China is planning to develop tourism on the Xisha Islands, an official from Hainan tourism development commission said on Friday.
Xisha Islands is a group of islands under the administration of Hainan Province. Located 330 kilometers southeast of Hainan Islands, the Xisha Islands are one of the four big island groups in the South China Sea, together with the Dongsha, Nansha and Zhongsha islands.
"Working together with the National Tourism Administration, we are designing a specific plan to open the Xisha Islands to tourists," said Wang Rulong, an official from Hainan tourism development commission.
The plan will spell out policies for industrial distribution, environmental protection of the uninhabited islands and other important factors related to the development of tourism in the islands, Wang said.
Traveling to the Xisha Islands might be inconvenient at present as there are no civil airlines or cruise boats to connect the islands to other parts of China. However, if the government attaches more importance to developing tourism on these islands, this will no longer be a problem.