The eastern province is a demonstration zone for policy support and innovative measures. Luo Wangshu reports.

Independent tourists heading to Anji county in the eastern province of Zhejiang now have easier access to local travel information and discounted tickets, thanks to Anji Haoqi Travel, an online tourism platform.

Rather than staying at chain hotels like group tourists, independent travelers usually prefer to use premises such as homestays operated by local people.

"Tourists usually ask their lodging hosts for travel advice and ticket information. But tourist sites often only provide discounted tickets to group travelers. In Anji, those lodgings are usually operated by local middle-aged or senior couples, who have less leverage to bargain with tourist sites to gain preferential treatment for their guests," Xu Jiawei, founder of the online tourism platform that focuses on Anji and neighboring areas, told local media.

More than 300 lodging houses and a dozen tourist sites are scattered across the county. Their information has been collected on Xu's platform, which has developed a smart map called the Anji Haoqi Global Tourism Map.

Each lodging house and tourist site has a code on the map, and visitors can scan it to obtain travel and lodging information, as well as coupons for tickets.

The platform links lodging hosts and tourist sites to attract more independent travelers and lower ticket prices, aiming for a win-win solution for visitors, small hotel operators and tourist sites.

Although the tourism sector has been hit hard by the COVID-19 epidemic, each lodging house owner who joined the platform has seen average annual income rise by about 20,000 to 30,000 yuan ($3,150 to 4,720) in two years.