Quanzhou Daily, 29 May (Reporter: Wang Yujing; Correspondent: Li Jia) — Service consumption is a vital driver of domestic demand. As the historical starting point of the Maritime Silk Routes, Quanzhou is actively promoting the deep integration of its hospitality sector with culture, tourism, and commerce. Thanks to a range of initiatives, Quanzhou's catering industry recorded a 12.7% increase in sales in 2024, while the accommodation sector grew by 14.6%. The city's hospitality market is thriving, prompting higher expectations for service standards across the industry.

　　On 23 May, Quanzhou convened a high-level training programme for hospitality professionals alongside the National, Provincial, and Municipal Talent Training Workshop. The event gathered representatives from local business departments, leading hotels, restaurant enterprises, and industry associations to explore strategies for sectoral development. The training aligned with national priorities for service consumption, focusing on the high-quality growth of Quanzhou's accommodation and catering sectors as well as the "100 Hotels Construction Plan." Top domestic experts delivered in-depth lectures, bringing fresh insights and momentum to the industry's advancement.

　　During the training, participants refined their service philosophies and enhanced their skill sets.

　　Specialised Sessions to Enhance Service Quality

　　At the training, Yang Xiulong, Chairman of Beijing Banquet and a renowned China Service Mentor, delivered a keynote on the "China Service" philosophy, illustrating it with case studies from Beijing Banquet's signature offerings. He emphasised the importance of reimagining hotel banquets beyond traditional food service, incorporating experiential design and personalised service to create "cultural experience spaces" where guests can appreciate both cuisine and the local cultural heritage. This vision closely aligns with Quanzhou's strategy of promoting Maritime Silk Road culture through culinary experiences.

　　Currently, Quanzhou has 16 high-end hotel projects under development, with total investments exceeding 9.35 billion yuan. The industry is embracing trends such as sustainability and smart technology. Li Xiang, a researcher at the Energy Conservation Research Center of Tsinghua University's School of Architecture, senior national auditor for green hotels, and an expert at the China Hotel Association's Design and Engineering Committee, presented a comprehensive roadmap for green hotel development. He suggested that Quanzhou's hotel sector could learn from Donghai Yuehua Hotel's use of modular construction, integrating energy-saving technologies and green management systems to reduce operational costs by over 20% while boosting service quality.

　　By the end of 2024, Quanzhou had developed 12 county-level signature banquet brands, six of which were included in the National Landmark Cuisine List. Standardisation and branding have emerged as key drivers of industry growth. Yang Zhanghua, an advisor to Quanzhou's bid for UNESCO "City of Gastronomy" status and a national-level food safety expert, emphasised during the training that food safety is fundamental for the catering industry. He urged enterprises to establish comprehensive, traceable supply chains from sourcing to processing and to actively participate in the "One County, One Table" initiative to strengthen local culinary brands.

　　Moving from strategy to practice, Zhuang Longjian, a certified first-class fire protection engineer at Anbiao (Fujian) Management Group, delivered a session focused on operational safety. Using real-world examples, he outlined key areas such as gas safety and maintenance of fire protection systems. He highlighted that as the "100 Hotels Construction Plan" progresses, businesses must implement rigorous safety management standards to ensure infrastructure and management capabilities keep pace.

　　A Comprehensive Approach to Developing Talent

　　Quanzhou's hospitality industry is expanding rapidly, but there remains a significant shortage of high-level management talent. This training adopted a "theory plus practice" model aimed at cultivating versatile professionals with both global perspectives and local cultural understanding. A participant from the Quanzhou Welcome Hotel commented that the expert lectures tackled the industry's key challenges head-on and that the "China Service" concept and green management insights would be directly applied to their hotel's upgrades.

　　Importantly, Quanzhou has recently introduced a series of measures to strengthen its culinary talent pool, including competitions and school-enterprise collaborations, to build a robust talent pipeline. Building on the momentum from this training, Quanzhou plans to expand the "One County, One Banquet" initiative by bringing signature banquets into hotels and tourist attractions, accelerate the construction of the "100 Hotels" initiative (with 120 new hotels expected by the end of 2025), and intensify talent development efforts with a target of training 1,000 mid- to senior-level managers over the next three years.

　　The emergence of high-end hotel clusters will further enhance Quanzhou's capacity to welcome visitors. As Yang Xiulong noted in his presentation: "When culture becomes the soul of service, Quanzhou is fully capable of establishing itself as a global benchmark for hospitality." With strong policy support and a growing pool of skilled professionals, Quanzhou is well positioned to become an international model where World Heritage experiences and culinary excellence converge.