World tourism players vow to boost cooperation

SANYA, Hainan, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the world tourism industry at the 2010 Boao International Tourism Forum Sunday vowed to promote cooperation to deal with incidents with negative impacts on tourism.

Given the industry''s sensitive characteristics, the world''s tourism industry should establish cooperation and development mechanisms to jointly respond to natural disasters, disease outbreaks, as well as economic crises and other sudden occurrences, according to the Hainan Tourism Declaration issued at the forum held in south China''s Hainan Province.

Hainan would continue to run the Boao International Tourism Forum in a long term with the help of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), according to the Declaration.

Delegates from more than 50 countries and regions participated in the forum in Sanya, a tourist resort in Hainan Province. Participants at the forum included leaders from the UNWTO, the WTTC, the PATA and tourism ministers from a number of countries.

Under the theme of "transformation of tourism and cultural industries in the aftermath of the global economic crisis," participants would discuss measures adopted by each country to cope with the global economic downturn and trends of the global tourism industry.