Secretary-General Yang Xiuping met with Zhu Shanzhong, the Executive Director of World Tourism Organization

On 22nd September 2016, H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), met with Zhu Shanzhong, Executive Director of World Tourism Organization( UNWTO) and exchanged views during the participation to the 3rd Sichuan International Tourism Expo.

Secretary-General Yang firstly extended her heartfelt thanks to UNWTO on contributing the development of world tourism industry, and briefed on the development of ASEAN-China relations ,and the work of ACC. She emphasized that tourism was one of the five key ares of ACC’s work.  Since its inception, ACC had been actively implementing the consensus reached by our leaders. Leaders of ASEAN and China had reached consensus to design the year 2017 as the ASEAN-China Year of Trousim Cooperation at the just concluded 19th ASEAN-China Summit to Commemorate the 25th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations. The UN had declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism Development. ACC would take this as an opportunity to further strengthen the exchanges and cooperation with UNWTO to promote the development of global tourism.

Director Zhu extended his heartfelt thanks to ACC on making effort to promote tourism industry. He briefed on the fundamental state of UNWTO and the relevant circumstances of the cooperations between UNWTO and countries, especially with ASEAN states. He reiterated that tourism could promote the development of many areas based on its strong compatibility.  He hoped that ACC could continue to utilize the potential advantages of tourism development to organize more tourism exchanges so as to to promote the economic and social development of the region. In the year 2015, the amount of China’s outbound tourists reached 120 million which accounted for 10% of the total number of global outbound tourists with the growth rate of more that 20%. The tourism industry of China had great potential for development. The outbound tourism market of China had abundant opportunities. UNWTO would render all support to ACC to promote ASEAN-China tourism exchanges.