Chengdu ranks 3rd most visited city in 2013

Chengdu ranks third among 60 tourism cities in China in 2013, according to a report by the China Tourism Academy released during the 2014 City Tourism Development Strategy Seminar held in Chengdu.

In the report on tourist satisfaction in 2013, Chengdu continues to rank among the top tourist destinations in China, moving up in the rankings two places from 2012.

The city's tourist satisfaction continues to rank near the top in the country for the fourth consecutive year, surpassed only by Huangshan and Ningbo. The report covers 60 cities across the nation in the evaluation of tourist satisfaction, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing.

According to the report, Chengdu had 1.2 billion tourists from home and abroad in 2013, up by 26 percent from a year earlier. The city's inbound tourists amounted to 1.75 million person-times in 2013, up by 20 percent, and tourism revenue totaled 130 billion, up by 26 percent.

Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, said the reason the seminar was held in Chengdu was that it intends to spread Chengdu's experience in tourism promotion to other cities across China. Chengdu may internationalize its tourism industry and draw upon the strengths of overseas tourism industries, Dai said.

With Chengdu implementing the 72-hour visa-free stays for international transit passengers from 45 countries, the city will embrace an increasing number of international tourists in the future.