Tourism authorities outsource public toilets

Enterprises with extensive experience in constructing and managing toilets will work with tourism authorities in China as part of the nationwide toilet revolution, China's top tourism authority announced in Beijing on Friday.

Some provincial tourism administrations have signed agreements to outsource the construction and management of public toilets to professional enterprises such as China Everbright Real Estate, a leading eco-toilet manufacturer in China.

The enterprises will make full use of advanced technologies to improve the environment for users, while maintaining a smooth operation and a reasonable cost.

At the signing ceremony, China National Tourism Administration director Li Jinzao said that the toilet revolution requires participation from all parts of society.

"By holding the ceremony, we hope to encourage more social capital and enterprises to join in the construction and management of toilets all over the country," he said.

On April 1, 2015, President Xi Jinping made important instructions about the toilet revolution, hoping that the national administration would start improving small things, such as making better toilets to create a more civilized tourism market and improve tourists' experience.

Following the instructions, the national administration released a three-year plan (2015-17) for improving the quality of China's toilets that year, setting a goal of building 33,000 new toilets and restoring and expanding 24,000 existing toilets.

So far 20 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) have been invested in the plan and 90 percent of the goal has been achieved, according to Li.