A city in Guangxi is trying to jumpstart its tourism sector with the implementation of rules to encourage construction of eco-friendly hotels.

In order to establish an energy-saving, environmentally friendly and harmonious society as well as to promote the development of tourism, Beihai City in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has initiated a campaign of creating green hotels and expects to publish the names of the first batch of green hotels by the end of this year.

In March 2006, the China National Tourism Administration released its Green Hotel Standard. According to the standard, hotels must integrate environmental management into their operations and management and they also should implement clean production and operation in line with environmental protection requirements.

Hotels from Beihai will now also focus on promoting the virtues of the green hotel concept and advocate green consumption for travelers. All hotels that have been open for over one year are eligible to participate in the assessment.