On December 14, SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov met with Secretary-General of the World Tourism Alliance Liu Shijun.
The SCO Secretary-General noted that tourism is one of the SCO's important areas of focus. According to Mr Norov, over 140 cultural and historical sites within the SCO space are included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The working group on cooperation in tourism hosts meetings of corresponding departments annually.
He pointed out that China has set an example in rebuilding the tourism industry during the pandemic relying on domestic tourism, digital technologies and in promoting virtual tourism. Harnessing the power of tourism has greatly helped fight poverty, an area in which China has set a positive example.
Vladimir Norov brought to Liu Shijun's attention information on the presentation of the Eight Wonders of the SCO Countries held in 2019, which included a series of theme-based displays initiated by the SCO Secretariat to demonstrate the enormous potential of tourism in the SCO countries: tourism resources, projects, cultural and creative products, and tourism peculiarities in individual countries.
The SCO Secretary-General proposed establishing close cooperation between the SCO Secretariat and the World Tourism Alliance, holding joint events, and expanding the number of the alliance members from among the SCO member states.
At the same time, pointing out the lack of awareness in the SCO countries about the Alliance's capabilities and potential, he proposed organising a joint videoconference with the SCO Secretariat in 2021 on promoting tourism in the post-pandemic period and the role of tourism in fighting poverty. He pointed out that this event would contribute to familiarising the SCO countries with the alliance's experience in promoting tourism and establishing business contacts between specialised state agencies and travel agent businesses in the SCO countries.
Liu Shijun spoke about the alliance's current activities with an emphasis on promoting tourism in the post-pandemic era and its contribution to fighting poverty. In particular, the alliance was created in 2018 and includes 211 companies and agencies from 40 countries. Its goal is to ensure an even, fair and high-quality distribution of tourism resources between the alliance's member countries with the aim of forming a Joint Tourism Society as an effective platform for promoting cooperation in tourism.
He supported the initiative to hold a joint videoconference in 2021 and expressed his willingness to establish productive cooperation with the SCO Secretariat in matters of information exchange and the organisation of joint events.