Thematic Speech Session Themed 'Tourism: A New Driver for World Sustainable Development' Reveals New Findings on Recovery of Tourism Economy

On 10 May, the World Tourism Cities Federation Changsha Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2023 (hereinafter referred to as the "Summit") was held in Changsha, China. Jointly hosted by the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) and Changsha Municipal People's Government, the Summit is themed "Gathering the Strength of Cities to Revitalize World Tourism". In the afternoon of 10 May, a thematic speech session entitled "Tourism: A New Driver for World Sustainable Development" took place and focused on two topics: "A More Active World Through Tourism" and "Reshaping Tourism Destinations." Keynote speakers shared new findings on methods promoting the recovery and development of world tourism, and the ways to encourage the ongoing healthy development of the industry.

The session was moderated by Svetlana Skorikova, Senior Manager of WTCF, and featured video messages sent by Zoritsa Urosevic, Executive Director of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Julia Simpson, President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). Urosevic said that the tourism industry has once again shown great resilience, and estimated that the international tourist numbers will reach 95% of those seen in the pre-pandemic era, a result which should be attributed to the joint efforts of all stakeholders. Simpson expressed appreciation for how WTCF brings together tourism cities across the world and continues to provide an excellent platform for sharing best practices and promoting cooperation, which has brought about fruitful results.

Seven Shu, Vice President of Tencent SSV and Director of the Lab for Digital Media and Culture

Rapid technological development has allowed the widespread application of digital technologies, providing new approaches for the protection and continued preservation of historical and cultural heritage as well as creating new spaces and ideas for the revitalization of Chinese culture. Seven Shu, Vice President of Tencent SSV and Director of the Lab for Digital Media and Culture, gave a speech entitled "Exploratory Practices of Revitalizing Chinese Culture with Digital Technology". Through his speech, Shu shared Tencent's views regarding the trend of integrating digital technology with cultural tourism, as well as thoughts on the deeper integration of digital technologies, culture, tourism and the relevant industries.

Robin Gou, President of Qunar.com

New technologies constantly applied to new scenarios of tourism consumption lead to new hopes and opportunities for the world tourism industry. Robin Gou, President of Qunar.com, noted in his speech titled "Digital Technology: Empowering Cities to Work Together to Revitalize World Tourism" that the online digital economy and offline tourism business are mutually beneficial. "As digital technologies empower new consumption scenarios in various sectors, enterprises are now exploring new fields on the basis of their existing businesses, and applying new technologies like big data, cloud computing, IoT, blockchain, 5G, VR and AR to consumption scenarios, improving both the quality and efficiency of such scenarios," he said.

Wolfgang Georg Arlt, CEO of China Outbound Tourism Research Institute

Wolfgang Georg Arlt, CEO of China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, delivered a speech titled "Meaningful Tourism as a Tool for a More Sustainable City Tourism with Special Focus on Chinese Outbound Travelers". He said that the global pandemic has made all stakeholders and practitioners further reflect on how to develop tourism in a more sustainable way. Tourism developers must have their own unique products, which compete on quality rather than price.

Song Dian, Director of Hunan Television

The term "tourism +" is the name given to one currently hot topic of tourism development. It denotes the integration of various elements into travel experiences to make the latter more appealing, which leads to the emergence of new and attractive commercial formats. For example, from the perspective of "tourism + media", Song Dian, Director of Hunan Television, delivered a speech titled "Media-Tourism Integration: Sharing Beauty" to discuss measures taken by Hunan Television to facilitate the development of cultural and tourism sectors through popular TV programs. "Only by profoundly constructing and spreading a city's image via symbols, stories and emotion can it win the attention of people."

Karl Wöber, Director of the WTCF Expert Committee and the former President of MODUL University Vienna

Karl Wöber, Director of the WTCF Expert Committee and the former President of MODUL University Vienna gave a keynote speech titled "The Recovery of City Tourism in Europe". He explained that the European tourism market has suffered huge losses over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the progress of 2022 has been fortuitous and promising. Nevertheless, the overall long-term journey of the tourism market is seeing a much slower pace of recovery. He concluded that "European cities should take the crisis as an opportunity and evaluate their strategies for the growth in their tourism sectors."

Juan Carlos Arnau Avila, Vice President of FEMATUR

The recovery and revitalization of urban tourism rely upon the efforts of various international tourism organizations and associations. Juan Carlos Arnau Avila, Vice President of FEMATUR, explained the changes seen in the tourism environment in Mexico over the past five years, and outlined how the lives of Mexicans might be improved through tourism development. He said: "Similar to WTCF's philosophy of 'Better City Life through Tourism', we follow the concept of improving the socioeconomic development of the whole Mexico City by enhancing the competitiveness of its tourism sector."

Zou Feng, Secretary General of the WTCF Investment Committee and Managing Partner of Tourism Capital

As a major service platform of WTCF that enables interconnection between member cities and tourism operators, and interconnection between the real economy and capital market, the WTCF Investment Committee has long been dedicated to promoting investment and development in tourism cities. In his keynote speech titled "Tourism Investment: New Trends and New Opportunities", Zou Feng, Secretary General of the WTCF Investment Committee and a Managing Partner of Tourism Capital, stated that "The most difficult and dangerous time is over, and the market is full of opportunities for tourism enterprises. We expect that tourism investment can drive the growth of the tourism industry."

Cheng Wai Tong, Deputy Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office of Macao SAR Government

As a world-renowned tourism city, tourism has long been a pillar industry for Macao. Thanks to the post-pandemic recovery and release of relevant policies by the local tourism authority, Macao has seen a vibrant recovery in its tourism sector, and is reshaping itself as a new tourism destination. Cheng Wai Tong, Deputy Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office of Macao SAR Government, shared his views on how urban tourism destinations might pool their strengths, and on the resumption of their tourism sectors. He explained how Macao has readjusted its general tourist offerings and market strategies over the past three years of the pandemic, saying that "We combined tourism with other sectors to make our city more resilient to challenges."

Tourism is a pillar industry for the world economic growth. Its current healthy recovery provides a new impetus for global sustainability. "A partnership forged with the right approach defies geographical distance". WTCF looks forward to partnering with all tourism cities and enterprises, forging ahead to develop more opportunities and platforms and share more wisdom and solutions, to create a better world through cooperation and development.