinsha Relics and the Guanghan Sanxingdui Ruins reveal the mystery of the ancient Shu Kingdom; the sacred shrine of Wuhou Temple commemorates the ancient figures of the Three Kingdoms; while the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, dating from 256BC, lets visitors appreciate a miracle of ancient hydraulic engineering.

And of course, no rollcall of Chengdu tourist attractions could fail to mention that it's the natural habitat of the giant panda - which tops the list of must-see attractions for visitors.

Chengdu attracts millions of tourists every year, eager to explore the rich legacies of the city's 2,300-year history. In 2012, the number of tourists to the city reached 122.5 million - an annual increase of 26.6 percent - and over the same period tourism revenue surged 30.5 percent to 105.1 billion yuan (US$17.2 billion), data from the Chengdu tourism bureau showed.

Chengdu was named "Best Tourism City in China" by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and the National Tourism Administration in 2006.

In a 2012 survey by the China Tourism Academy, Chengdu ranked fifth among 60 domestic cities in terms of tourist satisfaction. This was the third consecutive year Chengdu featured among the top five.

Tourists are also attracted by the city's famous spicy cuisine. In 2010, Chengdu was named a Unesco City of Gastronomy - only the second city in the world to receive this honor, and Asia's first.

The largest transport hub in southwest China, Chengdu is a gateway to many scenic spots. These include famous Buddhist sites Mount Emei and the Leshan Giant Buddha to the south, the plateau of the Tibet Autonomous Region to the west and Jiuzhaigou Valley to the north.

The Chengdu government has been seeking to improve the management of the local tourism industry in an innovative and market-oriented way.

In March 2007, the Chengdu Culture and Tourism Development Group (CCTDG) was set up to operate the city's tourism industry through integrating and developing tourist resources, managing and promoting tourism products and providing financing platforms for tourist projects.

In recent years, the CCTDG has grown into a comprehensive tourist group with 19 subsidies and has developed a number of popular tourist spots - including the Kuangzhai Lane, Xiling Snow Mountain Ski Resort - and eight historic towns under the Tianfu Ancient Towns brand.

Ecological resorts

To further integrate and upgrade the city's tourism resources, the Chengdu government is working to build two ecological resort destinations, around Mount Longmen and Mount Longquan. These will cover nearly half of the city's total area.

Last year, Chengdu became one of 18 domestic pilot cities to participate in the national smart tourism program. This aims to promote the use of information technology --- such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing and intelligent data digging - in travel experiences including navigation, tour, sightseeing and shopping guides.

And in March, Chengdu launched a tourist data center in an effort to digitalize the city's tourist industry. The center, which can be accessed via mobile devices, provides information on the city's more than 190 scenic spots, plus details on transport, restaurants, accommodation and customized services.

"With the information era, the tourist industry is undergoing a transformation, upgrading products and services, sales models and marketing approaches. This sets higher requirements but also brings new opportunities for the development of Chengdu tourism," said Chen.

For 2013, the Chengdu government has earmarked a special fund of 255 million yuan for developing tourism.

According to the 12th Five-Year Plan for Chengdu Tourism, the industry will have an economic output of 97.5 billion yuan by the end of 2015 -- some 9 percent of the total gross domestic product in Chengdu.

Meanwhile, the city's tourism industry is growing into a complete system, with rapidly developing hospitality sectors. By 2012, there were 270 travel agencies and 135 star-rated hotels in Chengdu, including 14 five-star hotels and 30 four-star hotels.

Global recognition

"With the opening of more international hotels, Chengdu's hotel sector has become increasingly competitive over the past few years," said David Lim, regional general manager of ETG Portfolio Hotels at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), "It is a good sign that the city has been developing tremendously with global recognition."

IHG, the world's largest hotel management company by rooms, operates nine hotels in Chengdu under the brands of InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, catering for the needs of different customers. Currently, leisure accounts for about 20 percent of its business in the city.

"IHG is placing Chengdu as one of the prime cities in its western expansion in order to maximize a fair share of the city's booming MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) economy and tourism economy," said Lim.

"We have seen a lot of world-level events in Chengdu and the city is always filled with tourists during public holidays."

IHG is planning to boost the number of hotels in Chengdu to 15 or more by 2015 and Hualuxe, an upscale hotel brand designed especially for Chinese travelers, is also coming soon to diversify the group's local business.

"As the gateway to China's southwest, the market in Chengdu has shown potential to develop with the city's rapid economic expansion and fast-growing reputation," said Leonard Theng, director of sales and marketing of the Shangri-La Hotel in Chengdu.

On the banks of the Jinjiang River running through the city, the 155-meter high Shangri-La Hotel in Chengdu opened in December 2007 as the fifth five-star international hotel in the city. With 593 rooms, 26 serviced apartments and a staff of more than 800, it offers a wide range of services.

Positioned as a flagship property in southwest China, the occupancy rate at Chengdu Shangri-La is nearly 77 percent, higher than the average of around 70 percent among the city's five-star international hotels in 2012.

At present, business consumption is the main engine of the hotel's operations, but the operator expects more leisure demand from overseas markets especially the European market.

"The market here is definitely getting more and more international coverage with the opening of the new terminal in Chengdu Shuangliu Airport and the launch of more direct international flights," said Theng.

These are part of efforts by the Chengdu government to improve the city's accessibility to overseas tourists.

By the end of 2012, the city had 27 international direct flights and cargo airlines linking to cities such as Tokyo, ABU Dhabi, Ho Chi Minh, Karachi and Bangalore. More are set to be opened to boost connections with the Europe and North America.

Multilingual environment

Work has also been done to improve the city's multilingual environment, to make it more convenient for overseas travelers, and Chengdu experience centers have opened in Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and Paris.

The city expects numbers of foreign tourists to grow at an annual rate of 31 percent to 3.1 million by 2015 and foreign exchange income from tourism to reach US$918 million, with average annual growth of 26 percent.

In September, Chengdu will host PATA Travel Mart 2013, Asia Pacific's leading and longest-running B2B exhibition for the travel industry, that brings together hundreds of international buyers and sellers. It is the fourth Chinese city to host the event following Hong Kong, Hangzhou and Macau.

"The local government is trying to put the city on the map," Theng said. "The upcoming 2013 Fortune Global Forum will be an excellent opportunity for them to showcase what Chengdu is all about, as the whole world will be watching."