Tourism resources and development in Xinjiang, China

We collected data from approximately 500 tourism destinations and revenues of Xinjiang region, China, to assess tourism resources and improve tourism industry development. We analyzed the characteristics, geographical distributions, and environmental conditions of these tourism destinations, summarized changes in regional tourism revenue over the past 34 years, and proposed strategic suggestions for the region’s tourism development. Historical sites and architectures were found to be dominant, followed by natural scenic sites, with major hotspots located in the Altay Mountains, Urumqi-Turpan-Hami line, Ili region, and Aksu-Kashgar-Hotan line. A total of 65% of tourism destinations are located mainly in low altitudes (<1,500 m), with only 20% located in high altitudes (>2,000 m). They correlate spatially with rivers and roads, often in areas with high heatwave index values. Although tourism revenues have grown rapidly in the past decades, with 1998, 2010, and 2015 as breakpoint years, Xinjiang’s tourism volume remains relatively low compared to China’s, especially in international tourism. In 2015, Xinjiang’s total tourism revenue made up 2.9% of China’s total, with international tourism accounting for just 0.5%. Based on the analysis, there is significant potential for tourism development in the Xinjiang region. Hence, we suggest developing mountainous forest tourism based on forest parks in middle and high-altitude areas with relatively lower heatwave index values, targeting the European market, expanding cultural tourism based on diverse ethnic groups, and creating “Silk Road” tourism routes with other western Chinese provinces.