The 15th session of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) General
Assembly opened in Beijing Sunday.
Tourism ministers from more than 100 countries and nearly
1,000delegates from around the world are attending the meeting.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said at the opening ceremony that
since the middle of last century, modern tourism had been on the
rise around the world.
The number of tourists had kept growing, the scale of tourist
industry had continued to expand and the position of tourism in the
economy had improved markedly.
Wen said tourism had become an important channel for cultural
exchange, enhancing friendship and expanding communications among
the people of all countries in the world. Tourism had an
increasingly profound influence on life and social progress, he
said.
Noting that ancient Chinese philosophers had put forward the
idea of tourism, Wen said the Chinese Government placed great
importance on the industry. China's tourism sector had grown
rapidly and become a rising industry that showed great vigor and
potential, he said.
China ranked among top destinations in the world in terms of the
number of visitors and the country's foreign exchange income from
tourism. The number of Chinese tourists going abroad was growing
rapidly, he said.
He said that despite the SARS (severe acute respiratory
syndrome) outbreak in spring, China had adopted prompt and
effective measures to help the severely affected industry to
recover and expand rapidly.
Wen said China had unique and rich tourist resources such as
beautiful natural scenery and a great historical and cultural
heritage. China had 56 ethnic groups and 29 global cultural and
natural heritage sites and the landscape of urban and rural areas
was changing rapidly along with the country's reform, opening and
modernization drive, he said. All these factors had created
favorable conditions for the development of tourism, he said.
Wen said the first two decades of the 21st century would be
crucial to the development of tourism in China, as the country
builds a well-off society and accelerates modernization. China
would develop tourism into a major industry, protect and develop
tourist resources and strive to realize the sustainable development
of tourism, the premier said.
He said the Chinese Government welcomed friends from all
countries as tourists, and will do its utmost to guarantee the
health and security of all tourists.
The Chinese Government would encourage more Chinese to travel
abroad. China wanted wide-ranging cooperation with all countries to
develop global tourism, Wen said.
Wen also expressed his appreciation to the World Tourism
Organization for its efforts to promote the development and
prosperity of global tourism over the years. He congratulated the
WTO on becoming a specialized agency of the United Nations.
Vice-Premier Wu Yi also attended the opening ceremony.
Before the opening ceremony, Wen met with WTO Secretary-General
Francesco Frangialli and UN Deputy Secretary-General Louise
Frechette, who are in China to attend the WTO session.
(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2003)