Flower horticulture redefines recreational travel

Recreational travel has been one of the most indispensable entertainment events in China. Enchanted by a series of flower shows such as the rose flower show of Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden or the cuckoo flower show by Shanghai Binjiang Forest Park, Shanghai has turned into a flower city this spring. As the 19th Hortiflorexpo IPM Shanghai has welcomed almost forty thousand professional visitors who are importers, overseas producers, planters or individual consumers, this is Asia's largest flower show and reveals huge development potential of the Chinese horticultural industry.

Recently one of the keywords of improving life's happiness is horticulture. Meanwhile, "green city" is also formed as a new concept in city life. Examples such as the G20 vertical greening construction in Hangzhou City and "Ancient Babylon Sky Garden" building in Shanghai also reflect the trend of the vertical greening city. The change of economic development is because of the diverse influence of horticulture in lifestyle. People love to spend money on their life quality; this makes flower-related leisure tourism, even transnational travel that features gardening, into a more attractive way of recreational travel.

Speaking of featured tourism, will the development of flower industry boost local tourism? The answer is definitely positive. One instance is "Australian Lavender Bear". Bridestowe Lavender Estate is located in Tasmania, Australia, where it is not as crowded as Sydney or Melbourne. However, Bridestowe is almost the most popular scenic spot in Australia. Selling points such as lavender flowers over the hills and plains, essential oil products and exclusive lavender bear, not only brings profits for the travel industry, but also builds the unique image of Australian flowers. The reason why Bridestowe could make itself an icon of the lavender estate is because of their successful combination of the estate and its exclusive products.

As an economic giant, Chinese tourism has always been important. In 2016, "Featured Town" became the keyword of tourism development, along with a series of policies issued by Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Ministry of Finance, National Development and Reform Commission and the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs. It is mentioned that there will be about 1000 characteristic towns which feature different specialties such as scenery spots, modern manufacturing, traditional culture, trade logistics, education and technology. These featured towns will help to drive the development of other towns across the nation. (http://www.sohu.com/a/137864206_160891)

This industrial chain has already started in Shanghai, Chongqing, Gansu Province and other areas. Construction bases such as the aromatic industry project in Chongqing City is forming an industrial chain of aromatic plants, fragrance products for development and sightseeing. Supported by local departments and industrial companies, such kinds of combined project stimulates not only local tourism, but also the economic communication between urban and rural places as well as the potential growth of the horticultural industry.

Although the country has already launched a series of policies and financial support for the development of flower garden tourism, there still remains the question of maintaining the scenic spot as the "Bridestowe". In order to make sure that it won't be replaced by a similar horticultural base, there will need to be a focus on a professional and exclusive image, support services and up to date innovation.

For more information:
www.hfexpo.org