(1) Tourism Industry is still in a Golden Period of Development On October 18, 2017, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in the report of the Nineteenth National Congress of the Communist Party that socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era. Tourism is the first of the “five major happy industries”. Statistics show that in 2018, the number of domestic tourists reached 5.539 billion, an increase of 10.8 percent over the same period last year, and the total number of inbound and outbound tours reached 291 million. Total tourism revenue was 5.97 trillion CNY, an increase of 10.5 percent. Preliminary estimates show that the overall contribution of tourism to GDP in 2018 was 9.94 trillion CNY, or 11.04 percent of GDP. Tourism directly employs 28.26 million workers; including indirect employment the total comes to 79.91 employees, accounting for 10.29 percent of total employment. At the same time, according to the latest statistics of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in 2017, the added value of national culture and related industries was 3472.2 billion CNY, accounting for 4.2 percent of GDP; in 2016, the added value of national tourism and related industries was 3297.9 billion CNY, accounting for 4.44 percent of GDP. In the current situation characterized by booming supply and demand, China’s tourism industry continues to be in a golden period of development.(2) Institutional Reform Brings New Opportunities for the Integration of Culture and Tourism In March 2018, the reform plan of the State Council was approved, and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China decided not to retain the Ministry of Culture and the State Tourism Administration, but to form a new Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China. By the end of 2018, the reform of local cultural and tourism institutions had been completed, and the integration of culture and tourism ushered in new opportunities for development. From the perspective of the development trend of national cultural and tourism integration, the integration of culture and tourism started smoothly in 2018. The goal of industrial convergence is to expand tourism and thus stimulate economic development via culture, and constantly improve tourists’ satisfaction. According to Statistical Bulletin of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China on Cultural and Tourism Development in 2018, issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, by the end of 2018, there were 318,200 cultural and tourism-related organizations and 375,07,000 employees in China. There were 17,123 performance art groups, an increase of 1,381 over 2017 that held a total of 312.46 million performances, an increase of 6.4 percent over the previous year. Total attendance came to 376 billion, an increase of 10.3 percent. There are 3,176 public libraries, 10 more than the end of last year, with a total book collection of 1.037 billion copies, an increase of seven percent. Total circulation at Public Libraries over 2018 was 820 million, reflecting a 10.2 percent increase. In addition, libraries held 179,043 activities and events for readers in 2018, an increase of 15.1 percent over the previous year, with 10.648 million participants, up 20.2 percent. There were 44,464 mass cultural institutions, 57 fewer than at the end of last year, but they organized and conducted 216.48 million cultural activities throughout the year, an increase of 10.9 percent. About 705.53 million people participated in those activities, an increase of 10.3 percent. The number of domestic tourists increased by 10.8 percent, taking 5.539 trips; the number of inbound tourists increased by 1.2 percent to 14.12 million, and the number of outbound tourists increased by 14.7 percent. There were 10,160 institutions dedicated to cultural relics, an increase of 229 over the end of 2017, and they received 122.387 million visitors, up 6.6 percent over the previous year. In 2018, national expenditure on cultural undertakings amounted to 92.833 billion CNY, an increase of 7.253 billion CNY over the previous year, reflecting an 8.5 percent increase. National per capita expenditure on cultural undertakings was 66.53 CNY, an increase of 4.96 CNY over the previous year, edging up 8.1 percent. The proportion of cultural expenditure as a share of total fiscal expenditure came to 0.42 percent in 2018, which was the same as the previous year. Through the figures above it can be seen that the cultural and tourism industries have become pillars of the economy. In the future, with the improvement of people’s living standards and the continued decline Engel’s coefficient, the development trend of culture and tourism as part of national economic growth will continue, and cultural consumption and tourism consumption will continue to grow steadily, which undoubtedly provides a broad market prospect for the integration of culture and tourism.(3) The Internal Mechanisms of the Integration Development of Culture and Tourism1) Cultural Demand is the Fundamental Motivation of Tourism The process of tourism is actually the experience and enjoyment of culture. The reasons for traveling twofold: material and deeper, spiritual and cultural in nature. Of course, this kind of cultural demand consists not only of demand for tourism, that is, visiting historical sites, famous mountains and rivers and experiencing local conditions and customs, but also demand for spiritual satisfaction. In this sense, visiting the Great Wall and the Palace Museum is culturally-motivated, while the physical and mental pleasure generated by visiting a large number of natural scenic locales is also culturally-motivated. According to organizations that have conducted surveys, the biggest motivation for tourists to travel is to appreciate aesthetic beauty and gain spiritual pleasure. As a comprehensive and high-grade cultural activity, tourism has self-evident cultural significance.2) Cultural Resources are the Core Resources of Tourism The potential of tourism depends largely on the charm and attractiveness of culture. Tourism resources are varied, but the quality of tourism resources is determined by culture. Through cultural connotations, tourism charms. There is an old saying in China: “Mountains are not high, fairies are names; water is not deep, dragons are spirits”. That is to say, culture reflects and sublimates nature, and culture gives nature vitality and inspiration. From the perspective of tourism development, cultural resources have become the first resource of modern tourism. Where tourism is attractive and competitive, it is a place with unique cultural character and charm. At the same time, culture enhances the identity of tourism products. As fundamental to tourism, culture has deepened the depth of tourism resources, has painted the background of China’s tourism industry, and has lain a foundation for a strategic pillar in China’s economy. As a tourist attraction itself, culture can stimulate the creativity of tourists and tourist services. This process of release, absorption and stimulation increases the value of tourism and forms a unique charm. Tourism culture is created in the process of tourism, and tourists are one of the main creative subjects. The beauty of Lijiang and Shangri-La is naturally in the snowy mountains, rooted in the unique culture, and especially in its local culture. At the same time, the appreciation of this culture with a fashionable lifestyle has formed a new variety of combination of local culture and modern culture. The process of integration is the joint creation of tourists and tourism providers, and this new product. This proves the reproductive ability of local culture, which is the “connotation” of culture.3) Tourism is an Important Part of Cultural ConstructionThe overall layout of the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics is to comprehensively promote economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction and ecological civilization construction. From the perspective of macro-culture, these five constructions belong to the category of material and spiritual wealth, that is, they belong to the content of macro-culture
