Date: 2019-10-28 from 09:00 to 20:30
Location: Main meeting hall, 3rd floor, north building, IMTA headquarters building
Against the backdrop of globalization, themes like ecology, green, environment, poverty reduction and innovation are all centered on sustainable development, and are also the major concerns of the world tourism and the sustainable development of mountain tourism. The forum, with issues emerged from the new age taken into consideration, gathers the concepts and wisdom of International organizations, IMTA members, famous experts, KOLs and elite entrepreneurs, to probe into the practical problems and future directions of mountain tourism.

Theme Forum: The Development of International Mountain Tourism and 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations

Keynote speech:
1. He Yafei, Secretary-General of IMTA - International Organizations Should Play Important Roles in the Pattern of Global Governance;
2. Dr. Mario Hardy, CEO of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) - Environmental Opportunities and Challenges of Today’s Sustainable Tourism ;
3. Pansy Ho, Vice Chairwoman and Secretary General of GTEF - Asian Tourism Trend Review: from Sustainable Mountain Tourism to Beautiful Life;
4. Serge Koening, expert of the IMTA - Research Progress Report on the Development Trend of World Mountain Tourism.

 

Theme Forum: Protecting Environment, Green Development and Benefiting People —— the Eternal Theme of Sustainable Mountain Tourism
 

 

 

The theme forum is divided into three stages with three topics for dialogue and exchange. In each stage, a guest is invited to make a keynote speech on the topic of this part, and five guests are invited to have dialogue and exchange on the topic.

Stage 1: Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mountain Tourism Development and Benefit the People
Time: 14:00-15:00
Host: Francesco Frangialli
Panel: (45mins)
Panelists: Five guests – representatives and experts of mountain tourism destinations
· ANNA SIBIRKINA - Executive Vice President of Russian Travel Association "World Without Borders"
· Carlos Pinto - President of the Development Association of Elected Representative from Mountain and the President of the Portugal Association for Rural Development
· Key Lee - Director of the development and reform commission
· Professor John - Professor of Guizhou Normal University
Discussion topic: Half of the world population live in mountainous areas, while the special landform, terrible climate and traffic infrastructure lead to the fact that over 90 percent of the mountainous areas worldwide are still developing or underdeveloped. How to prompt mountain economy via tourism to further benefit mountain people has become a key challenge facing mountain tourism. Panelists will share their experience in how to lead mountain people to contribute to tourism together, and probe into new patterns of poverty alleviation through mountain tourism.

Stage 2：Environmental Protection and Green Development of Mountain Tourism
Time: 15:00-16:00
Host: Zhou Li
Keynote speech: Waste Management and Green Development of Mountain Tourism Destination— Zhou Li of The Trier University of Applied Sciences in Germany.
Panel: (45mins)
Panelists: Five representatives of environmental experts, cultural creativity industry and destination management organization
· Achyut Guragain - the vice president of Nepal association of tour and travelism in Nepal
· Gede Wiwin - President of Batur UNESCO Global Geopark Tourism Development Board
· Satoshi Goto - President of speleological Society of Japan
· Su Benjiang - Deputy director from Laoshan Mountain Scenic Spot Administration Bureau
· Zhong Wei - Deputy Director from Shennongjia Forest District Cultural and Tourism Bureau
Discussion topic: Nowadays, mountain tourism enjoys a boosting growth. In the meantime, the weak management system of tourism destinations gives rise to many problems in the areas of environment, safety and service, having a negative impact on high-quality consumption experience and tourism growth. Mountain tourism development involves resources, developers, and local government and community. That means we should coordinate all parties’ interests, take measures according to the local conditions combined with local cultural customs, and meet the requirements of environment and marketing. In doing so, we will facilitate mountain tourism that benefits people in the mountainous regions and boost local economy by constructing a community of common future of mountain tourism ecology and growth. Panelists will think deeply and exchange thoughts from different perspectives.

Stage 3: Culture, Sports, Healthcare — The New Trend of Mountain Tourism Integration Development
Time: 16:00-17:00
Host: Chen Ping
Keynote Speech: Mountain Activities - from ski to 4-season - Laurent Vanat, Chief Editor of International Report on Snow and Mountain Tourism
Panel: (45mins)
Panelists: Five representatives of outdoor industry, wellness tourism, destination management organization, travel agency/OTA and scholars
· Laurent Vanat - Chief Editor of International Report on Snow and Mountain Tourism
· Kosit Dejvatin - Vice Chairman of Thai Agencies Association
· Li Jianhong - Chairman of Xinjiang Silk Road International Resort
· Zhou Tong - Cofounder of QiongYouTianXia Technology Co.,Ltd
· Margaret Jin - Executive partner of UTMB in Asia
Discussion topic: Outdoor sports leisure and the mountain tourism of wellness tourism are rising constantly and gaining great popularity among tourists, and have become an emerging and fashionable means of tourism. Panelists will exchange ideas about the combination of outdoor sports and wellness tourism, meeting and guiding tourism consumption so as to achieve the multi-integrated development of mountain tourism.