Co-organised by the GTI Secretariat, the 7th Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI) Northeast Asia (NEA) Tourism Forum took place in Hunchun, China, on 03 August 2018. The Forum was held back-to-back with a training on Marketing of Tourism Destinations and Tourism Planning on 4 August, co-organised by the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
The Forum was opened by Mr. Gao Yulong, Director, Municipal Committee of CPC of Hunchun City followed by Mr. Jiang Zhiying, Member of Jinlin Provincial Committee, Director of Municipal Committee of CPC of Jilin Provincial Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, and Mr. Chen Shoujun, Deputy Director, Tourism Development Commission of Jilin Province as well as Director of the GTI Secretariat Mr. Tuguldur Baajiikhuu and UNWTO’s Programme Manager Ms. Vanessa Satur.
After the keynote speech of UNWTO in the 1st session on Cross-Border Multi-Destination Tourism Development in NEA, the GTI Secretariat presented on recent developments and planned projects of the GTI Tourism Board. SCSI provided an input on GIZ Approaches in Tourism Planning in Development Cooperation. Mekong Tourism showed best approaches to include the private sector via a participatory web app. Afterwards, GTI member countries presented on good practices and development in the field of tourism in the region as well as showing latest in-depth research on the topic.
On 4 August GIZ and UNWTO together with the GTI Secretariat conducted a training on Marketing of Tourism Destinations and Tourism Planning for respective actors form GTI member countries. Led by UNWTO, participants from local ministerial departments and tour operators elaborated together in working groups on topics like tourism market research, customer profiles, branding and marketing plans. A report with recommendations for the Greater Tumen Region is currently being issued by UNWTO.
GIZ SCSI already supported the GTI Tourism Board with studies on multi-destination tourism and inputs on other regional good practices. Tourism can be a strong tool to improve regional cooperation and to integrate the private sector in the ongoing cross-border processes.