By IANS,
Beijing: China’s picturesque Xishuangbanna region near the Myanmar border is planning to attract 15 million tourists annually by 2015.
Lu Yonghe, deputy head of Xishuangbanna Dai prefecture, said the government will develop it into a globally-recognized resort.
Lu said the region’s tranquility provides an ideal place for building relaxation facilities.
Xishuangbanna, which borders Myanmar and Laos, will build 10 top tourist destinations in the next five years, and attract an equal number of international hotel chains, Lu said.
The region is part of a huge tropical evergreen forest, covering China, Myanmar and Laos, and home to a variety of plant and animal species, Xinhua reported Wednesday.
More than 10 million domestic tourists and 290,000 foreign tourists visited Xishuangbanna in 2011, generating over 10 billion yuan (about $1.5 billion) in revenue for China.