Qingdao Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2018 Exclusive Interview: Milano Is All About Discovery and the Unexpected

The WTCF can play a major role in creating partnerships not only with cities but with other key players in the field as well. Finally, the WTCF can provide, as it has done in the past, specific training on the Chinese tourism market, helping us all to understand it more and to offer a better, more Chinese-friendly service in the future.

Release time : 2018-10-09 14:21:51

source : World Tourism Cities Magazine

tourism

As the WTCF has shown to the whole world, city tourism is at the very core of what tourism is at the present day. Much more than cooperation between larger entities such as nations, exchange and partnerships between cities can boost mutual well-being and tourist numbers. Reciprocal promotion between friend cities is a very useful strategy. Much remains to be done in this respect, but Milano has an extensive network of partnerships with other cities on various matters of interest and is twin to some major world cities, such as Shanghai, Chicago, Frankfurt, Birmingham, Toronto, Osaka, Daegu and others. Although the potential for tourism cooperation has not been fully exploited yet, developments in this field are certainly to be expected. Milano is also part of the GDITS network (Great Italian Destinations for Sustainable Tourism) which includes Italy’s most important urban tourism destinations, such as Rome, Venice, Florence and Naples, accounting together for more than 30% of Italian tourist arrivals.

As Deputy Mayor for Tourism I have attended the summit in Chongqing in 2016. I remember it as a very interesting experience, an opportunity to meet new contacts and potential partners in a great atmosphere. During the summit the WTCF was able to impress everybody with its organization and the sheer numbers of Chinese tourism.

WTCF can promote special partnerships between cities, especially between Chinese cities and other cities. Cities can of course develop a relationship on their own, but the WTCF can certainly be helpful in establishing a first contact and can probably be instrumental in choosing the right kind of cities for mutually advantageous partnerships. WTCF has privileged access to all those Chinese companies and businesses in the tourism sector which can be of fundamental importance for European cities willing to better provide for Chinese tourists coming to visit.

The WTCF can play a major role in creating partnerships not only with cities but with other key players in the field as well. Finally, the WTCF can provide, as it has done in the past, specific training on the Chinese tourism market, helping us all to understand it more and to offer a better, more Chinese-friendly service in the future.