Inviting Global Participation the Annual Voting for China Road Trip Routes Launched in Hubei

SHANGHAI, June 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The annual contest for Best China Road Trip Routes was launched on June 6, 2015 at Hubei Province's Enshi Grand Canyon, known as China's most beautiful canyon. The contest was launched in Central China's Hubei province, with support from 36 partners in the road trip industry in China. The contest ranks the top 48 road trips around the world: 36 itineraries in China, 6 in overseas countries, and 6 cross-border routes. The contest aims to assist people who love road trips all around the world.

As of 2014, China has more than 300 million driver license holders, over 85 million passenger vehicles, and over 110,000 kilometers of national highways. It's estimated that approximately 4 billion domestic tourist visits will be made within China this year, and half of them will be a road trip. As China has become the world's biggest source for road trips and one of the most popular tourist destinations, the annual voting for Best China Road Trip Routes was born at the right moment. Sponsored by iDriver Media Co., the voting has become one of the most influential and credible means for selecting the best road trips in China since its debut in 2012.

Starting last year, voting in the contest focused on the top tourist destinations in China's provinces. After immensely successful cooperation with Yunnan Province last year, the organizing committee chose Hubei Province to be the honorary partner this year.

Cache Lee, Chief Executive Officer of iDriver Media, said the results of the voting will let more people, both in China and around the globe, get familiar with the tourism resources in Hubei.

The voting was launched in Enshi Grand Canyon, the U.S. Grand Canyon's counterpart in China, not only because the canyon was listed in the 2014 top-voted itineraries for Best China Road Trip Routes, but also because resources here match the parameters of the contest.

Chen Jiawei, deputy general manager of ECOTIC, the biggest tourism investment group in Hubei Province, said the Enshi Grand Caynon, which was still little-known outside Hubei until 2004, will be the fourth source of tourism growth in Hubei, after the Three Gorges, Shennongjia Mountain, and Wudang Mountain.

The voting, launched on June 6, will be open for nine months and will gather the favorite road trip routes from voters in China and around the globe.

The 36 top-voted itineraries will be announced at the end of this year as a reference for tourists in China and abroad. Last year, the number of Chinese traveling abroad reached 120 million. The committee will also work with China's video sharing website Youku.com and Alibaba-backed travel site qyer.com to select six overseas road trip routes and six cross-boarder routes for Chinese tourists. The result will be announced at the 3rd Road Trip Convention which is scheduled to be held on March 6, 2016 in Shanghai.

"We welcome tourism bureaus around the world, road trip-related companies, and organizations to participate in the annual voting for Best China Road Trip Routes and cooperate with iDriver Media and our Chinese partners," said Cache Lee, Chief Executive Officer of iDriver Media.

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