Guangzhou, CHINA – In China, the government is making efforts to incorporate passenger drone technology into the country’s tourism industry, and passenger drone maker EHang is set to be one of the first beneficiaries.

The drone manufacturer has revealed that it will be supplying passenger drones to Tianxingjian Cultural Tourism Investment and Development LLC, an affiliated enterprise of the Jishou city government in Hunan province, China. Starting with an initial batch of five EH216s, the two parties plan to fly tourists in the passenger drones along a scenic route at the Aizhai Wonder Tourist Area in Jishou.

Tianxingjian plans to purchase an additional batch of 25 drones as the project evolves.

“In recent years, the State Council and the Civil Aviation Administration of China issued policies to propel and accelerate integrated development of general aviation and aerial tourism,” EHang said in a statement.

“Given this, EHang has been expanding cooperation with more partners to apply its Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (AAV) solutions in various tourism sightseeing use cases in China and overseas, leveraging its state-of-the-art AAV solutions’ advantages of safety, auto flight, fleet management for large-scale operations, cost-effectiveness and sustainability.

“Aizhai Wonder is a renowned landmark and a part of Scenic Area of Aizhai Wonder, Shibadong Village, and Dehang Canyon, a national 5A scenic spot in Hunan. During the Workers’ Day holiday in May, some tourists experienced EHang’s demo flights for the sightseeing of the natural landscape at Aizhai Wonder.”

Xin Fang, Chief Operating Officer of EHang, voiced his company’s delight at being chosen to partner Jishou in promoting Chinese tourism.

“We are delighted to partner with the Jishou city government to jointly bring UAM solutions to Aizhai Wonder,” he said.

“EHang has been doing trial operations for aerial sightseeing since last year. We believe with our business expansion, EH216 AAVs will fly in more scenic spots around the world, bringing tourists safe and comfortable aerial sightseeing experiences.”

EHang’s working relationship with Tianxingjian is an extension of the former’s previous strategic partnership with the Jishou city government for extensive collaborations on urban air mobility (UAM), which cover areas like aerial tourism; UAM infrastructure and operation centre development; professional technician training, among other areas of cooperation.

“The Jishou city government is striving to develop strategic emerging industries for tourism,” said Xiufeng Wu, Director of the Management Office of Dehang Scenic Spot in Jishou.

“The integration of EH216 AAV technologies and Aizhai cultural tourism resources can further enhance Jishou’s tourism brand.”

Min Sun, Chairperson of Tianxingjian, said; “Aizhai Wonder has a breath-taking landscape of steep cliffs, waterfalls and primitive forests, making it ideal for aerial sightseeing, air mobility, and related projects.

“As a world’s leading AAV technology platform company, EHang has advanced software and hardware technologies as well as rich flight experience. With our respective advantages combined, we will work together to set up vertiports at scenic spots including the Aizhai Bridge and the Jiulongxi Canyon, and to gradually roll out trial operations for aerial sightseeing.”