On June 3, the "Mountain Tourism Market Exchange Symposium", one of the sub-exchange activities of the 2023 "International Mountain Tourism Day" theme events, was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The symposium was organized by the International Mountain Tourism Alliance(IMTA) and led by the Vice Chairman and Secretary General of IMTA Fu Yingchun, the President of the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce Lu Guoxiang, the President of the Malaysian Chinese Travel Industry Association Bao Yixiong, the Deputy President of the Malaysian Tourism Federation Yusuf, the Vice President Siu Yukwong, the Chief Member of the North Asia Region Tu Cai, Director of the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce for the Promotion of Tourism Culture Soh Mingde, representatives of the Malaysian tourism industry Association, travel-related enterprises and media attended the meeting, focusing on the new needs of the market after the epidemic and discussing the path to restart the Asia-Pacific tourism.
The IMTA, one of the three major international tourism organizations in China, was formally established in 2017. It is a non-governmental and non-profit international organization initiated by Guizhou Province and specialized in mountain tourism. With the goal of sustainable tourism, upholding the purpose of protecting mountain resources, inheriting mountain civilization, promoting mountain economy, and benefiting mountain people, the IMTA has been committed to participating in the construction of mountain tourism governance system, promoting international exchanges and business cooperation in the tourism industry, and promoting and exchanging successful experience in the development of mountain tourism. At present, the IMTA members come from 34 countries and regions on five continents, a total of 194 groups and individuals. Fu Yingchun, Vice Chairman and executive Secretary-General of IMTA, said at the symposium that the "International Mountain Tourism Day" and the "Asian Mountain Tourism Promotion Conference" with the theme of "Enjoy the Wonder of Mountains, Share the Beauty of Life, Revitalize the Tourism Industry" have just ended in Laos. Representatives of mountain tourism destination management agencies of relevant countries and tourism enterprises discussed and shared the new trends and opportunities faced by mountain tourism, jointly explored a new model of mountain tourism cooperation, and explored a new path for the internationalization and high-quality development of mountain tourism. "As soon as the event was came into end, we went to Malaysia to build an exchange platform with Malaysia's four major tourism associations. We focused on working together to promote the recovery of the international tourism market, in-depth exchanges on the problems and solutions faced by tourism supply and market promotion in the new market environment, and jointly offered suggestions for the comprehensive restart of the tourism market."
Vice Chairman and Secretary General of IMTA, Fu Yingchun
Photo: International Mountain Tourism Alliance
As Lu Guoxiang, President of the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce, said in his concluding remarks, the symposium was highly effective and further narrowed the distance between the Malaysian tourism industry and China. He hoped that the two sides could establish more practical and effective cooperation mechanisms to accelerate the revitalization of the tourism industry. At the meeting, the acting President of the Malaysian Tourism Federation Yusuf expressed sincere congratulations on the holding of the symposium, introduced the overall situation of the Malaysian Tourism Federation and pointed out that with the re-opening of the Malaysian border, the epidemic prevention measures have been gradually relaxed, attracting a large number of foreign tourists to travel to Malaysia, and the tourism market is showing a hot scene. As an important carrier of ecotourism, mountain tourism has broad development prospects and great potential, which should be paid attention to and paid attention to by the entire tourism industry in Malaysia. The purpose of the alliance is consistent with the development concept of sustainable tourism, and we are willing to further enhance exchanges and cooperation with all parties in the industry through this platform to promote the recovery and prosperity of mountain tourism. Bao Yixiong, president of the Chinese Tourism Association of Malaysia, said that the COVID-19 epidemic has had a huge impact on the tourism industry, and after the epidemic, the tourism will surely move towards the development direction of natural health, low-carbon and environmental protection. Malaysia is one of the top destinations for Chinese tourists, and mountain tourism in China's Guizhou province is also attracting more Malaysian tourists, he said, hoping that the alliance can facilitate the opening of direct flights from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to Guiyang in China's Guizhou province. "I believe that the tourism industry in Malaysia and China will flourish in the future." Lai Dewei, director of the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce for the Promotion of Tourism Culture, briefly introduced the overall situation of the association and deeply analyzed the new development direction of tourism from the perspective of old tourists.
The President of the Malaysia-China General Chamber of Commerce, Lo Kuo Siong
Photo: International Mountain Tourism Alliance
Malaysian Tourism Association Deputy President Yusuf
Photo: International Mountain Tourism Alliance
Mr. Bao Yixiong, President of the Chinese Tourism Association of Malaysia
Photo: International Mountain Tourism Alliance
Wen Weiya, Assistant Secretary General of the IMTA and Director of Guizhou International Mountain Tourism Development Center, introduced the mountain tourism of Guizhou to the guests. "Mountain Park Province" Guizhou has had the reputation of "the beauty of mountains and rivers in the world gathered in Guizhou" since ancient times. It is rich in forests, plateau lakes, waterfalls, canyons and many other special mountain geomorphic elements, and can be described as the kingdom of mountains. In recent years, Guizhou has vigorously developed mountain tourism and continuously enriched mountain tourism formats. Today, Guizhou is confident and developed because of the mountains. She warmly invited colleagues from the Malaysian industry to attend the 2023 International Mountain Tourism and Outdoor Sports Conference in Guizhou. Wu Bi, President of Guizhou Colorful Tourism Industry Development Research Institute, made a speech on the mountain tourism market service and the development of home industry in Guizhou, and Zhu Shanlong, general manager of New Jiao RV Manufacturing Co., LTD., talked about his views on the mutual enabling and integrated development of mountain tourism, RV tourism and home industry.
Since 2023, the recovery of global tourism has accelerated, and mountain tourism, as one of the major categories, has attracted much attention and become an important pillar leading the revitalization of the industry. This exchange forum will build a link and bridge for international exchange of mountain tourism, and join hands with the industry to jointly discuss and share the beautiful future of sustainable mountain tourism development.
