WTCF encourages cruise industry in Northeast Asia

The 2015 Northeast Asia Cruise Industry International Cooperation Forum 2015 & The 3rd China International Cruise Summit was held in Qingdao, a coastal city of Shandong province, from May 28 to 29.

The event, with the theme of "cruise tourism contributes to building the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road", aimed at promoting the cooperation between touristic cities and cruise companies, and pushing forward the development of cruise tourism industry in Northeast Asia.

Held in the city's Wanda Le Meridien Hotel Qingdao, the event was co-sponsored by the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) and China Ports and Harbors Association. The Forum and the Summit proved to be productive since a number of cooperation agreements were signed between participating companies and organizations. The combined event also saw the official opening of the Qingdao International Cruise Liner Home Port on May 29.

According to officials at the event, the Qingdao International Cruise Liner Home Port is expected to handle an annual passenger throughput of 1.5 million. The port will serve as a hub for tourism, commercial trade and logistics, thereby accelerating the development of cruise industry in China as well as Northeast Asia.

Yan Han, deputy secretary-general of WTCF, a non-profit organization with "Better City Life through Tourism" as its core concept, gave a keynote speech at the event.

He outlined the current status of and future prospects for the development of the cruise tourism industry in China, and said that the cruise tourism is of great significance in building the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road and stimulating the world economic recovery. He called on WTCF to open a branch in Qingdao to manage cruise-related businesses.

Yan also gave an exclusive interview to Qingdao TV Station during the event, explaining WTCF's platform advantages for marketing, Qingdao's locational advantage for developing cruise tourism and future cooperation between WTCF and Qingdao.

In order to help promote communication and cooperation among tourist cities, port administrative departments and cruise companies across the globe, WTCF has proposed to set up a cruise tourism committee.

Wanda Le Meridien Hotel Qingdao is located in the Central Business District of Qingdao, adjacent to affluent Wanda Plaza. It is a good choice for holding events and conferences.

Qingdao is a seaport in eastern Shandong province, China. It has held three summit sessions for marketing cruise tourism so far.

WTCF, a non-governmental international organization initiated by Beijing, is the world's first tourism federation with cities as the main body. It is committed to promoting exchanges and cooperation among its members. The cruise event in Qingdao highlights WTCF's significant role in cities' tourism development.