Gathering the Strength of Cities to Revitalize World Tourism: WTCF Releases Changsha Initiative at Annual Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit

In the morning of May 10, the World Tourism Cities Federation Changsha Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2023 (hereinafter referred to as the "Summit") officially kicked off in Changsha, China. Themed "Gathering the Strength of Cities to Revitalize World Tourism", it is an event jointly hosted by the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) and Changsha Municipal People's Government.

At the Summit, Chen Peng, a member of the Standing Committee and Director-General of the Publicity Department of the CPC Changsha Municipal Committee, officially released the Changsha Initiative, calling upon world tourism cities to pool their strengths, explore and utilize different types of city tourism resources, and jointly facilitate the development of world tourism.

Chen Peng, a member of the Standing Committee and Director-General of the Publicity Department of the CPC Changsha Municipal Committee, releases Changsha Initiative.

Cities are the most vibrant areas of a country or a region, and often have the lion's share of cultural heritage and tourism resources. To fully draw upon the advantages held by cities, the Changsha Initiative suggests prioritizing high-quality utilization of these tourism resources, while effectively protecting ecological tourism resources. The initiative also recommended transforming cultural resources into tourism resources and formulating scientific strategies for the development of the tourism industry, that enhance the sustainable use and development of natural and ecological resources. Meanwhile, the integration of tourism resources should be strengthened to build a city tourism economic circle and consequentially stimulate the internal driving force for comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable development.

So, how might cities explore their regional tourism resources in depth to form new and unique development patterns? The Changsha Initiative provides an answer, emphasizing the need to develop distinctive tourism projects tailored to local conditions, and organically integrate each city's cultural resources and regional customs into the local tourism sector. It is also crucial to strengthen refined exploitation and tourism resource management, comprehensively improve each city's external image and highlight its features, give birth to characteristic, high-quality brands for each city, and inspire creative and innovative minds. These efforts will in turn result in the emergence of more cultural cities, ecological cities, technological cities, and dynamic cities on the world stage.

Various supporting facilities and services are essential to the development of a city's tourism industry. The Changsha Initiative points out that it is necessary to build a resilient city that functions soundly, with optimized urban functions and governing efficiency. Cities must raise the quality of public tourism services comprehensively, improve infrastructure construction and enhance emergency response and risk resistance capacities, to effectively guarantee the safety and health of tourists and provide better travel experiences, and fully facilitate the sustainable development of the tourism industry of each city.

Technologies are also essential for the high-quality development of urban tourism. Regarding this, the Changsha Initiative says that new technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence should be fully utilized to improve operational efficiency and service quality and enrich tourist experiences. Digitally interconnected and intelligent growth of the tourism industry should be promoted for the integrated development of culture and tourism and cross-industrial development.

New driving forces for the development of tourism cities can only be generated through gathered strength and collaborative efforts. The call to strengthen exchanges and cooperation among world tourism cities is also a major part of the Changsha Initiative. The initiative calls for increased cooperation among tourism cities to jointly establish platforms, share resources and facilitate the flow of tourists, so as to enhance cultural exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and invigorate the world tourism industry for its prosperity and progress.