Development paths for integrated transportation and tourism at highway service areas

On October 19, 2026, China Tourism News reported that highway service areas are expanding from single-purpose transit support facilities into composite service facilities of "transportation + culture and tourism + consumption." The "15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Tourism Powerhouse" proposes supporting highway service areas in adding distinctive tourism consumption scenarios. The report uses service areas such as Boqiao in Maoming, Guangdong, and Chengkan in Huangshan, Anhui, as examples, introducing how they convert passing passenger flow into cultural tourism flow through connecting passages, cultural IP, and diverse business formats; among them, the revenue of the Boqiao Qiangcun Company increased from 1.4 million yuan in 2024 to more than 3.2 million yuan in 2025. Currently, the report is an exploration of development paths and does not involve a specific timetable for policy implementation.