Thirty-one Chinese tourism officials met with more than three dozen U.S. state tourism directors for the first time ever over a day-long summit in Charlotte, NC, to explore ways the two countries can increase cooperation on travel-related matters. A key opportunity is to increase the two-way tourist traffic volume between the two countries, as in 2006, China and the U.S. netted a total of 2.35 million visits.
The summit also explored ways to improve structures between the national tourism administrations of the two countries. Under the prerequisite of fully respecting the role of the China-U.S. tourism working team and tourism cooperation between the two countries, efforts were made to actively explore opportunities for cooperation and exchange among the Chinese provinces and the American states. The summit ended with both parties signing the Initiative on Establishment of "China-U.S. Strategic Cooperation Framework in Tourism."
The summit was arranged by the Travel Industry Association in conjunction with the China National Tourism Administration. The National Council of State Tourism Directors, an industry council housed within and administrated by TIA, also participated in the summit. Visit [www.tia.org]. (DB)