The 2015 annual meeting of tourism chiefs of Yangtze River Delta, held in the city of Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on Nov 28, proposed an initiative to establish a homestay business league to promote regional tourism cooperation.

As the State Council just launched an instruction a few days ago emphasizing the development of various service industries that meet people’s material and cultural needs, the homestay business, which was mentioned in the instruction, became a popular topic at the meeting.

Bed and breakfast facilities (B&Bs), with their diversified service, clean environment and humanized experience, are enjoying increasing popularity in the Yangtze River Delta with an annual growth rate of 10 to 20 percent. Many ecological tourist hotels derived from B&Bs are contributing to the development of rural tourism in the Delta.

Mashan, a peninsula in the southwest of Binhu District, Wuxi, is actively developing its homestay business this year. Many local residents have transformed their houses into B&Bs of various styles, and tourism websites have also cooperated with the local tourism bureau.

A B&B at Nianhua Bay, a newly-opened Buddhist resort in Mashan, Wuxi. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

With the new interest in B&Bs, the industry is in a great competitive position. Nianhua Bay, a newly-opened Buddhist resort in Mashan, has drawn particular attention as its B&Bs feature the theme of Buddhism, attractive to many visitors. The Binhu Tourism Bureau pointed out in the meeting that besides encouraging the development of the homestay business, it is also necessary to standardize the management of B&Bs by setting up organizations. Zhouzhuang, a water town in Suzhou city took the initiative in 2014, providing a star rating system through an association to ensure quality improvement and brand building.

At the end of the meeting, the Binhu Tourism Bureau proposed establishment of a homestay business league to promote regional tourism cooperation, which was supported by all the participants.

The 2015 annual meeting of tourism chiefs of Yangtze River Delta, held in the city of Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on Nov 28, propose an initiative to establish a homestay business league to promote regional tourism cooperation. [Photo/wxrb.com]