Congratulatory Message from Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) on the Occasion of World Tourism Cities Federation Chongqing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2016

Dear Chairman Wang Anshun,

On behalf of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), I would like to extend our sincerest congratulations to you and the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) for organizing the World Tourism Cities Federation Chongqing Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2016. I also extend our congratulations to you for the considerable contributions provided by WTCF towards the development of tourism growth worldwide. In a period of only five years, WTCF’s successful activities have been a major benefit to its members and industry stakeholders globally.

Today, it is widely recognized that the travel and tourism industry is an important factor in the growth and development of the worldwide economy. Travel and tourism offers various destinations (cities, provinces, regions and countries) and private businesses an important source of revenue and is a vital channel for marketing and promotional activities of a country and its people.

Furthermore, as international travel is quickly increasing, more businesses have taken the steps to become more environmentally friendly to remain competitive which in turn benefits both the public and private sectors. Lastly, travel and tourism provides the perfect opportunity for people from various backgrounds to share their stories with each other in the hope that we can better understand each other as human beings, regardless of our race, faith or our beliefs.

China, as the largest amount of domestic and outbound travel as well the third largest amount of inbound international visitor arrivals, is truly one of the most attractive markets with rich cultural and natural resources. PATA, with its 65 years of experience in the industry and its wide-ranging resources, is honored to strengthen the relationship with WTCF by joining hands to face the challenges and opportunities to the fast growing industry.

We cherish the cooperative relationship with WTCF and all of its members and we wish to maintain our strong partnership with WTCF for the prosperity of the global travel and tourism industry.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Mario Hardy,

Chief Executive Officer,

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)