NEW YORK, NY, Wednesday, June 4, 2014:

The prospects are good for Beijing and the Caribbean region to enhance cooperation in developing tourism and boosting their respective economic and social progress.

That’s the view from Dr. Ma Lin, Deputy Secretary-General of the Beijing Municipal Government, who brought welcoming remarks to delegates at Invest Caribbean Now 2014 and also was part of the “Bejing-Caribbean Tourism And Investment Opportunity” panel at the summit on June 4th in New York City.

Dr. Lin called for a deeper understanding of Beijing and the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF), so that they can “enhance exchanges and cooperation and promote common development.” He noted that the rapid growth of outbound tourism from China has made it a rising industry. In 2013, the number of outbound tourists reached 93.4 million. It is expected that by 2020, the number of China’s outbound tourists will increase by over 200 million, offering huge potentials.

Meanwhile, Mr. Cao, Pengcheng, Vice Chairmanice chairman of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development, urged Caribbean ministers of tourism and leaders to join the WTCF as a first step in order to enhance their brand promotion to Beijing and Chinese tourists. Most citizens from Beijing are unaware of tourism in the Caribbean region, and only a small proportion of China’s outbound tourists visit the Caribbean region.

At present, the Caribbean region accounts for only a small proportion of Chinese people’s overseas visits, and no Caribbean cities or organizations have joined the WTCF.

Panalists listen to Beijing Representatives' Presentation

The panel included Mr. Richard Nixon, NATCOM International, past Chargé d' Affaires at Embassy of Grenada to China, who urged the Caribbean region to do a better job of packaging its projects for promotion in China, and Li Li, managing director of the Chinese American Business Development Center, who reiterated that the first step towards any real tourism promotion in Beijing and China must be through membership in the WTCF which will enhance promotion on a global level.

The panel was moderated by Arthur Piccolo, chairman of the New Sports Group.

Invest Caribbean Now was founded in 2011 by Hard Beat Communications CMO, Felicia J. Persaud. The 2014 ICN summit was presented under the theme, "Advancing Wealth.”

 

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