December 4, 2025

Source: Official Website of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism

On December 3, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Civil Aviation Administration of China issued a notice on the release of the “Action Plan for the Integrated Development of Culture and Tourism and the Civil Aviation Industry.” The full text is as follows: Notice of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Issuing the “Action Plan for the Integrated Development of Culture and Tourism and the Civil Aviation Industry” Culture and Tourism Departments (Bureaus) of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, all subordinate institutions of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, overseas China Cultural Centers, tourism offices abroad, regional administrations of the civil aviation industry, transport (general) airlines, service guarantee companies, airport companies, and all units under the Civil Aviation Administration: The Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Civil Aviation Administration of China have formulated the “Action Plan for the Integrated Development of Culture and Tourism and the Civil Aviation Industry.” It is hereby issued to you. Please conscientiously implement it. This notice is hereby given. Ministry of Culture and Tourism Civil Aviation Administration of China November 28, 2025 Action Plan for the Integrated Development of Culture and Tourism and the Civil Aviation Industry To promote the integrated development of culture and tourism and the civil aviation industry, further expand development space, and unleash consumption vitality, this Action Plan is formulated. I. General Requirements Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and fully implementing the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Second, Third and Fourth Plenary Sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, efforts shall be made to promote deep integration and two-way empowerment between culture and tourism and the civil aviation industry, enrich new culture-and-tourism experiences, stimulate new consumption potential, and cultivate new drivers of economic growth, so as to better meet the people’s growing needs for spiritual and cultural life and for travel. By 2027, the level of tourism travel services shall be significantly improved, international and domestic tourism air routes shall cover a wider range, integrated products and scenarios shall become richer and more diverse, and culture and tourism and the civil aviation industry shall achieve deeper, broader and higher-quality integration, forming a sound development pattern in which demand drives supply and supply creates demand. II. Improving Tourism Travel Service Quality (1) Optimizing an elderly-friendly, barrier-free travel environment for seniors tourism. Airlines and airports shall be guided to upgrade elderly-friendly service measures tailored to the air-travel needs of elderly passengers, strengthen full-process service support, and be encouraged to provide services such as companion services for elderly passengers, rest areas, in-flight meals for elderly passengers, and priority seating for elderly passengers in waiting areas. A guideline for the planning and construction of barrier-free environments in passenger terminal areas of transport airports shall be prepared, and the upgrading of airport facilities to better serve the elderly shall be accelerated, so as to further improve the barrier-free travel environment. (2) Strengthening safe and convenient travel services for study tours. Airlines and airports shall be guided to provide convenience for study tour groups in such links as ticket purchase, seat selection, check-in, baggage check-in, security checks and boarding. Airlines and airports with suitable conditions are encouraged to provide fast-track group verification and passage services. Airports and culture and tourism enterprises are encouraged to optimize ground-transportation resources to provide convenient transfer services for study tour groups. (3) Enhancing a warm and comfortable flying experience for parent-child tourism. Airlines are encouraged to provide services such as family seat selection, children’s meal reservations, in-flight educational toys, children’s books and children’s audio-visual content, so as to meet the special needs of child passengers. Airports are encouraged to set up children’s play areas and parent-child interactive experience facilities in terminal buildings. Airlines and airports are supported in providing customized services based on the travel characteristics of families with multiple children. (4) Improving caring service measures for ice-and-snow tourism. Airports in ice-and-snow tourism destinations are encouraged to adopt heating measures in passenger areas under extremely cold weather conditions, give priority to the use of passenger boarding bridges for flights on routes with large temperature differences, add changing points, and provide services such as rental, sale and delivery of cold-proof clothing and heating supplies. Airlines and airports are supported in optimizing baggage-system equipment and facilities, improving the check-in and claim services for ice-and-snow tourism equipment, and promoting value-added “door-to-door” delivery services for ski and snow-sports equipment. (5) Further improving the level of facilitation for inbound tourism. Policies and measures aimed at improving the convenience of entry and travel for foreign tourists shall continue to be implemented, and publicity and promotion of “immediate tax refund upon purchase” departure-tax-refund services shall be strengthened. Major domestic airlines and hub airports shall be encouraged to improve facilitation services for boarding, entry and transfer, and to strengthen guidance and assistance for passengers coming to China on international flights. Foreign-language signage and way-finding facilities in airports shall be improved, and hub airports are encouraged to provide rental services for portable translation devices. Mechanisms to simplify procedures at hub-airport level shall be established, and the coverage of international through-check flight services shall be expanded. III. Optimizing Tourism Routes and Service Facilities (6) Enhancing the accessibility of domestic tourism travel. More tourism cities shall be incorporated into the air-transport service network featuring connection between trunk and feeder routes and linkage across the entire network. Airlines shall be encouraged to open mutual flights between regional airports of popular tourist destinations, circular routes, “air-express” routes and border-tourism routes. Airlines shall be supported in increasing flights based on peak tourism seasons and seasonal travel needs such as study tours, parent-child tourism and ice-and-snow tourism, and in launching themed flights in conjunction with major cultural and tourism festivals, exhibitions and events. Flights for