2020.11.05
“Through WTA·Xianghu Dialogue, the World Tourism Alliance (WTA) will send a message to global tourism that as long as we have a firm confidence, uphold cooperation and seek win-win results, the global tourism will pull out of recession, embrace reform and achieve revitalization and development at a new level.” Liu Shijun, Secretary-General of the WTA, said. WTA·Xianghu Dialogue 2020 focuses on the tourism ecology in the post-pandemic era and gives a three-dimensional picture of future tourism in terms of industry, education and science & technology and other dimensions.
As an international platform for tourism to promote communication, understanding and mutual trust, WTA contributes to the global industry’s response to the call of the times. On November 13-14, the WTA·Xianghu Dialogue, hosted by WTA, will be held for the third time in Hangzhou, China. It will take the form of online and offline combination, aiming to build an international platform for global tourism to be interconnected, shared and governed, and lead tourism to become an important driver for creating a better life and a better world. With the theme of “Shaping the Future: Rebuilding Confidence & Embracing the New Normal in Travel & Tourism”, the forum will focus on discussions of such topics as construction of global tourism governance system, industry responsibility, crisis response, scientific and technological innovation and education development. It will highlight comprehensiveness, epochal character and trend, closely follow the current world economy and tourism development trends and characteristics, and underline the position of WTA as an influential international tourism organization in the current context and situation. At the same time, it reflects professionalism and pertinence according to the actual development trend of tourism.
Look to the Future with Full Confidence
Unchanged Long-Term Positive Trend of Global Tourism
This year, WTA·Xianghu Dialogue has the theme of “Shaping the Future: Rebuilding Confidence & Embracing the New Normal in Travel & Tourism”, which not only shows WTA’s concern about the current situation of tourism, but also reflects its judgment and confidence in the future development of tourism.
A number of guests are invited to deliver keynote speeches on the theme of “Confidence and Change – Outlook on the Development Trend of Global Tourism”. Gloria Guevara, President & CEO of World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), will elaborate the revitalization and challenges of global tourism in the wake of COVID-19. Sun Jie, CEO of Trip.com, will deliver a speech entitled “Challenges and Responses of Tourism Enterprises in the New Era”.
At the forum, the Report on World Tourism Development 2020 and WTA Best Practice in Poverty Alleviation Through Tourism 2020 will be released. Through the speeches of the guests, we believe that despite the severe impact of the pandemic, we, facing the future, are confident that the global tourism will recover from the pandemic and achieve sustainable development. As for the pandemic prevention and control, people will have a better understanding and research of the novel coronavirus on a gradual basis. As long as all countries adhere to the principle of putting people first and life first, eliminating prejudice and cooperating and uniting with each other, we humans will prevail over the pandemic. In terms of the attributes and law of development of tourism, tourism has become a leading industry in the international service industry for its strong correlation. The position has been formed in the history of economic and social development of humans, and will not change fundamentally due to the pandemic. That is also the industrial foundation for the long-term improvement and sustainable development of global tourism.
In addition, it has become a broad consensus of the global tourism to rebuild tourism for prosperity and move forward hand in hand. Strengthening multilateral cooperation will boost the confidence of the world’s tourism development. A number of guests will deliver speeches on the topic of Global Tourism Cooperation and Governance Innovation under Multilateralism. Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), will deliver a speech on “Multilateralism in Preserving and Improving Global Tourism Governance”; Rita Marquez, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Tourism, will give a keynote speech on “Strengthening Tourism Cooperation and Coordination among Countries”; Pansy Ho Chiu-king, Vice Chairwoman and Secretary-General of the Global Tourism Economy Forum, Macao SAR, will make a speech on “Responsible Resumption of Local Tourism to Boost International Tourism Recovery and Cooperation”; Dai Bin, President of China Tourism Academy, will deliver a keynote speech on “Market Recovery Confidence and Industry Transformation Challenge”.
Reform and Innovation for Improved Quality and Upgrading
Tourism in a Key Stage of Industrial Upgrade and Iteration
While maintaining confidence, we should rationally face the changes that have taken place and that are coming. We should think about how the tourism could reflect on the lessons, summarize the experience and draw inspiration from the crisis. With in-depth analysis of experts, the forum is designed to elaborate on how to turn the crisis into an opportunity through reform and innovation at the critical juncture when the tourism is shifting from a stage of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development after being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an all-round impact on tourism consumption, but new consumption patterns, such as online consumption and reservation for consumption, are becoming new highlights, and the industrial structure, regional structure, product structure and competitive structure tend to be optimized. We should adhere to the new positioning of the functional market of tourism, grasp the new trend of high-quality development, strengthen the new driver for industrial innovation and development, and adapt to the new stage of high-quality development. While continuing to be optimistic about the tourism, we will actively respond to the challenges, explore the direction of industry model innovation, and inject new impetus into innovation and development.
At this forum, a number of guests will be invited to give speeches and hold dialogues on Challenges Brought by COVID-19 and Industry Changes. Yao Jun, General Manager of Overseas Chinese Town Group, will deliver a speech on “Crisis Response and Corporate Responsibility”; Chu Ziyu, Secretary of Party Committee and Director of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, will talk about the crisis response of tourism from the perspective of the government. Zhuang Zhuoran, Vice President of Alibaba, will elaborate on Digitization Promotes High-quality Development of Tourism Industry. The forum will also hold two thematic dialogues on “Tourism Industry Crisis Management and Countermeasures in a COVID-19 World” and “Transformation and Creation – Changes and Consequences of COVID-19 in the Tourism Industry?”. All guests will make in-depth discussions on the theme.
Focusing on how to further reform and innovation to promote the high-quality development of tourism, the forum will invite guests to deliver speeches around the theme “Industry Transformation and Quality Development”. Bai Fan, General Manager of Beijing Tourism Group, will deliver a speech on “Culture and Tourism Integration and Development Model Innovation”; Qian Jiannong, Chairman of FOLIDAY, will elaborate on the investment and expansion strategy of the enterprises in the era of culture and tourism integration; Zhang Rungang, Secretary-General & Vice President of China Tourism Association, will deliver a speech on “Outlook of Accommodation”; Roger Dow, Vice Chairman of World Tourism Alliance, will make a speech on “NGOs and Global Tourism Governance Innovation”; a thematic dialogue on “New Media Hotspots and Industrial Transformation” will be held as well. Aside from that, the guests present at the forum will make speeches on “Industry Transformation and Innovative Development”. Li Xiaofeng, CEO of UnionPay International, will deliver a keynote speech on “Payment Innovation Fuels Tourism Innovation and Revitalization”; Thomas Mehrmann, President and General Manager at Universal Beijing Resort, will make a speech on “Prospects and Trends in Theme Park Developments”; Liu Zinan, Chairman at Royal Caribbean Cruises, Asia, will give a speech on prospects, trends and developments in the cruise industry; Rita Zeng (Zeng Jiaxin), Vice President of Tencent Cloud and President of Tencent Culture and Tourism at Tencent, will give a speech on “Intellectualized Innovation of Cultural Tourism and Cloud-oriented Future”; thematic dialogues will be also held by focusing on the theme of “Experience Economy and Tourism Product Development”.
Poverty Reduction through Tourism and Educational Reform
Development of More Responsible Tourism
As an important part of China’s strategy of poverty alleviation, poverty alleviation through tourism is a main way of poverty alleviation through business development and an important driving force for the building of a moderately well-off society in an all-round way. Developing tourism has become an effective means and an important support for poverty alleviation in many poverty-stricken areas. Since its inception, WTA has positioned itself as an advocate and practitioner of the cause of tourism for poverty alleviation, “tourism for poverty alleviation” is also taken by it as one of its missions. In recent years, 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 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.
Under the theme of “Facing the Future – More Responsible Tourism”, the forum will invite guests to elaborate on the role of tourism development and the responsibilities of the tourism. Zhong Jianbo, Deputy Director of Intangible Cultural Heritages, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, will deliver a speech on “Tourism for Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection”. Steven Wade Blake, Chief Representative of WildAid (USA) Beijing Representative Office, will elaborate on the issue of promoting symbiosis and win-win between tourism and the environment. Chen Weizhong, Director of Gansu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism (GPDCT), will give a speech on “Tourism for Poverty Alleviation in Poverty-stricken Areas and Development of Culture and Tourism Integration”.
The development of the market and the rise of local tourism enterprises have greatly promoted the construction of tourism education, scientific research and theory. Under the new situation, the developments of tourism education and the cultivation of tourism talent are of extreme importance. By focusing on the theme of “Industrial Transformation and Educational Growth”, the forum will also have a keynote speech on “Development and Innovation in Tourism Education in the New Normal” and hold two thematic dialogues: “Tourism Education in the Transformation Era: Its Mission and Purpose” and “New Challenges and New Ideas for Tourism Education in a Post-COVID 19 World”. The Report on the Development of International Tourism Education will be released to make a comprehensive analysis on the huge challenges faced by tourism education and solutions.
The future-oriented tourism is bound to be a transformative, innovative and highly developed one. WTA joined hands with a number of important international organizations to hold this dialogue to study the development plan of global tourism under the influence of the pandemic. That has fully demonstrated the firm determination of the world tourism industry to unite to overcome the difficulties and is of great significance to pool global wisdom, experience and strength to promote the recovery, revitalization and prosperity of global tourism. To strengthen international cooperation and pool strength worldwide, WTA·Xianghu Dialogue 2020 provides an in-depth analysis of the opportunities and challenges brought by the pandemic to global tourism investment and actively builds a multilateral cooperation service platform for global tourism to make a positive contribution to the recovery of global tourism.