2023 CITM gains cooperative momentum for cross-border tours

November 18 coincides with a weekend, and the 2023 China International Travel Mart (CITM) was packed with merchants and families who were busy visiting diverse exhibition areas.

  The 2023 China International Travel Mart (CITM) is packed with merchants and families.

Meanwhile, the travel fair saw regional tourist professionals make suggestions for global tourism recovery at the ASEAN-China Tourism Investment Seminar 2023 and the Seminar on Development of International Culture and Tourism Economic Belt along China-Laos Railway.

With the theme of "Green Investment: Achieving Tourism Recovery and Sustainable Future", the ASEAN-China tourist seminar aims to build an exchange platform for bilateral cooperation in tourism investment.

At the seminar, secretary general of ASEAN-China Center Shi Zhongjun said that ASEAN and China are important tourist destinations for each other, and tourism cooperation is part and parcel of bilateral cultural exchange. ASEAN countries are trying to be appealing to international tourists.

                      The ASEAN-China Tourism Investment Seminar 2023

Aditya Amaranggana, senior officer for tourism marketing at the ASEAN Secretariat, said the secretariat has joined hands with regional countries in formulating a development framework for sustainable tourism, in a bid to facilitate recovery and sustainable development for regional tourism.

Delegates from the ASEAN countries were identifying possible fields for cooperation with Yunnan tourism, such as project implementing, marketing and branding.

The Seminar on Development of International Culture and Tourism Economic Belt along China-Laos Railway is themed “promoting China-Laos railway through tourism and building a road of development, happiness and friendship".

                              Visitors at the 2023 China International Travel Mart (CITM)

More than 200 international participants gathered to have in-depth discussions on China-Laos Railway’s role in fusing transport services into tourist projects and other integrated development modes in the Lancang-Mekong region.

Yang Jinsong, director of the International Tourism Development Institute of China Tourism Academy, said the China-Laos railway has brought about changes in regional production and lifestyle. Southeast Asian countries are top destinations for Chinese tourists, and more tourist exchanges are under way.

Together, the seminar participants outlined a bright future for tourism along the China-Laos railway: Constant tourist flows via the land ports, improved inbound transportation, integrated tourist visas, cross-border tours among China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, stations with cultural diversity, and integrated tourist routes.

Seminar on Development of International Culture and Tourism Economic Belt along China-Laos Railway

Representatives of tourist authorities in the region invited travelers in China and beyond to their countries via 2023 CITM.

"I hope that through the 2023 CITM, tourists from all over the world could be attracted to Cambodia, getting to know about the country and investing in Cambodian tourism," said Chan Socheat, deputy director of the Department of Tourism Investment, Cambodian Ministry of Tourism.

Thet Thet Khine, Myanmar union minister for hotels and tourism, said the travel fair has always been a key platform for the country to deepen cooperation with China, Yunnan in particular. She expected more Chinese tourists to visit Myanmar and see the charm of nature and culture there.

             Actors perform at the opening of 2023 China International Travel Mart (CITM).

"China-Laos Railway has shortened the Kunming-Vientiane trip. Laos will design special products that meet the needs of different groups of tourists and make policies on investment promotion," said Saysamone Singbandith, deputy director for planning and investment at the Division of Planning and International Cooperation, Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.

Yasmeen Yasim, acting deputy secretary general of the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, noted that CITM is a bridge for interconnection, bringing together tourism representatives from regional countries. It added wisdom and strength to regional cooperation, green investment, tourism recovery and sustainable growth."

By YICC reporters