The WTCF can play a major role in creating partnerships not only with cities but with other key players in the field as well. Finally, the WTCF can provide, as it has done in the past, specific training on the Chinese tourism market, helping us all to understand it more and to offer a better, more Chinese-friendly service in the future.
Publish Time：
2018-10-09 14:21:52
Source：
World Tourism Cities Magazine
Experience the same things, the locals experience
The best way a city can create a positive experience for tourists is to allow them to experience the same things the locals experience. Visiting a city should never be a quick tour of its most famous highlights (in Milano say …. The Duomo and the Last Supper…). Milano is rich in attractions, sights, great works of art and architecture, beautiful shops, great places to dine at. But it’s going to take time. You will absorb the elegance and flair of the city and you will understand its spirit, but you will have to be here for a few days in order to be able to do this satisfactorily. This is also very true for the locals. Milano is a busy and bustling city moving with a faster pace than the rest of Italy. People here work a lot and have little spare time. But when they do, they want to enjoy themselves at a slower pace. With every passing year they are discovering their city more and more. Cultural and leisure opportunities are widespread. History, art, fashion, design and quality shopping are everywhere, not just at the main spots everyone knows about. Milano is all about discovery and the unexpected.
City’s DNA of innovation
One major experience that has dramatically improved the international reputation of the city is that of Expo 2015, on the theme of nutrition. It has drawn huge numbers of tourists from all over the world (more than 20M) to Milano and has definitely put it on the global awareness map. Another important step in this direction will be the very extensive program of events and exhibitions celebrating the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death in 2019. Leonardo worked in Milano for more than 20 years and the city has in many ways inherited his spirit and outlook on existence. The drive to create something new, innovative, beautiful and useful at the same time will always be part of our city’s DNA.
Extensive network of partnerships and sustainable tourism
As the WTCF has shown to the whole world, city tourism is at the very core of what tourism is at the present day. Much more than cooperation between larger entities such as nations, exchange and partnerships between cities can boost mutual well-being and tourist numbers. Reciprocal promotion between friend cities is a very useful strategy. Much remains to be done in this respect, but Milano has an extensive network of partnerships with other cities on various matters of interest and is twin to some major world cities, such as Shanghai, Chicago, Frankfurt, Birmingham, Toronto, Osaka, Daegu and others. Although the potential for tourism cooperation has not been fully exploited yet, developments in this field are certainly to be expected. Milano is also part of the GDITS network (Great Italian Destinations for Sustainable Tourism) which includes Italy’s most important urban tourism destinations, such as Rome, Venice, Florence and Naples, accounting together for more than 30% of Italian tourist arrivals.
As Deputy Mayor for Tourism I have attended the summit in Chongqing in 2016. I remember it as a very interesting experience, an opportunity to meet new contacts and potential partners in a great atmosphere. During the summit the WTCF was able to impress everybody with its organization and the sheer numbers of Chinese tourism.
WTCF can promote special partnerships between cities, especially between Chinese cities and other cities. Cities can of course develop a relationship on their own, but the WTCF can certainly be helpful in establishing a first contact and can probably be instrumental in choosing the right kind of cities for mutually advantageous partnerships. WTCF has privileged access to all those Chinese companies and businesses in the tourism sector which can be of fundamental importance for European cities willing to better provide for Chinese tourists coming to visit.
The WTCF can play a major role in creating partnerships not only with cities but with other key players in the field as well. Finally, the WTCF can provide, as it has done in the past, specific training on the Chinese tourism market, helping us all to understand it more and to offer a better, more Chinese-friendly service in the future.
