The Third Hunan Tourism Development Conference, held in Hengyang from Friday to Sunday, exemplified the province's dedication to elevate its tourism industry to new heights.

The conference featured 499 culture and tourism projects launched with an investment of more than 357.5 billion yuan ($50.7 billion). These projects covered areas such as low-altitude flights, high-quality accommodation, and industrial tourism.

Shen Xiaoming, Party chief of Hunan, opened the conference on Saturday night. He said the province has seen rapid development in recent years, leveraging the strength of the conference.

The province is actively promoting the high-quality development of the tourism industry.

It wants to launch more distinctive culture and tourism products, enrich the tourism industrial chain, increase tourism's added value, and create favorable conditions for tourism enterprises to invest and do business in the province.

Mao Weiming, governor of Hunan, said Hengyang had built a brand-new image for holding the conference.

Hunan will make the most efforts to improve the travel experience and upgrade the image of its tourism industry to make the province a hot tourism destination.