On August 18th, 2021, the 5th “China-Arab States Tour Operators Conference (China-Arab States Leisure Tourism Forum)” was held online and offline in Yinchuan in Yinchuan City of Ningxia by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the people’s government of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The aims were to promote people-to-people connection and the tourism cooperation between China and Arab States after the pandemic. Guests included Zhang Xu, vice minister of culture and tourism, Lai Jiao, vice chairman of the People’s Government of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Guo Hu, vice chairman of Ningxia’s CPPCC, minister of Air Transport and Social Economy of Tourism Handicraft Industry of Morocco, Egypt's Deputy Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Dhia Khaled, Tunisian ambassador to China, Arab envoys to China and representatives of Chinese offices of travel agencies and of Chinese tourism enterprises.
Zhang Xu said that to cope with challenges of the Covid-19, China and Arab States supported each other to overcome difficulties. In tourism, tourism-related departments would continue to cooperate with each other closely to enhance policy and information communication; share plans and experience to duel with pandemic in tourism and to carry out president Xi Jinping’s important initiatives of “China-Arab States Community with shared fate” and the “Belt and Road” initiative.
Lai Jiao said that we were willing to work with all parties to explore new mechanism, carrier and product for tourism recovery in the “post pandemic era”; push forward resource sharing, complementing each others advantages and promoting development and build a new structure for project sharing, customers transporting, information sharing and win-win cooperation.
Minister of Air Transport and Social Economy of Tourism Handicraft Industry of Morocco said that the conference offered us an opportunity to discuss how to develop tourism, especially in Arab States, under new circumstance. The conference also provided us with chances to enhance communication mechanism and to shape stronger, tougher and sustainable tourism economy.
China-Arab States Tour Operators Conference was an important part of China-Arab States expo structure. It had been held four time and had become a vital platform of China-Arab tourism communication and cooperation. This year’s conference aimed to improve tourism cooperation and focused on the theme of “Belt and Road”, including China-Arab States Leisure Tourism Forum and Tourism Investment and Financing Conference, both of which could provide a research of tendency for China-Arab tourism to lead it’s recovery and development.