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WTA Tells Stories about China’s Poverty Reduction Through Tourism to the International Community

2020.05.06

“Tourism for Poverty Reduction” is one of the important missions of the World Tourism Alliance (WTA). Since established 3 years ago, WTA, making use of its advantages and international platform, has carried out a series of practical and international exchange activities in case analysis, theoretical research and experience publicity of poverty reduction through tourism in line with the goal to eradicate all forms of poverty around the world set by the United Nations in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as the idea of telling good stories about China and giving Chinese approach. It has demonstrated to the international community China’s important experience and great achievements in poverty reduction through tourism, attracting extensive attention from the international tourism industry.

For two consecutive years – in 2018 and 2019 – WTA, in partnership with the World Bank and International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC), has released the WTA Best Practice in Poverty Alleviation through Tourism 2018 and WTA Best Practice in Poverty Alleviation through Tourism 2019. Through tripartite channels, WTA have cooperated with the relevant international organizations, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, the Poverty Alleviation Office of the State Council, provincial tourism departments, and the global members of the WTA to collect the best practice in poverty alleviation worldwide. A total of 59 typical practices of poverty alleviation through tourism were finally selected upon review by the expert group according to such criteria as quantifiable poverty alleviation effect, innovation, replication, positive social impact and sustainability. These practices were published to the international community to contribute paradigms and disseminate experience for the cause of poverty reduction through tourism. The collection and selection of WTA Best Practice in Poverty Alleviation through Tourism 2020 now kicks off, and the best practice will be released at WTA·Xianghu Dialogue this year.

Recommend by WTA, the practices in poverty alleviation through village tourism of Airbnb, an overseas member of WTA, in Longsheng, Guangxi, China, were also included into the 110 best practices of “collection of practices of poverty alleviation worldwide” initiated by World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development, United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP), Asian Development Bank, International Poverty Reduction Center in China and China Internet Information Center. In addition, Airbnb was awarded the prize by serving as one of the 10 representative practices.

Based on this, WTA in 2019 cooperated with China Global Television Network (CGTN) of China Media Group to shoot a series of videos entitled “Better Tourism, Better Life, Better World” based on WTA Best Practice in Poverty Alleviation Through Tourism to show and publicize China’s achievements in poverty reduction through tourism to the international community in a better manner. The camera crew traveled across five provinces, conducted in-depth research in rural areas in China, used videos to truly restore the typical image of the case area, told vivid stories about how tourism transformed the natural endowment of “lucid waters and green mountains” into “mountains of gold and silver” in an international context, and about making local people live a better life, so as to explain and disseminate the core concept of “Better Tourism, Better Life, Better World”. The series of videos were premiered at the 2nd “WTA· Xianghu Dialogue” on September 19, 2019, and began to be broadcast on CGTN and other platforms worldwide on October 17, 2019 (China’s 6th National Poverty Relief Day and the 27th International Day for the Eradication of Poverty). The videos were also released on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WeChat and other new media at the same time.

In addition, WTA highly values the theoretical research of international poverty reduction through tourism. For two consecutive years, WTA cooperated with its member China Tourism Academy to jointly release the Report on World Tourism Development 2018 — the Global Process of Tourism for Poverty Alleviation and Demands of the Times and World Tourism Development Report 2019 — Industry Implantation and Cultural Development of Tourism for Poverty Alleviation. Through case analysis and theoretical research, the report provides a comprehensive and systematical summary of the role and status of tourism in promoting the economic and social development of poverty-stricken areas, points out that tourism has become a key force in promoting poverty reduction in poverty-stricken areas, and puts forward a series of suggestions on the sustainable and efficient development of tourism for poverty alleviation, focusing on industrial implantation and cultural development. This is the first time that a non-government international tourism organization has released a report of poverty reduction through tourism, fully demonstrating China’s achievements of theoretical research on poverty reduction through tourism.

While presenting to the international community the theories, experiences and achievements of poverty reduction in the tourism industry, WTA also actively uses various platforms to tell China’s story of poverty reduction through tourism.

On September 27, 2019, WTA and China National Tourism Administration Rome Office jointly held the “Roadshow of Poverty Alleviation through Tourism in China” and the “Picture Exhibition on Poverty Alleviation through Tourism in China” at FAO headquarters. Nearly 200 people participated in the event, including Niu Dun, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of China to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture, Rene Castro, Assistant Director-General for FAO, ambassadors to FAO from more than ten countries such as Italy and UK, diplomats to FAO, FAO officials and media representatives of different countries. At the introduction and marketing event, WTA presented the WTA Best Practice in Poverty Alleviation through Tourism 2019 to FAO, and shared the practices of poverty reduction through tourism of Congjiang in Guizhou and Airbnb Guilin Longsheng on the scene. In addition, WTA invited the participants to jointly watch the vido of practices in poverty alleviation through tourism entitled Better Tourism, Better Life, Better World shot and produced with China Global Television Network (CGTN) under China Media Group. A total of dozens of representative pictures from seven poverty-alleviation areas were displayed at the photo exhibition, showing China’s achievements in poverty reduction through tourism and the integrated development of culture and tourism in an intensive manner. Liu Shijun, Secretary-General of WTA, accepted an exclusive interview with the official media of FAO.

October 17, 2019 marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and China’s National Poverty Alleviation Day. Secretary-General Liu Shijun delivered a keynote speech entitled Poverty Reduction through Tourism and Sustainable Development at the 13th UNWTO/PATA Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook, pointing out that tourism has become an important force in promoting the sustainable economic and social development of poverty-stricken areas. In addition, he made an in-depth analysis of the importance of tourism to poverty reduction from five aspects including country, region, economy, culture and society according to China’s practices of poverty reduction through tourism, and explained to the international tourism industry the country’s concept of poverty reduction through tourism “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.”

In addition to other platforms, WTA also promotes poverty reduction through tourism and shows China’s achievements in this respect via its own platforms, such as WTA activities, WTA Members’ Day at home and abroad and sodality. For example, on September 9, 2018, the theme of the first WTA·Xianghu Dialogue was determined as “Poverty Reduction and Development, the Common Responsibility of the Global Tourism”, and a series of poverty-related reports were released to demonstrate to the international tourism the mission and goal of WTA’s commitment to promoting poverty reduction through tourism. In May and June 2019, WTA Members’ Day was respectively held in Guilin, Guangxi and Enshi, Hubei, focusing on poverty reduction through tourism. The practices and experience of poverty reduction through tourism of Airbnb, an overseas member of WTA, and Hubei Culture & Tourism Investment Group, a domestic member of WTA, were shared respectively. Various forms of exchanges were conducted to promote poverty reduction through tourism via rural revitalization, resource development, community participation and sharing economy.

WTA makes full use of the media to publicize China‘s achievements in poverty reduction through tourism on an international scale. According to the statistics, dozens of media have reported on the poverty reduction work of WTA. These media include the official media of FAO, English media APD, Italian media ANSA, xuexi.cn, Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily, People’s Daily Overseas Edition, Guangming Daily, China Daily, Global Times, Xiaokang, China Culture Daily, China Tourism News, china.org.cn, China Economic Net, www.cri.cn and China News. Among them, the learning platform xuexi.cn highly values WTA’s work of poverty reduction through tourism. In particular, the platform has set up the topic of “WTA Poverty Reduction Cases”, continuously published the best practices in poverty alleviation through tourism, micro records, related reports, news and so on in 2018 and 2019.

For poverty alleviation, there is still a long way to go, with no end, but new starting points. WTA will also continue to integrate their resources, optimize relevant platforms, pool the strength of global members and worldwide partners to strengthen cooperation with other parties in the international community in the cause of poverty reduction through tourism and to explore ways to jointly establish a database of practices on poverty alleviation through tourism and carry out research on poverty alleviation through tourism, intangible cultural heritage protection and other public benefit activities. At the same time, WTA will continue to uphold the mission of “Tourism for Development, Poverty Alleviation and Peace”, continuously call on the international tourism industry to pay attention to poverty alleviation and related social and public welfare undertakings, and move forward to realize the purpose of “Better Tourism, Better Life, Better World”.