WTCF Attends the 2nd Global Tourism Forum to Discuss New Future of World Tourism Industry

The 2nd Global Tourism Forum was hosted in Suining City, Sichuan Province, on Nov 30th, 2016. Experts and media outlets from the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore and other countries gathered together to discuss the new future of world tourism industry. Yan Han, Deputy Secretary-General of World Tourism Cities Federation was invited to attend the forums and to deliver a speech.

The theme of this year’s forum was “Cultural Symbol and Tourism Renovation,” which was divided into two sessions and hosted by famous talk show host Chen Luyu. During the forum, industrial experts, tourism department leaders, and media representative discussed two topics: “Tourism Industry Innovation and International Cultural Tourism Symbol” and “Cultural Tourism Development and Future.”

WTCF Deputy Secretary-General Yan Han said at the forum that the key to tourism development is innovation. Take Suining City as an example, this city is famous for its energy resources. In recent years, when developing the tourism industry, the city utilized its resource advantage to turn itself into an eco-tourist destination. This reflects the sense of innovation. Nowadays, tourism plays an important role in the world financial market and has been a new driver of the world economy. For most tourists, the purpose for travelling has changed from “to see something new” into “to experience something.” At the same time, destination operator’s philosophy has changed from “to build a grand destination to attract as much tourists as possible” into “to build a better destination to attract a specific group of tourist.” When developing a new tourist attraction, managers should be focusing on the target groups’ need, interactive experiences and cultural connotation. A good tourism project should demonstrate a city’s cultural heritage.

The Global Tourism Forum is hosted by Global Times, and co-hosted by Romandisea Seven Star International Cultural Tourism Resort. During the first forum in 2014, the organizer announced that the Global Tourism Forum will be held in Suining City every two years. The forum will integrate political, business, academic and media resources into an influential platform to promote better international tourism industry communication.