2021.10.22
On October 21, the Lancang-Mekong Tourist Cities Cooperation Alliance Conference & Lancang-Mekong Mayor Forum on Culture and Tourism, hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) and co-organized by Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development and Chongqing Jiulongpo District People’s Government, kicked off in Chongqing.
Du Jiang, Deputy Minister of the MCT, Cai Yunge, Vice Mayor of Chongqing Municipal People’s Government, Wang Fukang, Ambassador of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Myo Thant Pe, Myanmar Ambassador to China, Khamphao Ernthavanh, Lao Ambassador to China, and Yos Sokhem Rak, Consul General of the Consulate General of Cambodia in Chongqing attended and addressed the Conference.
Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, as a regional cooperation platform jointly initiated and established by the six countries of China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, is conducive to stimulating the internal development potential of various countries and injecting new vigor into the development of Asia. Building on the friendship of various countries in the Lancang-Mekong region and bringing them even closer is a common wish of not only regional countries but also the international community. Themed on “Sharing New Opportunities of the Land-Sea Corridor and Jointly Promoting Great Development of Culture and Tourism in the Lancang-Mekong Region”, the Conference represents earnest implementation of the important consensus reached during the Third Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting and the Sixth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and pools together discussions on the ways to the recovery of the culture and tourism industry in the Lancang-Mekong region and the high-quality development of regional culture and tourism.
Promoting tourism development and boosting rural revitalization is one of the cooperation consensuses reached among the six countries in the Lancang-Mekong region. As a promoter and practitioner of rural revitalization through tourism, the World Tourism Alliance (WTA) has been telling the story of China on poverty alleviation through tourism, spreading China’s philosophy on sustainable development, showcasing China’s achievement in rural construction, and presenting the new outlook of a developing China. Liu Shijun, secretary-general of the WTA, attended the Conference upon invitation and delivered a keynote speech of “promoting rural revitalization through tourism and working together towards common prosperity.” Based on his in-depth analysis, summary and research of the WTA Best Practices of Rural Revitalization Through Tourism 2021, he proposed several suggestions, hoping that, by drawing on the approaches and experience of China during its undertaking of rural revitalization, the six countries in the Lancang-Mekong region can break new grounds in the high-quality development of rural tourism.