First World Tourism Development Conference will be held in Beijing in May
From May 18 to 21 the first World Tourism Development Conference will be held in Beijing, which will invite tourism ministers from 143 countries, some foreign leaders, heads of several international and regional organizations such as the United Nations, and foreign tourism experts and scholars. The number of attendees is expected to reach 850. The high-level and representative conference will be the first grant event in world tourism development hosted in China.
Co-sponsored by the Chinese government and the United Nations World Tourism Organization, co-hosted by CNTA and the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, the conference is themed “tourism promotes peace and development”, with several major activities including an opening ceremony and summit. In addition, the 7th T20 Ministers’ Meeting and its Senior Officials Meeting will also be held during this period.
Zhang Lizhong, Director of CNTA Department of Tourism Promotion and International Liaison said at the press conference held on February 6 that though currently the recovery of world economy is weak, tourism industry manages to buck the trend. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the world tourism industry has seen six straight years of growth, contributing 10% of global GDP, and creating jobs that contribute 9.5% of total employment of the world. China’s tourism industry is also seeing remarkable achievements and increasing international influence. China has made progress in building a strong tourism sector, which shows a growing world influence. Against this backdrop, China hosting the conference demonstrates the expectation shared by all countries to strengthen tourism cooperation and work together to promote sustainable development of the world economy. The organization of the conference will showcase China’s achievements in development, further enhance the image of “Beautiful China”, promote China’s tourism resources, and help China learn from foreign experience and practice. Meanwhile, the conference offers a chance for other countries to know about the development of China’s tourism industry, and help all countries coordinate the development of their tourism industries, broaden pragmatic cooperation, share the development opportunities, and jointly boost the world economy.
