2020.12.11
On the afternoon of December 9, 2020, at the invitation of Pansy Ho Chiu-king, Chairman of the Global Tourism Economy Research Center (GTERC) and Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF), Liu Shijun, Secretary-General of World Tourism Alliance (WTA) attended the opening ceremony of “Global Tourism Economy Forum • Macao 2020” online as an officiating guest. Liu Shijun participated in the special exchange entitled “Solidarity Reshaping Tourism in the New Global Economy” as a guest speaker, which was presided over by Pansy Ho Chiu-king, and signed a cooperation agreement with Pansy Ho Chiu-king on behalf of WTA and GTERC, respectively. According to the agreement, the two sides will open respective platforms to actively participate in and support the annual events organized by each other, and integrate resources and expertise in travel and tourism by joint research and other means.
In the exchange session, Liu Shijun shared his views on creating “travel bubbles” between destinations. He said, “Safety is an essential element of tourism. On the premise of not interfering with normal pandemic control activities of the international community, the sustainability of “travel bubbles” depends on two conditions: (i) Fast, cheap and accurate detection; (ii) effective coordination between destinations and within internal authorities. Liu Shijun shared his insights into expanding the “travel bubbles”, holding that the key to risk control of “travel bubbles” lies in exclusivity. The expansion of ‘travel bubbles’ will weaken its exclusivity, increase the difficulty in coordination among internal members and the possibility of accidents.” In his opinion, the “establishment of an international mutual recognition mechanism for health codes based on nucleic acid testing results in the form of internationally-accepted QR codes” proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping a few days ago provided a feasible solution to the operation of “travel bubbles”.
Sponsored by Macao S.A.R. Government and organized by GTERC, the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) has been successfully held for nine consecutive years since 2012. Themed on “Solidarity & Innovation: Reshaping Tourism in the New Global Economy”, this Forum discussed the restart and recovery of tourism economy in the context of COVID-19. It received support from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC), Macao S.A.R. Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and other organizations. Edmund Ho Hau Wah, Vice Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee and Chairman of the GTEF Conference, Gao Yunlong, Vice Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, Chairman of ACFIC and Honorary Chairman of GTEF, Hu Heping, Minister of Culture and Tourism of China, Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Ao Ieong U, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of Macao S.A.R. and other guests delivered speeches at the opening ceremony of the Forum.
GTERC joined WTA as a member in 2018.