"Red tourism", a subset of tourism in which people visit locations and memorials of historical significance to the Communist Party of China, has given a much-needed shot in the arm of the domestic tourism industry in summer. And many believe red tourism will bloom further during the National Day Golden Week holiday.

Ticket bookings for red tourism sites in June increased by five times month-on-month on Ctrip, China's leading travel service platform, with local and short trips to red tourism sites being the choice of about 88 percent of such tourists. And the search for the term "red tourism" on Mafengwo, a Chinese travel service and social-networking platform, increased by 300 percent during the summer holidays.

Red tourism is not only about the joy of visiting a new place and taking in the wonderful sights. It is also about gaining knowledge about history and being inspired by the stories of the people who contributed to the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 and worked for the wellbeing of the Chinese people.

By rediscovering history and passing on the stories of the Chinese revolution and its heroes to the next generations, people can uplift their spirit.

Red tourism can also be used as a leverage to revitalize rural areas because most of the revolutionary bases and red tourism sites are in the countryside. By exploiting such sites to raise the incomes of rural residents, the authorities can create a new driving force for integrated rural development. Since red tourism is a labor-intensive sector involving catering, accommodation, entertainment and other related businesses, which creates jobs and helps increase farmers' incomes, it can boost local development.

Ctrip data show that in the first half of 2022, more than 30 percent of all tourists visited red tourism sites in rural areas, which was 10 percent more than the previous year. Yet red tourism faces certain developmental problems, mainly because some local government officials have failed to make the best use of red tourism resources for economic development.

In fact, some local departments have adopted a cavalier attitude toward research, restoration and conservation of former revolutionary bases. Disputes over resources, projects and ownership between different departments and jurisdictions are not uncommon either, owing to the lack of unified planning. Superficial descriptions of some historical figures, organizations and past events at different red tourism sites lessen the importance of the sites and leave visitors flabbergasted.