Shenzhen plans to develop tourism as its fifth pillar industry, after the high-tech, logistics, finance and cultural sectors, to help fuel the city's growth in the near future.

This was revealed by Mayor Xu Zongheng yesterday at an international tourism conference attended by 21 Chinese and foreign tourism experts and officials.

"Apart from the four pillar industries already in shape, Shenzhen has its unique advantages in developing tourism. It is a beautiful coastal city with a young migrant population full of energy, passions and an open mind. It has successful theme parks, convenient transportation and historical sites. The city itself is a miracle in history, which may arouse interest in visitors from home and abroad."

The city government plans to build more world-class hotels and conference facilities on its east coast by 2020. The proportion of four- and five-star hotels, three-star hotels and budget hotels will be 20 percent, 40 percent and 40 percent respectively, according to the city's overall planning for tourism between 2006 and 2020.

Li Xiaogan, the city's tourism chief, recently revealed that Shenzhen will open more international air routes, plan more tourism festivals and enhance cooperation with Hong Kong in order to attract overseas visitors.

Wu Bihu, professor at Beijing University, revealed at yesterday's conference that Shenzhen is likely be chosen as the "best entertainment destination" in China in a program co-sponsored by the World Tourism Organization and China National Tourism Association.

The program will choose nine Chinese cities as the best tourism destinations in terms of sightseeing, historical interests, entertainment, business and exhibition, food, shopping, leisure and holidaymaking, ethnic appeal and eco tourism next year.

Wu Chengzhao, professor at Tongji University, also suggested the city build more art galleries, theaters, and various recreational facilities to attract holidaymakers.

Ranking fourth among mainland cities in the numbers of inbound tourists, Shenzhen received 57.82 million visitors last year, of whom 21.42 million, including 6 million from overseas, stayed overnight. Tourism brought in a total revenue of 42 billion yuan (US$5.25 billion) last year, with US$2 billion spent by foreign visitors.

"Traveling is a fashionable lifestyle growing naturally with economic prosperity. Tourism is also a green industry that supports sustainable growth," Xu said.

"By 2010, tourism will account for 11.7 percent of the whole world's GDP and create between 200 million and 250 million job opportunities. The Chinese Government has drawn up a blueprint that the country will become the world's top tourist destination by 2020. Shenzhen has every reason and every chance to ride in that trend."

The mayor said the conference is a good opportunity for local tourism industry insiders to interact and learn from their peers in China and foreign countries.

The 21 tourism researchers and officials from Germany, the United States, Canada, Hungary, New Zealand, Australia and other Chinese cities are giving lectures and conducting discussions at seminars during the three-day event that will end tomorrow. Several hundred tourism students and industry insiders from around China are attending the conference.

Editor: Yan