Qyer Continues to Practice Responsible Travel and Promote Sustainable Development of Tourism

With the successful holding of the ASEAN-China Culture and Tourism Week in Changsha, "sustainable development of tourism" has been put in the spotlight once again. How can the culture and tourism sector explore new paths for sustainable development in the post-pandemic era? Culture and tourism experts from China and ASEAN countries shared experience on promotion of the culture and tourism industry's  sustainable development through high-quality development, and specific measures taken by ASEAN countries to encourage sustainable development of regional culture and tourism. Meanwhile, experts also discussed "cultural and tourism integration and sustainable city development", "industrial integration to boost the high-quality development of culture and tourism", and held in-depth discussions on sustainable city development, integration of culture and tourism, responsible travel practiced by tourism enterprises, and promotion of the sustainable development of tourism.

Chen Yufei, a professor at the Department of Literature and History, Party School of the Central Committee of CPC (National Academy of Governance) and chief expert of the school's innovation project, noted that culture is a strong and lasting driving force for city development as well as the key to sustainable city development. In promoting city development and inclusive growth with culture and creativity as main impetus, attention should be paid to the coordinated development of cultural protection, cultural services and cultural innovation. In the process of promoting sustainable city development, the focus should be laid on the integration of culture and contemporary life, so that the content of culture will be better received.

Li Bowen, a professor at the Tourism College of Beijing Union University, pointed out that the current tourism industry has bidden farewell to the pattern purely centered on sightseeing. The sustainable development of tourism needs to be integrated with other industries, and the integration of culture and tourism symbolizes a perfect match. Cultural and tourism integration needs to highlight resource integration, product integration, enterprise transformation, and market integration to present touristic culture and cultural tourism through creativity and innovation.

" 'Sustainable development of tourism' should take the overall coordinated development of society, economy, culture and the environment as the core, not only meeting the needs of the current generation of tourists, but also ensuring that future generations will have high-quality tourism experiences. Travelers are the main participants of travel activities. If they can travel with a responsible attitude, they will directly influence the sustainable development of tourism. Qyer has always been serving its end consumers directly, and boasts the most direct communication and exchange with them. Over the years, we have been committed to promoting the concept of 'responsible travel' among end users, hoping that everyone will contribute to promoting the sustainable development of tourism," said Mika Cui, co-founder of Top-World and Qyer.

For this reason, Qyer joined the Sustainable Travel Alliance launched by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in July 2021. It has been working with relevant companies and organizations to promote sustainable concepts and lifestyles such as wildlife conservation, reducing plastic use and food waste. In October, Qyer joined wildlife-friendly tourism enterprises in a pledge initiated by the World Animal Protection (WAP). It has been continuing to practice "responsible travel" by removing wildlife products intended for entertainment purposes, and offering guidance on implementing animal welfare policies within the company, so as to set a good example for others.

In addition to vigorously joining industry alliances and organizations, Qyer has been continuously advocating "responsible travel" among its users. On more than 20 animal and environmental protection days throughout the year, the website has designed a number of themes. Besides promoting such themes on its platform, Qyer also brings communities together and encourages its users to be responsible travelers. Content on "responsible travel" posted by users on Qyer increased by more than 60% in 2021 compared to 2020.

Moreover, Qyer has also joined hands with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), WAP and other organizations to facilitate promotion and call on tourists to protect wildlife and the ecological environment. Meanwhile, Qyer has been vigorously trying more diverse forms of promotion. Notably, on World Oceans Day, it worked with GREENPEACE to launch China's first book about sustainable surfing - "Guide on Sustainable Surfing", and initiate the event of "Beach Cleanup", where nearly 100 volunteers together participated in beach garbage disposal to protect oceans.

After a year of continuous promotion, "responsible travel" has been recognized by an increasing number of travelers. According to the latest survey by Qyer, 97.46% of users are willing to take part in activities related to environmental protection, and 92.34% of users are ready to change their way of travel to protect the environment. Adhering to the concept of "responsible travel", Qyer has been recognized as an excellent member of the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online.

In the future, Qyer will take concrete actions to encourage more people to be responsible travelers, and explore more possibilities of sustainable development with more partners while promoting the sustainable development of tourism.