Under the guidance of the China Tourist Attractions Association, with the sponsorship of the Wuyuan County People’s Government (Wuyuan National Rural Tourism Resort Experimental Zone Management Committee) and Shangrao City Cultural, Radio and Tourism
Bureau, and organized by the Wuyuan County Cultural, Radio and Tourism Bureau and Wuyuan Huangling Cultural Tourism Co. LTD, the Second International Village Chiefs Summit, kicked off in Huangling on Sept 7th.
On the theme of “Tourism Recover · Famous Villages First”, both online and on-site participants engaged in discussions about the development of rural tourism with special features, and the measures to re-boost tourism in the context of the pandemic.
At the summit, a friendly village relationship is forged between Huangling village, Yuanjia village, Xiaogan village, Lujia village, Chongdugou village, Mazhuang village, Daji village, Pinglin village, Yashan village, and Jianyantou village (Zhou Family Courtyard). Meanwhile, China’s Huangling Village signed friendship village agreements with Barbizon and Auvers-Sur-Oise in France, and awarded MR. Edo Anceaux a certificate of honor who is the representative of the UNESCO Werelderfgoed Kinderdijk in the Netherlands.
Special guest of the summit, Hans Doets, former director of tourism in the Hague, Netherlands, said in the meeting through Zoom meeting: “Following the trend of enhancing exchanges between China and the west, I hope more renowned European villages can join in our solid collaboration and work more closely through this summit. I also look forward to visiting China again!”
Edo Anceaux from Kinderdijk introduced how this windmill village in the Netherlands navigates through the Covid outbreak. As more tourists now select villages as their destinations instead of cities, a new opportunity has emerged. It is high time to set up basic principles to guide the recovery of village tourism, develop action guides to cope with the influence of the pandemic, and explore international cooperation and favorable policies. This will promote innovation in products, services, and business modes in the tourism industry.
Through this successful summit, renowned tourist villages shared individual experiences that are valuable to villages around the world. It was a platform that enhanced cooperation and exchange. Insights from these village chiefs are incomparable assets contributing to the development of the rural economy in the post-pandemic era, as well as the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
