The World Conference on Tourism Cooperation and Development 2024, hosted by the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF), was successfully concluded at the China National Convention Center in Beijing on September 12. As one of the 13 thematic forums held during the 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), this conference under the theme of "Boosting Cross-Border Tourism for Enhancing Mutual Learning among Civilizations" attracted more than 400 representatives of the global tourism industry from 45 countries and regions, to talk freely about the sustainable development of the global tourism industry and envision boosting world tourism and promoting mutual learning among civilizations through collaboration among tourism cities.
Publish Time：
2024-09-21 13:07:30
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WTCF
The World Conference on Tourism Cooperation and Development 2024, hosted by the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF), was successfully concluded at the China National Convention Center in Beijing on September 12. As one of the 13 thematic forums held during the 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), this conference under the theme of "Boosting Cross-Border Tourism for Enhancing Mutual Learning among Civilizations" attracted more than 400 representatives of the global tourism industry from 45 countries and regions, to talk freely about the sustainable development of the global tourism industry and envision boosting world tourism and promoting mutual learning among civilizations through collaboration among tourism cities.
Fruitful Achievements: Launch of New Global Initiatives Helps Enrich Cultural Connotation of Tourism Worldwide
The conference consisted of the Opening Address, the Mayors' Forum, MOU signing ceremonies, a section for releasing research results, the Special Forum on China Inbound Tourism, WTCF China Inbound Tourism Trade Fair, WTCF Special Training on China Inbound Tourism, etc., which were attended by high-profile figures.
Yin Yong, Mayor of Beijing and Chairman of the WTCF Council, delivering a speech
During the Opening Address section, Yin Yong, Mayor of Beijing and Chairman of the WTCF Council, introduced Beijing's achievements in tourism development, and 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 create 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 on behalf of the members of WTCF, in which he affirmed WTCF's key role in promoting exchanges and cooperation among tourism cities worldwide and further pointed out the importance of cooperation between China and Italy in the fields of tourism and cultural exchanges. 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, elaborated on China's unremitting efforts in travel facilitation, especially the continuous optimization of the tourism experiences, extensive creation of new scenes featuring the integration of culture and tourism, expansion of the coverage of foreign bank card POS terminals and foreign currency exchange locations, and facilitation measures for convenience of mobile payments and cash usage, in order to create a more seamless travel environment for global tourists.
Mayors' Forum
During the Mayors' Forum, Justine Simons, Deputy Mayor of London, UK and Chair of the World Cities Culture Forum, delivered a keynote speech on the theme of "Boosting Cross-Border Tourism for Enhancing Mutual Learning among Civilizations". In addition, the mayors and deputy mayors of five internationally renowned tourism cities, including the Mayor of Marbella of Spain and the Deputy Mayor of Torino of Italy, discussed under the theme in a bid to explore new initiatives, paths and strategies to drive the development and contribute to the prosperity of cross-border tourism.
During the conference, WTCF signed the Memorandum of Cooperation on China Inbound Tourism with nine member cities including Beijing and Changsha, five institutional members including Beijing Tourism Group Co., Ltd. and China Youth Travel Service Holdings Co., Ltd., as well as four international travel agents, for the sustainable development of China's inbound tourism market. During the conference, the Signing Ceremony for Co-Hosting the 2025 WTCF Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit and the Signing Ceremony for Co-Hosting the 2025 WTCF Europe Tourism Conference 2025 were also held. The establishment of these three partnerships is of great significance for WTCF to explore new paths for cross-border tourism cooperation and cultural exchanges, as well as creative tourism, and to promote the upgrading of China's cultural and tourism industries and the diversification of its inbound tourism offers.
The signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Cooperation on China Inbound Tourism
As an important academic publication to promote cooperation and exchanges among tourism cities worldwide, the World Tourism Cities Development Report (2023) was officially released at the conference. The report series has been published for ten consecutive years since its first edition in 2012. According to the report, the top three tourism cities in the comprehensive rankings of the development of world tourism cities in 2023 are New York, Tokyo and Paris, while Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong rank 8th, 10th and 11th respectively. In 2023, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide totaled 12.673 billion, recovering to 87.4 percent of the 2019 level; the total global tourism revenue recovered to 94.8 percent of the 2019 level. The accelerated recovery of the global tourism industry is characterized by the faster recovery of domestic tourism than international tourism, a higher degree of tourism recovery in developed economies, stronger growth momentum in emerging economies, etc.
In addition, WTCF and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) jointly released A Green Paper by PATA and WTCF - Unlocking China's Inbound Tourism Competitiveness. The publication proposes to leverage the comparative advantages of China's tourism resources to tap the huge potential of China as a major tourist destination in the Asia-Pacific region and showcase the country's national image and cultural charm.
During the Special Forum of China Inbound Tourism, several representatives of the global tourism industry also shared insights and offered suggestions on the global tourism industry, under the topic "Inbound Tourism Promotes the Development of Urban Tourism".
Exchange of Ideas and Insights: International Guests Jointly Unleash Multiple Potentialities for Mutual Learning Among Civilizations via an International Conference
The cooperation among tourism cities is an important driving force for the prosperity and development of tourism. Strengthening cooperation and exchanges among tourism cities worldwide can not only promote the sharing of tourism resources, market information and management experiences among these cities to enhance their competitiveness and service quality and promote the common development of the regional tourism sectors, but also enhance the attractiveness and popularity of tourism cities and promote mutual learning and integration among civilizations.
As the world's first international tourism organization dedicated to cities, WTCF has been making profound efforts in building platforms, promoting cooperation, and leading high-quality development of tourism. The World Conference on Tourism Cooperation and Development has been successfully held for five years, under the themes of "Rebuilding World Tourism for Prosperity", "Revitalizing World Tourism and Energizing City Development", "Deepening Cooperation and Innovation for Development", and "New Trends - New Business Format - New Consumption: Jointly Creating the New Prosperity of Culture & Tourism". Moreover, WTCF has been exploring ways to make joint efforts to build a new pattern of global tourism development that is more open, inclusive, shared, and beneficial to all.
A photo taken during the conference
As one of the key supporting parts of the conference, the WTCF China Inbound Tourism Trade Fair, co-hosted by the World Tourism Cities Federation and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, was held on the morning of September 12. Representatives of 25 international tourism enterprises from 13 countries, including Germany, Japan, Russia and Thailand, and representatives of more than 100 Chinese tourism enterprises held 25 rounds of peer-to-peer negotiations, which resulted in more than 100 cooperation intentions, jointly improved the quality and efficiency of China's inbound tourism sector, and strengthened interconnection and win-win cooperation among tourism cities worldwide.
At the WTCF Special Training on China Inbound Tourism, which started on September 14, over 50 participants from international travel agents from 12 countries, including France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Russia, and representatives from ten cities worldwide, received training on further facilitation of payment services, inbound tourism transformation and innovation, and other fields. The section is aimed at boosting the inbound tourism market of China.
Miodrag Popovic, CEO of the Tourist Organization of Belgrade of Serbia, commented in his speech that the World Conference on Tourism Cooperation and Development helps enhance Belgrade's global reputation, thereby attracting more tourists to Belgrade. "I believe that WTCF can help us attract more inbound tourists from China, and I also hope to have more opportunities to communicate with and learn from our Chinese counterparts."
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Italy. Domenico Carretta, Deputy Mayor of Torino, Italy, also recognized WTCF's important role in building platforms and promoting cooperation. He believes that the World Conference on Tourism Cooperation and Development can help people gain a better understanding of Torino. "Torino is a tourism city, and we can take this opportunity to promote cooperation between cities so as to improve the quality of life of urban residents and the tourism experiences."
Innovation-driven Development: New Ideas from Multiple Parties Lead Future and Spark a Cross-border Tourism Boom
In recent years, consumers have been increasingly leaning towards tourism experiences with local characteristics and cultural connotations. The cultural and creative industry, by virtue of its unique innovation and artistry, has attracted many consumers to pay for the cultural experiences, depth of content, and quality of services during their tours.
Special Forum of China Inbound Tourism
Judging from the characteristics of the tourism market in 2023, digitalization and technological innovation have become the key factors driving the tourism industry. The application of emerging technologies such as online booking, mobile payment and virtual reality makes travel more convenient and also delivers richer tourism experiences. In recent years, WTCF has been motivated to use 5G, big data and AI to provide its members with better services. During this year's CIFTIS, WTCF also set up booths inside the No.4 Blast Furnace at Shougang Park to launch an exhibition themed "Tourism boosts Civilization Mutual Learning Among Cities", presenting a visual feast about the combination of sci-tech elements and cultural tourism.
The tourism consumption market has seen a surge in demand for high-tech applications and experiences in tourism-related scenarios, so accelerating digital transformation and promoting smart tourism and intelligent services have become effective measures to enhance tourism experiences and expedite innovation-driven development of tourism. In this regard, Ángeles Muñoz, Mayor of Marbella of Spain, said: "With the emergence of new digital technologies, we hope that Marbella could become a better-known tourism city, so that everyone knows about Marbella and can experience its excellence both in natural and cultural resources."
Regarding smart tourism and intelligent services, PATA's Chair Peter Semone believes that smart tourism is not just about infrastructure and sustainable growth but also about travel experiences and smart business. "We should remain confident in the application of smart technologies. China is already a world leader in smart technologies."
Looking ahead, the global tourism industry is standing at a new starting point on its way to a full recovery, accelerating towards a more prosperous tomorrow, with the cross-border tourism market showing a strong tendency to flourish. This World Conference on Tourism Cooperation and Development is taken as an opportunity to draw friends from the global tourism industry together to seek common development and share fruits of cooperation, injecting new vitality and hope into the sustained boom of the industry. It is believed that closer international cooperation and exchanges will enable a brighter future for the global tourism economy, and will contribute immeasurably to the global economic recovery and growth.
