Propeller TV attends the Chongqing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2016

This week saw the World Tourism Cities Federation hold the Chongqing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2016 in the Western-Chinese city of Chongqing. The summit, held annually, was last year held in Morocco, where a council vote decided Chongqing as the host for this year’s event.

The World Tourism Cities Federation is a collective formed in Beijing, which operates as a non-governmental and non-profit organization promoting city tourism internationally. They are guided by their mantra of “Better City Life through Tourism”, and are partnered with various cities internationally, including London and Edinburgh.

Chongqing, the host city for this year’s summit, is a prime candidate to show the importance of city tourism to both local economies and international economies –Chongqing is a popular tourist destination within China, owing not only to its hot climate and natural hot springs, but also to its vibrant and diverse city, from modern skyscrapers and bustling malls to traditional gardens and shrines. Although the summit focuses on city tourism, the Chongqing city area also encompasses some fantastic areas of natural beauty, and is a stone’s throw away from some key nature reserves and stunning mountain ranges. With Chinese tourism being mainly rooted in Eastern cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, this summit hopes to not only give experts the place to discuss international city tourism, but also to promote Chongqing as a key tourism destination on the international map.

This year’s summit delved into various topics, such as urban development and shared economies, and was hosted by Councilor Edwin Andrews, the Deputy Chairman of WTCF and Mayoral Committee Member of Cape Town. The event was attended by big names in the tourism industry with guest speeches, and the entire week was opened with a lavish banquet showing the best of Chongqing cuisine.

Propeller TV were also in attendance, representing the company on the international stage to various tourism professionals.

Finally, next year’s Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit host city was decided through council vote, with Los Angeles being chosen to host on September 17th 2017. Founding members were pleased with the result, claiming that the positive work of the World Tourism Cities Federation could reach a truly international stage in Los Angeles, and hoped that next year’s host would bring more prominence and allow the federation to develop further.