Tourism Dialogue with Civilizations - Special Report of the Parallel Forum on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations

On May 15, the "Asian Civilization Dialogue Conference" was grandly opened at the Beijing National Convention Center. In the afternoon of the same day, the parallel forum of the "Cultural Tourism and People's Exchange" conference co-organized by our institute successfully completed the established agenda. Luo Shugang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, attended the meeting and delivered a keynote speech. Dean Dai Bin presided over the special dialogue "The Mission and Value of Asian Civilization in the Era of Change" and released the "Tourism Dialogue Civilization-A Research Report on Asian Tourism Exchange and Cooperation" on behalf of our institute.

Dear Minister Luo Shugang,

Leaders of the cultural and tourism sectors of various countries, distinguished guests,

People-to-people exchanges and dialogue among civilizations are inseparable from the formal system led by the state, professional exchanges in the fields of education, science, and culture, business exchanges and service trade, and the sharing of lifestyles in foreign countries across borders by people. . Asia has a population of 4.5 billion, a GDP of US$32 trillion, and the resulting huge demand for tourism. Asia has 550 world cultural heritages and 250 intangible cultural heritages, as well as beautiful mountains and rivers and a wonderful life. Facilitated visas, improved transportation networks, public services, and business environments in various Asian countries and regions, coupled with growing market investment, have promoted the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of the Asian tourism market, and have promoted cultural exchanges, national exchanges, and civilization. plays an increasingly important role in the dialogue and will play an increasingly active role.

Data show that Asian countries and regions are in the early stages of mass tourism development, with broad market prospects and huge development potential. In 2017, Asian countries and regions received 430 million inbound overnight tourists, contributed 410 million outbound overnight tourists and 7.59 billion domestic overnight tourists, accounting for 32.7%, 31.2% and 67.7% of the global market respectively. From the perspective of tourism consumption indicators, Asia's inbound and outbound tourism consumption levels are higher than the global average. In 2017, Asia's inbound tourism revenue was US$509 billion, accounting for 38.4% of the world; outbound tourism total consumption was US$473.99 billion, accounting for 35.8% of the world. In 2017, Asia's domestic tourism consumption was US$963.15 billion, accounting for 38.9% of the world. Compared with Asia's domestic tourism, which accounts for 67.7% of the world, the per capita tourism consumption level is not high, but the consumption stratification and grading are already very obvious.

Asian countries and regions have always been China's most important inbound tourism source markets. Over the past 15 years, the number of overnight tourists from Asian countries to China has maintained an average annual growth rate of 7.2%, reaching 15.09 million in 2017. The number of overnight tourists from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to the mainland reached 40.73 million. Asian tourists account for more than 60% of the inbound market of foreigners visiting China, and the top ten source countries are South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, India, Thailand and Indonesia. From a sub-regional perspective, East Asia and Southeast Asia are the main source markets for inbound tourism to China. It is worth noting that the inbound overnight tourism market from Central Asian countries to China has grown very fast, with an average growth rate of 13.2% over the past 15 years.

Asia is China's main outbound tourism destination. In 1997, China officially allowed its citizens to visit relatives and friends in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Macau. Since then, this market has maintained double-digit growth. In 2018, more than 70% of Chinese citizens who chose to travel abroad went to Asia, especially Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asian countries, which have relatively complete tourism reception facilities and a long history of tourism exchanges with China. China is the largest source market for Thailand, Japan, South Korea, the Maldives, Vietnam, Bhutan and other countries. In 2018, the number of Chinese citizens traveling to Thailand exceeded 10 million for the first time, and the number of tourists to Japan exceeded 8 million. China is also the main source market for other Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Nepal, Laos, the United Arab Emirates, India, and Israel. Monitoring data from the China Tourism Academy shows that Chinese tourists are highly satisfied with Asian countries and regions. In 2018, among the world's 102 tourist destinations, Chinese tourists' satisfaction with Singapore ranked first, and their satisfaction with Maldives and Japan were in the top ten. Their satisfaction with 15 Asian countries and regions was above 80 points, and the average satisfaction with all 36 Asian countries and regions was 78.51.

Ministers, distinguished guests,

The continuous growth of tourism exchanges has enhanced political mutual trust among Asian countries and regions. Tourism exchanges cannot be separated from the coordination, support and cooperation of government departments and public institutions in various countries and regions, such as culture, tourism, diplomacy, immigration, aviation, taxation, finance, insurance, security and rescue. As tourism exchanges between China and Asia become more frequent, there are more and more opportunities for various departments in Asian countries to interact with each other. It will become an important interface for deepening political mutual trust in jointly maintaining the order of the regional international tourism market, coordinating the handling of tourism disputes, and ensuring the safety of tourists.

The growing tourism activities have strongly promoted cultural exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations in Asia. Over the past 20 years, the development of tourism in Asia has made an indelible contribution to promoting people-to-people exchanges, cultural exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. Compared with professional exchanges in the fields of government officials, professional and technical personnel, culture and education, tourism exchanges with large scale, high frequency, low threshold and wide range of people involved have provided a broad popular foundation for people-to-people exchanges. Tourists can perceive the differences in local political, economic and cultural values more objectively and truly through sightseeing, touring, leisure and vacation in foreign countries, and enhance mutual understanding and tolerance. Cultural projects such as historical sites, food and wine, folk festivals and other cultural projects in various countries and regions are very popular among tourists and have been more widely disseminated.

The sustained and prosperous tourism consumption has powerfully promoted economic growth and social development in various countries and regions. Large-scale cross-border tourism consumption has effectively expanded the market base of catering, accommodation, transportation, commerce, culture and leisure and other industries. While bringing more income to the local area, it also creates local employment. According to statistics from WTTC, in 2017, the comprehensive contribution of tourism to the local economy and employment in 20 countries and regions in Asia was higher than the global average. Especially for countries and regions such as the Maldives, Macau, Cambodia, Georgia, Cyprus, and Thailand, the contribution of inbound tourism to the local economy and employment is particularly prominent.

The prosperity of the tourism market stems from people's pursuit of a better life. Asian people have a tradition of reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles since ancient times, and outbound tourism is particularly popular. Tourists should visit cultural heritages that carry common values and patriotism, and also deeply experience the beauty of daily life in foreign countries. Religious places such as churches and temples, cultural spaces such as theaters and art galleries, and daily life scenes of residents such as supermarkets, specialty restaurants, and cafes are increasingly becoming public spaces shared by hosts and guests, and have become an important factor in choosing a destination.

The prosperity of the tourism market depends on the positive response of countries and regions to public opinion. In order to protect the tourism rights of citizens and expand tourism exchanges, China has established a variety of bilateral and multilateral dialogue mechanisms with various Asian countries and regions. The tourism ministers' meetings between China, Japan, South Korea, China, Mongolia, Russia, China and ASEAN, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states, as well as the tourism year activities carried out by China, India, Kazakhstan, Laos, and ASEAN countries have achieved obvious results.

The growth of the tourism industry is inseparable from the continuous innovation of market entities in the fields of investment, projects, products and services. China Tourism Group, Ctrip, Tuniu, Mafengwo, Qiongyou, Japan's JTB, ANA, India's Tata Tower, Taj Mahal, Cambodia's Angkor Wat and other commercial institutions, as well as museums, art galleries, theater groups and other public welfare institutions in various countries and regions , through its innovative and innovative activities, ensures that tourists can walk freely and with dignity throughout Asia.

Ministers, distinguished guests,

In today's world where trade protectionism and economic globalization coexist, we are also concerned that there is still much room for improvement in the tourism-related policies of Asian countries and regions in terms of visas, immigration, taxation, security and rescue, language environment, etc. For cross-border tourism investment, there are still barriers in terms of market access, tariffs and technology. In the national cooperation framework and regional exchange points, the strategic positioning of tourism cooperation needs to be further improved.

It is hoped that all Asian countries and regions will elevate tourism to a more important position in cultural exchanges and dialogues between civilizations, and pragmatically promote the "Asian Tourism Promotion Plan" advocated by President Xi Jinping. The friendship between countries lies in the friendship between peoples, and the friendship between peoples lies in frequent visits. Only through face-to-face exchanges between hosts and guests during tourism can mutual learning between civilizations be implemented. It is necessary to pragmatically promote theoretical discussions and practical explorations on the integrated development of culture and tourism, so that culture and tourism can be organically unified in people's pursuit of a better life. More tourism topics should be set up in summit meetings, state visits and exchanges between senior officials, and the implementation effects should be monitored and evaluated in real time through statistical calculations and professional evaluations.

It is hoped that Asian countries and regions will accept more tourism-related market players in cultural exchanges and civilization dialogue. In the tourism development system, private institutions and commercial forces cannot be ignored, and even play an increasingly decisive role. All dialogue mechanisms and cooperation platforms should increase the exchange mechanism for entrepreneurs as much as possible to attract extensive participation from travel agents, airlines, hotel groups, cultural and creative industries, restaurants, shopping malls and other commercial institutions.

It is hoped that Asian countries and regions will expand the proportion of education, scientific research, think tanks and media institutions in cultural exchanges and dialogues between civilizations. The in-depth participation of colleges and universities, scientific research institutions, professional think tanks and media institutions will provide indispensable intellectual and talent support for cultural exchanges and tourism cooperation. With the support of the Asian Development Bank, the China Tourism Academy has completed travel guides such as "Laos Tips", "Cambodia Tips" and "Myanmar Tips". With the support of the United Nations Development Program and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, it is important to study safe and responsible tourism projects in Asia. We are willing to connect with tourism-related education and research institutions, and carry out pragmatic cooperation in data exchange, research and development, talent training and other aspects to jointly promote cultural exchanges and tourism cooperation in Asia.

It is hoped that Asian countries and regions will pay more attention to the role of science and technology in tourism exchanges and dialogue among civilizations. Technology is changing the world of tourism, and entrepreneurship has illuminated the starry sky of tourism. Facing different language environments such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Arabic, Mongolian, and Swahili, it is difficult to imagine what independent travelers would do without speech recognition and real-time translation technology. Communicate effectively with local people. To this end, we must attach great importance to the role of technology in culture and tourism development, and through policy guidance and planning guidance, accelerate the cultivation of scenario applications based on new technologies such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, 5G, satellite navigation, and driverless driving. , to promote the mutual empowerment and integrated development of "technology +", "culture +" and "tourism +".

I wish Asia tourism a better tomorrow!