Activities for Tourism Investment Promotion and Tourism B2B Matching Held During Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2023 to Boost Development of Cultural Tourism

Two segments of this year's World Tourism Cities Federation Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit (hereinafter referred to as the "Summit"), namely the Promotion Conference for Tourism Investment and Tourism B2B Matching, were launched in Changsha on 11 May.

The Promotion Conference for Tourism Investment

The Promotion Conference for Tourism Investment is a crucial part of the Summit, which aims to link cultural tourism projects in need of investments and investment funds in order to support the high-quality development of the cultural tourism industry. During the conference, live presentations were given for six projects, including the culture-tourism-business complex of Zilong Island in Huitang Town, Ningxiang City, Jinggang Ancient Town 2.0 in Wangcheng District, Juzizhou Beach Recreational Park in Xiangjiang New Area, Houhu Lake International Art Park, the metaverse project of Rongdedao based in Yuhua District, and Yingzhu Mountain, a 4A-level scenic area located in Changsha County. During the presentations, attendees were provided with comprehensive briefings on the initial preparations, project strengths, constituent elements, investment scales, anticipated returns, and investment guidelines of the showcased projects. During the Tourism B2B Matching session, 18 investment funds and 31 personnel for investment promotion from participating projects engaged in lively discussions and had in-depth conversations about various issues concerned.

Numerous investment funds and enterprises, such as Tourism Capital, Fortune Cultural Tourism (Hunan) Venture Capital Management, Poly Culture Industry Fund, Anwise Technology (Changsha Branch), and Beihai Junding Investment Partnership, have expressed interest in partnering with 13 cultural tourism projects. These include projects like Zilong Island and Yingzhu Mountain. Early communication and on-site negotiations have led to initial cooperation plans, laying down a total intended investment of CNY 8.144 billion for the projects involved.

The segment "Tourism B2B Matching"

The segment "Tourism B2B Matching" is now a significant face-to-face platform for cities and institutions to communicate and promote their tourism-related offerings. This year, the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) invited 27 prestigious travel agents from China and other countries, as well as WTCF's city members as buyers. Over 120 representatives from 75 key enterprises in Changsha's tourism industry engaged in resource sharing and transaction negotiations with the buyers present. Through six rounds of negotiations focused on specific topics and one round of free discussion, all parties engaged in a thorough exchange of information and extensive business interactions, connecting their tourism resources.

Three representative industry associations, namely Changsha Tourist Hotel Association, Changsha Travel Agency Association, and Changsha Tourist Attractions Association, showcased the host city's own impressive cultural tourism resources. In the presence of leading officials from Changsha's culture and tourism authority and WTCF, several strategic cooperation agreements were signed on site. These agreements include those between China Railway Tourism Union and Changsha Travel Agency Association, and VietJet Air and Hunan CYTS. Additionally, Shanghai Ctrip Business Co., Ltd. inked agreements with the Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau of Changsha County and Changsha Tourist Hotel Association. It is reported that an intended transaction value of approximately CNY 6.4 billion has been confirmed during this year's Tourism B2B Matching segment.

WTCF, voluntarily formed by famous tourism cities and tourism-related institutions in the world under the initiative of Beijing, is the world's first international tourism organization focusing on cities. The Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit, an annual international event hosted by WTCF, has been developed into a comprehensive platform in the tourism industry to facilitate exchanges, foster cooperation, boost economic development, and build consensuses among member cities and institutions.