On November 17th-19th, the 2020 International Mountain Tourism Alliance Annual Conference opened in Guiyang. The Conference is concentrated on the theme of "The Path of Mountain Tourism Development in the Post-COVID World". During the annual conference, the participants focused on this major topic, and discuss depth in how to promote the revitalization and quality of mountain tourism after the pandemic, and provide thoughts guidance and practice support for global mountain tourism management and promotion of global tourism industry.
This Annual Conference is hosted by the International Mountain Tourism Alliance. UNWTO, WTTC, PATA, GTEF, WTA, WTCF, ASEAN-China Centre, WCCO and other well-know international organizations and associations provided powerful support.
The Address at Opening Ceremony
Xie Jinying, Director of the Bureau for International Exchange and Cooperation, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China
Distinguished Director Lu Yongzheng, Vice Governor Hu Zhongxiong, Vice Chairman Shao Qiwei and Secretary General He Yafei,
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
Good morning!
I am delighted to meet you here at the 2020 Annual Conference of International Mountain Tourism Alliance (IMTA). Entrusted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China, I would like to express warm congratulations on the opening of the conference, extend sincere greetings to Chinese and foreign guests, and pay high respect to personages of all circles who have been committed to the development of global mountain tourism!
As one of the fastest-growing and largest industries in the world, tourism plays a significant role in fueling economy, driving employment and promoting culture and environment. Tourism is the demand for a good life, an indispensable spiritual need, as well as an important indicator of improved living standards.Mountains account for two thirds of China's total land areas, and most natural tourism resources are in mountains. Based on rich mountain tourism resources, China has made great strides in characteristic mountain tourism business such as mountain sightseeing, outdoor sports and expedition. Mountain tourism is becoming a new lifestyle and a representative tourism leisure & holiday business type.
As the world's most serious public health emergency in a century, COVID-19 has made a huge impact on global social and economic development. Facing the sudden COVID-19 outbreak, President Xi Jinping conducted overall planning and directed the anti-pandemic fight, the Chinese government attached great importance to the fight, and China advanced pandemic prevention and control and work and production resumption in parallel to achieve major strategic outcomes in the fight. Under the unified leadership of the Central Government, China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism has advanced pandemic prevention and control and work and production resumption steadily according to relevant decisions and arrangements, to achieve positive results in tourism recovery. The Chinese tourism market has gone through the full stagnation of group tours, coordinated pandemic prevention and control and orderly work resumption, as well as the full resumption of domestic tourism in the context of normalized pandemic prevention and control
COVID-19 has been kept under good control in some countries including China, but the virus is still spreading across the world and hitting the international economy and community hard, and global tourism will still face grim challenges and uncertainties ahead. As an important tourism exchange and cooperation platform, it is of great realistic significance for IMTA to pool industrial strengths to seek the recovery of mountain tourism after the pandemic under the theme of "The Path of Mountain Tourism Development in the Post-COVID World" in the critical post-COVID period when the whole industry needs to tide over the hardships together. I believe the conference that comes at a special time will inject confidence and power for the recovery of global tourism, and produce positive impact.
To conclude, I wish the 2020 Annual Conference of International Mountain Tourism Alliance a complete success!
Thank you!
