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WTA Secretariat Attends the Workshop for China-CEEC on Integration of Culture and Tourism

2021.07.09

On July 7, 2021 (Beijing Time), at the invitation of the organizer, Zhao Ke, Director of the Division of Service and Management, Secretariat of the World Tourism Alliance (WTA), attended the Workshop for China-CEEC on Integration of Culture and Tourism which was themed with “Win-Win Cooperation to Build a New Pattern of Tourism Opening to the Outside World” and sponsored by the Bureau of International Exchange and Cooperation, Ministry of Culture and Tourism. At the workshop, Zhao made online communication with representatives of China-CEE Tourism Coordination Center and government officials, experts, scholars and practitioners in the field of culture and tourism from 13 countries including Hungary, Serbia, Croatia and Greece.

Zhao introduced the historical process of China’s tourism opening up from scratch, from weak to strong, and from passive to active, reviewing the milestone events in the tourism cooperation between China and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). He believes that China will continue to promote the opening-up at a high level in tourism. The proposal of the “Belt and Road” initiative has paved the way for the opening-up and cooperation of China’s tourism, and the Cultural and Tourism Development Plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan Period can help the industry gain insights into the opening-up and cooperation of China’s tourism in the next period. With the influence of the epidemic, all stakeholders in Chinese tourism industry have made significant changes. Nevertheless, the positive trend of China’s economic and social development will not change, nor will Chinese people’s aspiration for a better life do. With the effective containment of the epidemic and the recovery of tourism, Chinese tourists will soon go abroad to see the world again, and the Chinese tourism market will open up to the world in a more inclusive and open manner. He said that in the new era, it was necessary to reshape mentality, maintain confidence, and communicate more candidly and fully for people in the tourism industry, so as to have a better understanding of each other, build cooperation and meet the new transformation and challenges. As an international platform for tourism to promote communication, understanding, mutual trust and win-win cooperation, WTA had the responsibility and confidence to contribute to the global tourism industry to respond to the test of the times.

The one-week workshop was held on July 5 for a week, and online lectures and discussions were available online in the form of live video streaming. At the workshop, representatives from organizations including WAT, China Tourism Group, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Beijing International Studies University exchanged ideas with participants from different countries by focusing on such topics as “World Cultural Heritage and Tourism Management”, “Analysis of Chinese Consumer Behaviors in Outbound Tourism in Central and Eastern Europe” and “Prospects for Tourism Cooperation between China and CEECs”.