Boosting Cross-Border Tourism for Enhancing Mutual Learning among Civilizations: World Conference on Tourism Cooperation and Development 2024 Held in Beijing

The World Conference on Tourism Cooperation and Development 2024, hosted by the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF), commenced at the China National Convention Center in Beijing on September 12.

As one of the thematic forums held during the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) 2024, this conference is themed "Boosting Cross-Border Tourism for Enhancing Mutual Learning among Civilizations". It consisted of the opening ceremony, a section for releasing academic reports, several signing ceremonies, the Special Forum of China Inbound Tourism, the Mayors' Forum, WTCF China Inbound Tourism Trade Fair, a special training program focusing on the inbound tourism sector of China, and other sections. The Conference is expected to inspire thoughts on tourism cooperation and mutual learning among civilizations among the stakeholders and practitioners of the global tourism industry, promote enhanced cooperation within the international community and among various tourism cities, achieve mutual understanding and respect among different civilizations, and inject new vitality into the future development of the global tourism industry. The Conference this year attracted more than 400 representatives from 45 countries and regions,  including the representatives of WTCF's members, experts and scholars, as well as delegates from media, famous tourism enterprises and investment institutions.

Yin Yong, Mayor of Beijing, and Chairman of the WTCF Council, delivered an opening speech.

The opening ceremony of the Conference was presided over by Sima Hong, Vice Mayor of Beijing Municipality and Executive Vice Chairman of the WTCF Council. During this section, a welcoming keynote speech was delivered by Yin Yong, Mayor of Beijing and Chairman of the WTCF Council. Yin stated that Beijing, as a globally prominent tourism city, attaches great importance to the development of its tourism industry, and has been improving the quality of supply and services of its tourism industry to meet the needs of tourists. With these efforts, the tourism industry in Beijing has rebounded faster than expected. From January to August 2024, Beijing recorded nearly 250 million visits, with its tourism revenue exceeding CNY 450 billion, both reaching historical highs compared with the same periods in previous years. The number of visits by inbound tourists exceeded 2.3 million, more than double compared with the same period last year. Yin further proposed three initiatives to the member cities of WTCF and tourism practitioners: first, increase high-quality supply to better meet the new demands on the tourism market; second, accelerate the empowerment with digital technologies to actively explore new opportunities for tourism development; and third, deepen exchanges and cooperation among tourism cities to share the new dividends of global tourism.

Maurizio Rasero, Governor of Asti Province and Mayor of Asti City, Italy, delivered a speech.

In his speech, Maurizio Rasero, Governor of Asti Province and Mayor of Asti City, Italy, stated that WTCF had fully leveraged its influence, actively built platforms, expanded channels, and promoted exchange and cooperation among the tourism destinations worldwide. Rasero further stated that WTCF had also provided strong support for the recovery and prosperity of the global tourism industry and contributed to the innovative development of world tourism cities through events, research reports, and other means. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Italy, as well as the first anniversary of Asti becoming a member of WTCF. Rasero stated that Asti will strive to build channels for friendly exchanges between China and Italy, as well as for dialogues and cooperation between China and the entire Europe. "I hope that in the future, more Italian friends will, just like Marco Polo from one thousand years ago, get to know and fall in love with Beijing, and make close friends with China."

Gao Zheng, Director of the National Museum of China and Director General of the Bureau of International Exchanges and Cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, delivered a speech.

In his speech, Gao Zheng, Director of the National Museum of China and Director General of the Bureau of International Exchanges and Cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, stated that after years of efforts, China's tourism industry had been brought onto a track of fast growth, making China the world's largest domestic tourism market and the largest source country, and a major destination for international tourism. In recent years, the Chinese government launched a series of measures to attract more foreign tourists to visit China by improving their tourism experiences. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China stands ready to work together with tourism authorities, stakeholders and practitioners from various countries to take more practical actions for closer cooperation, jointly contribute to the development and prosperity of the global tourism industry, and make new contributions to enhancing cultural exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.

During the Conference, WTCF signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with nine cities, including Beijing, Qingdao and Dalian, as well as international travel agents such as Hankyu International China Co., Ltd. and Turistik Union International, and nine tourism enterprises such as Beijing Tourism Group Co., Ltd., China Youth Travel Service Holdings Co., Ltd. and Qunar. This move will further deepen the cooperation in cross-border tourism, promote cultural exchanges, and inject new vitality into the development and prosperity of the global tourism industry.

Justine Simons, Deputy Mayor of London, UK, and Chair of the World Cities Culture Forum, delivered a keynote speech.

During the Mayor's Forum, Justine Simons, Deputy Mayor of London, UK, and Chair of the World Cities Culture Forum, delivered a speech on the theme of "Boosting Cross-Border Tourism for Enhancing Mutual Learning among Civilizations". She believes that tourists are increasingly focusing on experiences, especially cultural experiences, making cultural tourism a growing trend globally. In her opinion, cultures serve as powerful drivers for the global tourism industry, and cities should pay attention to and fully leverage the transformative power of urban cultures.

For the rest of this forum, Ángeles Muñoz, Mayor of Marbella, Spain, Prince Thuso Moyo, Mayor of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Ramón Antonio Ramírez, Mayor of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Elvis Lexin La Torre Uñacori, Mayor of Machupicchu, Peru, and Domenico Carretta, Deputy Mayor of Torino, Italy also discussed in depth around the theme, in a bid to explore new initiatives, paths, and strategies to promote the development and prosperity of cross-border tourism.

In 2024, with the vigorous recovery of the global tourism industry, the number of international tourists and their spending amount have significantly increased, and the tourism industry is entering into a new stage of high-quality growth at a faster pace. China's 144-hour visa-free transit policy has been yielding dividends, with the "China Travel" hashtag shining brightly across international social media platforms, bringing new development opportunities and challenges for the inbound tourism sector in China. At the conference, two heavyweight academic publications, the World Tourism Cities Development Report (2023) and A Green Paper by PATA and WTCF - Unlocking China's Inbound Tourism Competitiveness, were officially released, providing intellectual support and sharing experiences for the sustainable development of the tourism cities worldwide.

During the Special Forum of China Inbound Tourism, participants including Miodrag Popovic, CEO of Tourist Organization of Belgrade of Serbia Pan Feng, Director-General of Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Andrés Santamaría Garrido, Managing Director of IDT Bogota of Colombia, Ge Yongqi, General Manager of Hainan Tourism Investment Group Co., Ltd, Isabella Valentini, Deputy Director of the World Culture Cities Forum, and Ning Guoxin, Vice President and Head of Inbound Travel Business of Utour Group, shared innovative proposals and views on the global tourism industry and actively provided suggestions, under the topic "Inbound Tourism Promotes the Development of Urban Tourism".

In addition, for the first time since the inception of the Conference, the WTCF China Inbound Tourism Trade Fair and WTCF Special Training on China Inbound Tourism were launched, further establishing a multi-level event framework and unleashing new potentials for the development of the global tourism industry.

A photo taken during the Conference

As the host of the Conference, WTCF is the world's first international tourism organization initiated by Beijing, dedicated to cities. Since its establishment in 2012, WTCF has been continuously working on building platforms and promoting cooperation. The number of its members has grown from the initial 58 to the current 246, covering 86 countries and regions worldwide. Among them, there are 164 city members and 82 institutional and cooperative members. There are also 357 committee members across six sub-committees. After years of development, WTCF has demonstrated ever-greater attractiveness, service capability, guidance capability, and influence in the global tourism industry, earning it the reputation of being the "fastest-growing international tourism organization".