The 7th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism Kicks off in Seoul, WTCF Is Deeply Involved in the Activities of the Summit

From September 17 to 18, Yan Han, Deputy Secretary-General of WTCF, and a delegation attended the 7th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism, which was held in Seoul of the Republic of Korea. National and regional tourism ministers, mayors, and tourism department and enterprise leaders and experts from more than 50 countries visited the summit and discussed the “A 2030 Vision for Urban Tourism”. The summit was jointly organized by the UNWTO and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and jointly supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, the Korea Tourism Organization and the Seoul Tourism Organization.

The two-day summit consists of four parts: opening ceremony, keynote speech, high-level forum, and four special forums. During the summit, deep discussions were held on the rapidly developing tourism industry, and the target vision was set for achieving the Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the UN. The themes that were discussed include how electronic technology shapes the future of tourism cities, the functions of urban tourism—creating a new appearance for a city through public space, and how the mutual compatibility between urban tourism development and citizen welfare can be ensured. The UNWTO released a research report titled ‘Overtourism’? – Understanding and Managing Urban Tourism Growth beyond Perceptions.

WTCF delegations attended several activities of the conference in order to expand WTCF’s influence and promote the core value of WTCF. During the conference, the opening ceremony was held. Representatives of tourism organizations, tourism ministers and mayors of tourism cities attended the event. At the opening ceremony high-level forum, WTCF Deputy Secretary-General Yan Han delivered a keynote speech with the theme “The Outlook of City Tourism Development in the year of 2030”. In his speech, he introduced the results of the 2018 WTCF Qingdao Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit, the UNWTO/WTCF City Tourism Performance Research, and the research of WTCF on the brand and quality development of the tourism city, and he analyzed the opportunities and challenges of tourism city development. His speech established the leadership and authority of WTCF in world tourism cities. WTCF Director-General of the Liaison Department Chen Bo participated in the forum session with the theme “Urban Tourism and City Renaissance”. At the activity, he gave a keynote speech focused on four aspects: cultural heritage, cultural relic protection, heritage investment, and how to improve the service quality of a tourism city. The work and research results of WTCF attracted the attention of participants. Deputy Secretary-General Yan Han, Director Chen Bo and WTCF staff and delegates conducted extensive and fruitful communications with attendees, deepening the influence of WTCF in global tourism cities.

WTCF Deputy Secretary-General Yan Han Is conversing with UNWTO Secretary-General Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili

WTCF Deputy Secretary-General Yan Han is conversing with Minister N. Tserenbat of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia

WTCF signed the MOU with UNWTO in 2015 and actively participated in the UNWTO events and work plan since then. The cooperative research report launched by UNWTO and WTCF selected 15 WTCF member cities for case study, which makes the international cooperation more practical thus improving the recognition and ability of academic research and member service of WTCF.