Chinese and US tourism officials kicked off their first-ever
dialogue meeting on Wednesday in Charlotte, North Carolina, to
explore ways of increasing cooperation on travel-related
matters.
Chinese tourism officials, including those from different
provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, and dozens of US
state tourism directors are expected to ink the Initiative on
Establishment of China-US Strategic Cooperation Framework in
Tourism during their two-day meeting.
Tourism cooperation and exchanges between China and the United
States have maintained the good momentum of development in recent
years, and the travel industries of both countries are achieving
win-win results, Du Jiang, vice chairman of the China National
Tourism Administration (CNTA), told the opening of the meeting, or
the China-US Tourism Directors Summit.
Du, heading the Chinese delegation, said bilateral cooperation
and exchanges in tourism will reach a new height.
Du said the CNTA is working with the US Commerce Department and
Homeland Security Department to jointly explore new grounds for
cooperation in the tourism industry.
"We can learn a lot from each other," said Roger J. Dow,
president and CEO of the Washington-based Travel Industry
Association (TIA), co-sponsor of the conference.
"During the next 10 years, the amount of travelers from both
countries is expected to grow significantly. It makes sense that we
explore ways to encourage travel to our respective countries," Dow
said.
(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2007)
