On May 29th, Economic & Commercial Counsellor from Peru to China, at the Peruvian Embassy in Beijing, Diana Pita Rodriguez attended the World Heritage mountain (Jinfo Mountain) Summit in Chongqing’s Nanchuan District. During the Summit, the Counsellor shared some thoughts on the future of Tourism Development and the recovery of the tourism sector after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Diana Pita Rodriguez sharing her thoughts at the World Heritage Mountain (Jinfo Mountain) Summit in Nanchuan on May 29th. (iChongqing/Mikkel Larsen)

A Good Opportunity to Rethink Tourism

When asked about the significance of the World Heritage Mountain (Jinfo Mountain) Summit and the recovery of the global tourism industry, Ms. Rodriguez stated that the pandemic presented a good opportunity to rethink tourism. “I think we should make tourism more sustainable. This pandemic is kind of a warning, for all of us, to rethink and see the world differently.” The current situation forces us to solve troubles in a different way and to live in a different way as well.

Ms. Rodriguz believes that we can take this chance to encourage more measures to protect nature, to protect our biodiversity, and develop more sustainable tourism products and low-carbon destinations. “And while we do that, we, of course, have to maintain all the economic benefits that the tourism industries need for their recovery”.

But it also depends on the preservation of destinations, and that is why a summit such as this presents such a unique chance to highlight the importance of this issue among all the countries who have sent their representatives to the summit here today.

The Most Important Difficulty to Consider is the Sense of Uncertainty

Travelers are naturally concerned about safety.”Travelers all over the world fear what will happen, or what might happen next about the pandemic.” Therefore Ms. Rodriguez believes that it is important to take measures according to this situation and think about the possibility that travelers will demand to know exactly what steps and measures are being taken to ensure their safety and their health when they go traveling.

“We should be ready to provide them with all the information they need, to feel comfortable while traveling”.

I think we can take a lot of lessons from China on How they Protect their Mountains

When asked about what she hopes to learn and gather from today’s conference, Ms. Rodriguez said that she thinks mountain tourism is very important for the recovery of the tourism industry. “I think we can take a lot of lessons from China on how they protect their mountains, their heritage, and that could be useful for us, to study that, and maybe we can do something similar in our country”.

Ms. Rodriuez is impressed with how China has managed to preserve the natural scenery on mountains such as Jinfo Mountains. And although she hasn’t visited Jinfo mountain herself yet, she has seen several photos of the place and commented on how well preserved and natural the mountain looks. She hopes to have more time available the next time she comes to Nanchuan so she can visit the mountain herself.

Diana Pita Rodriguez attending the World Heritage Mountain (Jinfo Mountain) Summit in Nanchaun on May 29th (iChongqing/Mikkel Larsen)