Chronology

2020

Held Latin American Regional Online Tourist Forum 2020

In July, WTCF successfully held the Latin American Regional Online Tourist Forum 2020. The conference was centered on "research on the strategy of revitalizing tourism in Latin America during the pandemic". Through analyzing the current state of tourism during the outbreak of COVID-19 and sharing Beijing's practice on reopening the tourism market, the conference aimed to provide online marketing examples and operational patterns for tourism cities in Latin America so as to boost their tourism.

Shared a promising strategy of recovery in a virtual discussion

In June, an expert panel discussion addressing the topic "Tourism in Europe in 2020 and beyond" was held. WTCF participated in the event and shared the vision of the Chinese tourism sector. The panel was held virtually in the framework of the REBEC 2020 event in Belgrade, it aimed to strengthen the communication and cooperation between the European and world-wide tourism practitioners.

Attended the Arabian Travel Market Virtual event

In June, the three-day Arabian Travel Market Virtual event I was hosted, WTCF was invited to participate in it and set up an electronic booth to display and promote the tourism resources of city members and institutional members.

Co-hosted the "Waking sail as the epidemic goes and Spring comes-cultural tourism charity online forum"

In March, "Making sail as the epidemic goes and Spring comes - Cultural tourism charity on-line forum", co-hosted by Tongcheng Cultural Tourism, Tencent Culture and Tourism and Lingcheng Cultural Tourism College, and WTCF kicked off. The forum received the participation and support of more than 300 government destinations and over 8,000 scenic destinations in China.

Hosted the themed forum at the FITUR

In January, FITUR (the international tourism trade fair in Spain), kicked off in Madrid. WTCF attended the trade fair and held an expert panel discussion themed on the "Chinese Outbound Market to Latin America", centering on the development of Chinese citizens' outbound travel to Latin America in different perspectives.

Held the 2020 New Year Reception

In January, WTCF held the 2020 New Year Reception. Over 200 participants attended the New Year Reception, including Chen Dong, Secretary-General of WTCF, representatives of members, 13 ambassadors from 60 countries such as Tunisia and Dominica, 4 Charge D'affaires, 4 deputy embassy directors and relative embassy officials, representatives from travel organizations as well as 6 international organizations that included the Secretary-General of the SCO, media and specialists.

Released the "Report on World Tourism Economy Trends (2020)"

In January, WTCF released the "Report on World Tourism Economy Trends (2020)". The report made a panoramic analysis on issues such as the developmental trend of the world tourism economy, regional developmental pattern change, outstanding characteristics of key countries, the core supporting role of cities from various perspectives, including global, regional, national and city levels.

2019

Held WTCF Central Asia Tourism Conference 2019

In November, the WTCF Central Asia Tourism Conference 2019 was held in Samarkand, which was co-hosted by WTCF, Samarkand State Government, and the SCO. It was the first time for WTCF to hold a regional tourism conference in Central Asia, symbolizing that Central Asia has already become an area of great concern for international tourism.

Further cooperation with World Travel & Tourism Council

In November, the Asia Leaders Forum 2019 of World Travel & Tourism Council was held in Shanghai. At the forum, WTCF and WTTC signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The two organizations are willing to carry out all-round constructive cooperation in areas that are in line with the development ideas, common interests and common concerns of the two sides.

Attended the WTM and held themed forums

In November, the WTM opened in London. WTCF, as the content partner of WTM, participated in the trade fair and held 2 themed forums.

Hosted the themed forum at the 8the UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism

In October, the 8th Global Tourism Economy Forum was held in Macao. WTCF attended the forum as the joint supporting unit. WTCF held the forum themed "Smart Cities to Smart Tourism Destinations: Towards Wellness and Happiness".

Held 2019 WTCF Helsinki Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit

In September, the summit included a number of segments including opening ceremony, keynote speech, theme forum, board meeting, special dialogue, press conference, exhibition display, travel fair, etc. The theme of the summit was "Smart Tourism - Road to City Innovation and Development". It attracted more than 500 delegates from nearly 100 cities of 56 countries. 37 mayors from cities around the world attended this global tourism event as well as heads of international organizations such as the UNWTO and the SCO.

Co-hosted the 7th China International Cruise Summit (Qingdao)

In June, the 7th China International Cruise Summit (Qingdao) kicked off in Qingdao. The summit this year was co-sponsored by the Committee of Cruise Industry of WTCF and Asia Cruise Terminal Association. Themed on "Promote the high-quality development of Chinese cruise tourism industry", the summit aimed to build a platform for the communication and interaction among the field of Asian cruise industry.

Held the WTCF Investment & Financing Conference

In May, the WTCF Investment and Financing Conference, a special tourism activity of China International Fair for Trade in Services was held. The total volume of investment was 8 billion yuan. Dozens of media organizations including Financial Times, HeXun, Sina and Global Times participated in the coverage. China Economic Net carried out the live broadcast of the opening ceremony and the forums.

Co-hosted the International Tourism Destination Innovation and Development Forum

In May, the Yunnan International Smart Tourism Summit 2019 kicked off in Kunming. WTCF collaborated with Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and Kunming Municipal People's Government to jointly host the International Tourism Destination Innovation and Development Forum with the theme of "Sharing Global Experience for Future Benefits".

Participated in the Beijing Expo

From April to October, WTCF participated in the 2019 International Horticultural Exhibition held in Beijing under the theme "Live Green, Live Better". There were 86 countries and 24 international organizations participating. WTCF set a 200 square meter exhibition area at the international Pavilion and held a variety of additional tourism trade fairs and special promotion meetings, and many members joined the activities at this year's Expo. During the Expo, WTCF and Zhangjiajie People's government co-hosted the "Zhangjiajie Culture Tourism Promotion Meeting" under the theme "Fairyland Zhangjiajie, amaze the whole world". At the end of the Expo, WTCF Pavilion won the Organizing Committee of Expo 2019 Beijing Silver Award.

Signed MOU with West Africa Tourism Organisation

In April, the "Thematic Forum on People-to-People Connectivity of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation" kicked off at the China National Convention Center in Beijing. During the forum, in the contract-signing round of the local cooperation sub-forum, WTCF and the West Africa Tourism Organisation signed a contract, and both parties would push forward the win-win mechanism of the "Belt and Road" tourism destination cooperation, set up the friendly China-African non-governmental cooperation platform, and establish the panoramic strategic partnership between the two organizations.

Held the "2019 WTCF Training Program on International Tourist Destination Promotion and Marketing"

In April, WTCF's city member representatives from Belgrade, Riga, Victoria, Washington DC, Rabat, The Hague, Berlin, Belfast, and Tallinn; representatives from the embassies and consulates of Panama and Ecuador; and representatives from French airports participated in the training program.

Co-hosted WTCF Punta Cana Investment B2B Matching 2019

In April, the meeting was co-hosted with member city Punta Cana. About 100 people including tourism practitioners from the provinces of Dominica, and representatives from Chinese tourism companies, investment fund managers, and well-known media attended the conference.

Co-hosted WTCF Latin America &the Caribbean Tourism Conference 2019

In April, the WTCF Latin America & the Caribbean Tourism Conference 2019 was held in Panama City. The theme was "Chinese Outbound Market and Tourism Development in Latin America and the Caribbean" and it aimed to fully display the tourism resources in Latin America and greatly promote the coordinated development of Latin American and global tourism. Travel companies, government representatives, travel media, and investment fund managers from 11 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and more than 200 people from the local tourism industry of Panama attended this conference.

Attended the 53rd ITB Berlin

In March, the 53rd ITB Berlin was held in Berlin, Germany. WTCF, as the exclusive co-host for the fourth consecutive time, attended the exhibition and hosted the themed panel discussion with the topic of "How To Market Your Destination's Products And Services To Chinese Outbound Tourists".

Released the "Report on World Tourism Economy Trends 2019"

In January, WTCF and the Tourism Research Center, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences jointly released the "Report on World Tourism Economy Trends 2019". The report followed the previous analytical framework, focuses on the perspectives of global, regional, country, industry and city levels and makes a panoramic analysis of the development trend of world tourism economy from such seven aspects as global tourism economic development, regional development pattern change, global tourism investment and the role of cities in the global tourism economy.

2018

Co-hosted WTCF Europe Tourism Conference 2018

In December, WTCF and its member city Seville co-hosted the "WTCF Europe Tourism Conference 2018". About 200 people attended the conference, including representatives from 10 WTCF member cities from Europe including Riga, Edinburgh, The Hague, Turin, London, Helsinki, Copenhagen etc., experts of WTCF's Expert Committee, representatives of tourism enterprises, managers of investment funds, tourism media and so on.

Attended World Travel Market

In November, WTM was held in London. WTCF was invited to attend the event and host the "China Outbound Tourism Development Trend" forum.

Attended the Global Tourism Economy Forum

In October, the Global Tourism Economy Forum took place in Macao. WTCF had attended the forum for five consecutive years and concluded a strategic cooperation agreement with GTEF in 2015. The two sides cooperated in a wide range of fields, including academic exchange, forum co-hosting, training, convention & exhibition participation and staff exchange from 2016.

Held 2018 WTCF Qingdao Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit

In September, about 400 representatives from 59 nations, 112 tourism cities and more than 200 tourism-related enterprises, and many international organizations attended the summit. The theme was "Orient Industry Trends, Brand Tourism Cities". This summit consisted of eight activities: opening ceremony and keynote speech, WTCF council meeting, summit forum, Tourism Market Promotion Conference, tourism trade fair, World Tourism Cities Investment & Financing Conference, exhibition, and sub-committee activities. The first "WTCF Fragrant Hills Awards" was also presented.

Participated in BITE 2018 and hosted the Cote d'Ivoire Tourism Meeting

In June, the BITE 2018 kicked off at the China National Convention Center in Beijing. WTCF co-hosted the Cote d'lvoire Tourism Meeting with Cote d'lvoire National Tourism Administration.

Held WTCF Latin America Tourism Conference

In April, the 2018 WTCF Latin America Tourism Conference took place in Bogota, capital of Colombia. This was a regional international tourism conference hosted by the WTCF and the Bogota City Council.

Attended the 52nd ITB Berlin

In March, As the exclusive co-host for the third time, WTCF led a delegation to attend the exhibition. WTCF hosted two events at the exhibition, with the first event aimed to issue the "Report on World Tourism Economy Trends (2018)" and the "UNWTO/WTCF City Tourism Performance Research" and the second panel discussion centered on the discussion of the popular topic "New Changes and New Motives in China's Tourism Market" and others.

Co-hosted China-Morocco Tourism Cooperation Forum in Casablanca

In February, the China-Morocco Tourism Forum was held in Casablanca. The forum was jointly hosted by WTCF, the Moroccan National Office of Tourism, and the Casablanca city. More than one hundred guests were invited to attend the forum, including buyers from major Chinese travel agency, representatives from the tourism department of Africa, and tourism industry experts.

Held 2018 New Year Reception

In January, Twenty ambassadors and Charge d'Affaires ad Interim from Portugal, Estonia, Latvia, Cuba and Colombia attended the event, as well as more than 100 distinguished guests from 64 countries including representatives from the SCO, the UN, and WTCF members.

2017

Participated in the World Travel Market

In November, the WTM 2017 kicked off in London. WTCF was invited to attend and host the "Chinese Tourism Market Development Forum".

Attended the sixth Global Tourism Economy Forum

In October, the sixth Global Tourism Economy Forum was held in Macao. As the strategic partner, WTCF organized the "Region and City Collaboration" Panel Discussion with the discussion topic of “Regional Collaboration-World Cities Perspective".

Held 2017 WTCF Los Angeles Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit

In September, about 400 delegates including representatives from 51 countries, 87 cities and a total of 37 ministers and mayors, senior managers from international tourism organization and representatives from international organization including UNWTO and PATA were invited to attend the summit. The theme was "Impact of Globalization on World Tourism City Development". "Los Angeles Declaration of World Tourism Cities Federation" was released. During this Summit, events such as the tourism exhibition, tourism trade and investment fair and tourism promotion meeting were held. The "Research Report on World Tourism City Development 2017" and "UNWTO-WTCF City Tourism Performance Research" were released as well.

Hosted the 5th China (Qingdao) International Cruise Summit

In June, the 5th China International Cruise Summit kicked off in Qingdao. The second session of the first Council Meeting of the Committee of Cruise of WTCF was held before the opening ceremony of the summit. With 100 members, it is now one of the most influential international cruise organizations in China.

Ran Edinburgh "China Champions Learning Journey" Training Program

In May, the "China Champions Learning Journey" Training Program was launched by WTCF and member city Edinburgh. The training program, initiated by Edinburgh Tourism Action Group, was jointly hosted by WTCF and the member city for the first time.

Signed cooperation agreement with Shanghai Cooperation Organization

In May, WTCF signed the Cooperation Framework Agreement between WTCF Secretariat and the SCO Secretariat with the SCO in Beijing. They would cooperate to actively promote to achieve the mutual benefit, exchange and cooperation among tourism cities within the SCO and along the Silk Road economic belt.

Hosted WTCF Asia-Pacific Conference 2017

In March, The WTCF Asia-Pacific Conference 2017 was grandly opened in Penang, city of Malaysia. About 300 guests were invited to attend this year's conference, including delegates from the UNWTO, city and institutional members of WTCF, members of WTCF Expert Committee as well as delegates from Penang State Government.

Exclusively co-hosted the 51st ITB Berlin Convention

In March, as the co-host of the 51st ITB, WTCF led a delegation to attend ITB and hosted a forum with the theme of "World Tourism Economy Trends 2017 & Chinese Outbound Tourism".

Forum on Chinese Outbound Tourism

In January, WTCF and Ivy Alliance Tourism Consulting co-hosted the 2017 International Forum on Chinese Outbound Tourism. About 200 guests including 5 ambassadors, 70 diplomatic officials of foreign embassies, top executives of tourism organizations, representatives from Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other international organizations, representatives of WTCF members, and China-based leading outbound tour operators attended the forum.

2016

Organized to participate in the World Travel Market and hosted the Chinese Tourism Market Development Forum

In November, WTM was held in London, WTCF hosted the "Chinese Tourism Market Development Forum" and "WTCF Members Europe Meeting".

Hosted at Global Tourism Economy Forum Macao 2016 -"Transformation of City Tourism Consumption" Sub-Forum

In October, the Global Tourism Economy Forum Macao 2016 was held in Macao. This forum's theme was “The Growing Consumer Class - Rethinking and Reshaping the Future Tourism Landscape." WTCF hosted the sub-forum "Transformation of City Tourism Consumption”.

Hosted Chinese Tourism Cities Overseas Promotion Seminar

In October, the Chinese Tourism Cities Overseas Promotion Seminar was held in Macao. The seminar was co-hosted by WTCF, Global Tourism Economy Forum and Macao Government Tourist Office, and representatives from 9 member cities as well as the specially invited guest city Penang of Malaysia attended the seminar.

Held WTCF Chongqing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2016

In September, about 400 guests from 89 cities, 57 tourism-related institutions and 6 international organizations attended this year's summit. The theme was "Shared Economy and the Development of World Tourism Cities". "The Chongqing Declaration of WTCF" was issued and the WTCF Committee of Investment was set up as the sixth sub-committee of WTCF. Meanwhile, the meeting of the Committee of Cruise Industry, Tourism Promotion Meeting and tourism investment fair were held. During the forum, academic research reports was released, including "Market Research Report on Chinese Outbound Tourist (City) Consumption", and signed agreement with renowned media to build media matrix.

Attended the 1st World Conference on Tourism for Development

In May, the 1st World Conference on Tourism for Development, co-hosted by Chinese government and the UNWTO was held in Beijing. Before the opening ceremony, Premier Li Keqiang met representatives of WTCF, other international organizations, and more than 70 above-ministerial-level officials, and then took a group photo together. At the summit forum themed "Tourism for Peace," Gonzalo Robredo, Executive Director, Tourism Office of the city of Buenos Aires was invited to deliver a speech as the representative for the holder of WTCF Vice-Chairman City of the Council.

Founded the WTCF Committee of Cruise

In May, WTCF Committee of Cruise was founded. Qingdao City was elected as the director unit. The first members of the Committee of Cruise include 10 world-famous cruise companies, 16 cruise tourism cites, 13 cruise ports, 20 travel agents and OTA, 9 cruise colleges, and 22 other related institutions.

Exclusively co-hosted the 50th ITB Berlin

In March, the fiftieth International Tourism Exchange Berlin was opened in Berlin with a grand ceremony. As the exclusive co-host, WTCF led a delegation to attend ITB. WTCF set up its own exhibition stand while other WTCF city members such as Abidjan, Belgrade, Helsinki, Salonica, Beijing, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Mudanjiang, Yangzhou and Zhangjiajie also participated.

Held 2016 International Forum on "Belt and Road & Tourism Cooperation"

In January, the forum was jointly organized by WTCF, Xinjiang Tourism Bureau and Altay Administrate Office. Through uniting experts and scholars, the forum aimed at further strengthening exchanges and cooperation in cross-border tourism, ice-snow tourism and high-end custom tourism between world tourism cities, under the strategic framework of "Belt and Road".

Jointly organized forums with Sina Travel and Sina Weibo

In January, the "Travel 10 Years Ceremony and World Travel 'Micro' Influence Development Forum" jointly organized by Sina Travel, Sina Weibo and WTCF were held in Sanya, Hainan Province. During the ceremony, Sina Travel signed a strategic partnership agreement with WTCF.

Held Annual Committee meeting in member city, Mudanjiang

In January, WTCF held the annual committees meeting in member city, Mudanjiang. More than 60 member representatives from WTCF's Committee of Civil Aviation, Committee of Tourism-Related Businesses, and Committee of Media Organizations were present. They listened to the work plan of WTCF and communicated and exchanged ideas.

2015

Won annual WTM World Travel Leaders Award

In November, WTM kicked off in London, Britain. WTCF won the annual World Travel Leaders Award 2015. The award aims at rewarding organizations and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the development of world travel industry during the year, and has an extremely strong influence on the I world travel industry.

Held WTCF Rabat &Fez Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2015

In September, the Summit was attended by 311 representatives from 100 member units, including 69 cities and 31 tourism-related organizations from 42 countries and regions, more than 400 guests from various fields in total. The theme was "World Tourism Cities: Diversity and Sustainability". During the summit, the signing ceremony of cooperation agreements between international tourism organizations, tourism cities and tourism-related institutions, including WTCF and the UNWTO was also held.

Organized "Thousands of Tourists to Magnificent Morocco"

In August, with support from multiple travel agencies, WTCF organized the "Thousands of Tourists to Magnificent Morocco" to drive the development of the outbound travel market by Chinese citizens to the member cities. The purpose of event was to enlarge the international influence of the WTCF Rabat & Fez Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2015, to achieve the practical result in the member cooperation and further the promotion of tourism products of Morocco in the Chinese market.

Organized China Smart Cities Investment & Finance Forum for 2015

In July, the "China Smart Cities Investment & Finance Forum for 2015" co-hosted by WTCF, China Association of Private Equity and other institutions, was convoked in Beijing.

Held "Silk Road Tourism Cooperation Forum and 11th Outbound Tourism Forum"

In June, the "Silk Road Tourism Cooperation Forum and 11th Outbound Tourism Forum", co-hosted by WTCF and Ivy Alliance Tourism Consulting, was held in Beijing.

Organized Northeast Asia Cruise Industry International Cooperation Forum 2015 & The 3rd China International Cruise Summit (Qingdao)

In May, the Northeast Asia Cruise Industry International Cooperation Forum & The 3rd China International Cruise Summit (Qingdao) was co-organized by WTCF and China Ports and Harbors Association.

Attended the 49th ITB Berlin

In March, WTCF attended the ITB Berlin with an independent booth. During ITB Berlin, Ralf Ostendorf, Vice-Chairman of the WTCF Council, held the meeting of WTCF.

2014

Attended World Travel Market in London

In November, WTCF delegation attended the WTM in London.

Analyzed the tourism development for member city, Yangzhou

In October, the Expert Committee of WTCF Travelled to the member city Yangzhou for tourism industrial development survey. This was the first time for the WTCF to organize the Expert Committee and the sub-committees to "going global" for analyzing for the member cities in regards to the future tourism development.

Held WTCF Beijing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2014

In September, more than 240 companies and organizations in the tourism industry attended the Summit. The theme was "World Tourism Cities: Market and Cooperation". WTCF Council decided that the Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2015 was selected to be held in member cities, Rabat and Fez, which was the first summit to be held outside the headquartered city, the "Market Research Report on Chinese Outbound Tourist (City) Consumption" was also released during the summit.

Co-hosted 2014 Invest Caribbean Now Summit

In June, 2014 Invest Caribbean Now Summit was hosted at the Harvard Club of New York City, WTCF and partner co-hosted the summit.

2013

Held WTCF Beijing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2013

In September, the establishment ceremony of WTCF Committee of Civil Aviation, WTCF Committee of Tourism-related Businesses, and WTCF Committee of Media were held at the opening ceremony. The theme of the summit was "Tourism: New Driver of Sustainable Urban Development". 66 city and industrial representatives from countries and regions gathered in Beijing, and jointly signed the basic regulation of World Tourism Cities tourism cooperation and service- "Beijing Consensus" and Issued "World Tourism Cities Evaluation System".

Visited UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon

In May, WTCF delegation visited the United Nations and met with then UN Secretary-General Ban Kimoon. On the same day, a round table meeting on "Sustainable Urban Development and Tourism" co-organized by WTCF, the permanent mission of China to the UN, and the International Health and Environment Organization was held in the Headquarters of the UN, at which, WTCF signed the Memorandum of Cooperation with the International Health & Environment Organization.

2012

Held the 2012 WTCF Inauguration Ceremony & Beijing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit

In September, the WTCF Inauguration Ceremony & Beijing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit was held in Beijing, with the theme of "Better City Life through Tourism" . The summit consisted of the General Assembly, approved the "WTCF Statute" through deliberation, as well as the emblem and the flag. The meeting of the first WTCF Council, World Tourism Cities Expo, World Tourism Cities Film Show, World Tourism Cities Cuisine, closing ceremony, and other meetings and activities were also hosted.

World Tourism Cities Federation established

In March, the World Tourism Cities Federation was established, with 58 members initially. Among them, 47 were cities members and 11 institutional members.