Participants at the 2014 Forum of International Holiday Destinations. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

About 400 tourism bureau heads, people in charge of scenic spots and experts from home and abroad in the tourism industry gathered recently in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, for the 2014 Forum of International Holiday Destinations.

Wu Bihu, secretary-general of International Tourism Studies Association, said that the event aims to help people know more about how to build international holiday destinations. It will push the development of the Chinese tourism industry, especially leisure vocation tours.

"More tourists tend to make their travel plans and arrange itineraries on their own, either for sightseeing or leisure. They like to experience the local lifestyle," said Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy.

"A wonderful holiday destination is more than iconic scenic areas and luxury hotels. It's about good accessibility, excellent infrastructure and a high-quality service system," he said.

The forum unveiled the International Standard of International Holiday Destinations, which will be applied in scenic areas and resorts gradually.

The forum also announced the results of the 2014 Assessment of International Holiday Destinations, which were evaluated by the committee of governmental tourism management departments, tourism scholars and enterprises. About 100 tourism cities, scenic spots and resorts are on the awards lists, including:

2014 Top International Holiday Destinations

Zhoushan, Chengdu, Huangshan, Yantai, Ningbo, Guilin, Lijiang, Sanya, Hangzhou, Nanshan Mountain in Shandong province, Changbai Mountain Scenic Area, Taihu Tourism Resort in Huzhou, and Tiantai Mountain Scenic Area.

2014 Top Ancient Town Holiday Destinations

Xidi and Hongcun ancient villages in Anhui province

Wuzhen town, Tongxiang, Zhejiang province

Xitang town, Jiashan county, Zhejiang province

Tai'erzhuang ancient city, Zaozhuang, Shandong province

Taizhou ancient city, Linhai, Zhejiang province

Langzhong ancient city, Sichuan province

Jianshui county, Yunnan province