The Guizhou Provincial Government recently issued a guideline to strengthen the creation, application, management, and protection of tourism-related intellectual property rights.

Guizhou province asks scenic spot management units to register trademarks for their names or their core sites and also encourages them to register trademarks for tourism commodities such as folk handicrafts and specialty foods.

In addition the province encourages the manufacturers of tourism products to register trademarks for their products and enhance the development and utility of these trademarks. Meanwhile, it asks tourism product manufacturers to ramp up innovation and advance the techniques of production with modern technology and high technology, expand the use of tourism products, and create travel goods patents.

The province requests that geographical sign protection to be applied for tourism products meeting the relevant criteria, or a collective trademark to be applied using the name of the scenic spots or sites as a core element.

By taking these measures, Guizhou province aims to enlarge the development of tourism products and create a number of tourism brands such as rural travel, leisure and summer resort travel, and Long March Culture Travel based on its unique tourism resource and mild climate.

(chinahospitalitynews April 7, 2009)