According Song Defu, secretary of the provincial committee of the Communist Party of China, the province has drafted a ten-year plan for tourism development and the market will be allowed to play a bigger role in the endeavor.

In accordance with the plan, the province will concentrate efforts on building three major tourism centers around Fuzhou, the provincial capital, Xiamen, a scenic port city, and Mount Wuyi which is included on the UNESCO lists of cultural and natural heritages.

The province will work out more programs catering to tourists by making good use of its diverse distinctive culture and unique landscape.

Song said the tourism sector is expected to contribute 10 percent to the province's gross domestic product (GDP) by generating over 50 billion yuan (about 6.02 billion US dollars) inearnings next year and become a tourism giant in the country by the year of 2010.

The province hosted 41.16 million tourists and raked in 42.4 billion yuan (about 5.11 billion US dollars) in total earnings in 2002, accounting for 9.1 percent of the province's GDP.

Because of its close geographic position, Fujian holds a special attraction to Taiwan compatriots, 570,000 of whom visited last year, accounting for 14.4 percent of total number of Taiwan compatriots visiting the Chinese mainland.

(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2003 )