Twenty tourism programs worth 39.37 billion yuan ($6.34 billion) were signed between cities in Sichuan province and investors, at the opening ceremony of the China(Sichuan) International Tourism Investment Conference on Thursday, in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

The event held from July 22 to 24, was the largest tourism investment conference in Sichuan's history.

The 20 tourism programs involve infrastructure construction, cultural tourism, rural tourism, self-driving tourism and mountain tourism.

Thirty-eight tourism programs selected among 100 programs from the 21 cities and prefectures in the whole province were also introduced at the conference.

Li Jinzao, director of National Tourism Administration, said he is optimistic about the development of Sichuan tourism.

"Sichuan's tourism develops much faster than the national average level, it will develop into an important world tourist destination," he said.

"To invest Sichuan tourism is to invest the future." Wang Dongming, party chief of Sichuan province, said Sichuan is one of the richest provinces in tourism resources, and "to invest Sichuan tourism is sure to have a profitable return."

Tourism has become one of the pillars of Sichuan's economy. The revenue totals 489.1 billion yuan in 2014, rising 26 percent from previous year. The revenue in the first half of this year is 307 billion yuan, an increase of 28.6 percent year-on-year.