On September 26th, at the 2024 International Mountain Tourism Alliance Annual Conference, nine outstanding experts from the tourism industry and related fields were officially appointed as new members of IMTA's Expert Committee, injecting new intellectual power and technical support into the prosperity and development of mountain tourism.

The nine new members are: Geoffrey Lipman, former President of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), and former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism now), Zhang Xilong, Executive Vice President of the Integrated Development Branch of the China Communications and Transportation Association former Deputy Director-General and First Class Inspector of the Bureau of International Exchange and Cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Jin Zhun, Secretary-General of the Tourism Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Takashi Moriya, former Chairman of Nicchu Peace Travel Service Co., Ltd., Wang Xiaoyu, a special researcher at the Tourism Research Center of CASS, Bernard Debarbieux, Professor and former Dean of Social Sciences at the University of Geneva, Rogers Martin Valencia Espinosa, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism and former Minister of Tourism and Culture of Peru, and Chairman of the Cusco Economic Research Institute, Li Shouwen, Executive Chairman President of China International Camping Congress; and Xiao Gang, Chief Chinese Representative of the International Nordic Walking Federation (INWA).

IMTA awarded certificates to new members of the Expert Committee

Looking back at history, since its establishment in 2020, IMTA Expert Committee has gathered 24 top international experts, including Francesco Frangialli, Honorary Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and Wei Xiao'an, General Counsel of the Leisure and Vacation Branch of the China Tourism Association. These experts have provided valuable technical advice for the construction and development planning of the alliance, as well as the organization and implementation of major projects, with their profound academic background, excellent professional qualities, and rich practical experience. Their main responsibilities also include conducting thematic research and project studies, proposing research reports, establishing and improving the mountain tourism standard system, and providing comprehensive theoretical guidance and technical support to member units and the industry.

In recent years, IMTA has relied on the expert committee to develop a series of evaluation systems, industry standards, and research reports that are conducive to the sustainable development of mountain tourism. Among them, research results such as the International Mountain Hiking Guide, the Classification and Evaluation System of World Famous Mountains for Tourism, the Standards and Guidelines for the Recognition of World Famous Mountains for Tourism, the Construction and Evaluation of International Mountain Hot Spring Health Tourism Destinations, the International Mountain Eco-tourism Destination Indicator System, and the Report on the Development of Mountain Tourism under the RCEP Framework and the Report on the Development Trend of World Mountain Tourism have provided strong professional guidance and intellectual support for the high-quality development of mountain tourism.

The addition of 9 new members will undoubtedly further strengthen the power of the expert committee of IMTA and inject new vitality and momentum into the future development of mountain tourism.

Editor Ⅰ: Zhang Wenwen

Editor Ⅱ: Wu Dan

Editor Ⅲ: Liu Guosong

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