WTCF delegations attend 8th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism

The 8th United Nations World Tourism Organization Global Summit on Urban Tourism was held in Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, from October 9th to the 12th, 2019.

Release time : 2019-10-12 20:51:51

source : WTCF

Representatives attending the opening ceremony were taking group photos

The 8th United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Global Summit on Urban Tourism was held in Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, from October 9th to the 12th, 2019. The summit was co-sponsored by the UNWTO and the Mayor's Office of Nur-Sultan, with the theme "Smart Cities, Smart Destinations". The summit emphasized the significance of smart cities in boosting socio-economic development, employment, infrastructural construction, technological innovation and sustainable use of resources. Additionally, it focused on how to develop smart cities, as well as the complex problems and challenges in the process of development.

The high-level roundtable

The summit consisted of an opening ceremony, a high-level roundtable, keynote speeches, a sub-forum and so on. High-level representatives from 80 cities including 10 mayors, vice mayors, ministers, and 20 senior city representatives attended the summit. The Prime Minister Askar Uzakbaiuly Mamin of Kazakhstan, the mayor Altai Kulginov of Nur-Sultan, and the Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili of UNWTO addressed the opening ceremony. The Nur-Sultan Declaration on ‘Smart cities, smart destinations’ was issued at the summit.

Yan Han, Deputy Secretary-General of the WTCF, attended the summit

Yan Han, Deputy Secretary-General of the WTCF, attended the summit and delivered a speech at the high-level roundtable. Themed with ‘Smart Cities and Tourism’, the roundtable focused on sharing views on transforming cities into smart destinations. Yan Han stressed that the fundamental purpose of developing smart tourism cities is to harmonize the tourism experience of urban residents and tourists alike, providing convenient, efficient, smart and humanized services for both sides. Therefore, attractive cities should conduct in-depth research, establish specialized agencies, strengthen infrastructure such as