Bid to boost dialogues on inter-city tourism

Shortly after they arrived, raincoats were given out to the participants. They were allowed to take a stroll on the Great Wall, one of the world’s heritage sites. Later, a buffet dinner was ready and the ceremony started. An onstage performance got under way, while the past glory of the Great Wall was brought to life with colourful lights. All in all, it was a satisfying conclusion to the event.
This was a new effort for the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF), a non-profit and non-governmental organisation based in Beijing, to make the Chinese capital a global player for the tourism industry, beyond being one of the world’s most attractive destinations.
The WTCF’s second annual summit was held at Beijing’s Fragrant Hills Park last Thursday and Friday. It claims to be the first international tourism organisation to take cities as its focus. It aims to be a platform to strengthen inter-city dialogues in the tourism sector.
During the two-day event, its council members discussed its work. Another venue for the expo was Wangfujing Street, a downtown shopping thoroughfare.
The federation has three committees of aviation operators, tourism-related businesses, and media organisations. They have a common goal to promote sustainable development of tourism in cities, in a programme called “Better City Life through Tourism”. They seek to create standardised systems for evaluating such things as a city’s prospects for tourism development and the quality of its attractions.
WTCF members reached a consensus on guidelines for tourism services. It is hoped that tourism will promote exchanges between cities and regions of different nations and cultures and also the free movement of travellers. More important, the federation hopes that tourism will contribute to sustainable urban development and improve the quality of life for residents of tourism cities.
The WTCF has 107 city and non-city members at present. The number of city members alone is 68. However, there is no city from Thailand on the list. This year, two entities from the Asean region, Malaysia’s Penang state and the Indonesian city of Bandung, became members.
Danny Law Heng Kiang, Penang’s minister for tourism development, told The Nation that becoming a member of the federation would be a way to promote his state on the world tourism map, with a hope that Chinese would keep coming to the city.
Last year, 6 million foreign tourists visited Penang, an increase of 15 per cent from 2011. Mainly, they came from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Japan. This year, the number is expected to increase by about 25 per cent.
Nicolaus Lumanauw, chairman of the Bandung Tourism Promotion Board, believes that forming ties with the WTCF will be a boon for his city, especially with the rising flow of Chinese tourists.
This year, the number of foreign tourist arrivals into Bandung is projected to double from 450,000 in 2012. He said the city was ready to welcome the flow of visitors, especially as the room supply would reach 20,000 by year-end.
Jakarta is also a member of the WTCF. Other well-known city members are Berlin, Busan, Beijing, Barcelona, Cairo, Dubai, London, Lisbon, Los Angeles, Macau, Moscow, Rome, San Francisco, Sapporo, Seoul, Shanghai, Washington, Wellington and Zurich.
As a young organisation, it is cashing in on media power to publicise itself. At the media committee briefing, local and foreign media members were invited by China Daily, as the host. Tourism lecturers and foreign tourism offices were approached to attend the session to provide ideas on building cities’ tourism brands, conducting case studies and promoting cities strategically.
Clemens Koltringer, marketing analyst for strategic destination development of the Vienna Tourist Board, said there were 1 billion international tourist arrivals worldwide last year. In Europe alone, there are more than 1,000 locations to attract tourists.
Given such a competitive market, it is essential that Vienna build its brand strategically. He said a brand was not a logo or a corporate design, but was about a good name, reputation, and also collective positive ideas. Five brand modules to promote Vienna are imperial heritage, music and culture, “savoir vivre”, functional city and a balance of urban and green areas.
Dr Alastair Morrison, distinguished professor of hospitality and tourism management at the College of Health and Human Sciences at Purdue University in the US state of Indiana, said becoming a city tourism destination needed a vision. Promotional activities would include both short- and long-term plans. Safety and security were keys. And success factors should be defined.
Currently, he said, in reality there is no definition of a “world-class city”.