On October 24th, the World Mayor Dialogue · Zhengzhou and the 2025 Zhengzhou International Tourism City Mayor Forum were held. The China Tourism Research Institute provided academic guidance and, in conjunction with the Zhengzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism, organized the International Tourism City Mayor Forum segment. In the results release stage, Dr. Liu Xiangyan, Director of the International Research Institute of China Tourism Research Institute, represented the inbound tourism research group and released the research results on the international tourism influence of cities - "15 Cities with Rising International Tourism Influence in China". The research team constructed an evaluation system from the perspective of the entire journey of international tourists, including pre trip, during trip, and post trip, to assess the comprehensive ability of 60 sample cities in China to attract international tourists. The evaluation results of "Jumping 15 Cities" released this time focus on cities that have significantly improved their overall ranking compared to 2022 and have made significant progress in at least one evaluation dimension. These 15 cities are: . In three parallel thematic discussion sessions, Dr. Li Zhongguang, Chief Researcher of China Tourism Research Institute, presided over a thematic discussion on the theme of "The Path and Strategy of Collaborative Development of Culture and Tourism in Urban Agglomerations". Pau Rodr í guez, Deputy Mayor of C ú vel í s, Spain, shared his experience in developing regional and international tourism through a comprehensive approach, focusing on the city's metropolitan area and resource characteristics; Tania Arihia Tapsell, Mayor of Rotorua, New Zealand, introduced the local tourism development and the inbound tourism promoted through business cooperation in recent years, expressing her willingness to have better exchanges and cooperation with China; Zhang Lixin, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Henan Culture and Tourism Investment Group, shared the achievements of Henan Province's cultural and tourism development, achieving the goal of highly integrating and cross-border integration of "cultural and tourism industries", as well as the group's regional layout and ten directions for development; Waad Melliti, Senior Business Manager of the External Liaison Department of the World Tourism Cities Federation, introduced the core concept of the WTCF of the World Tourism Cities Federation, which promotes sustainable tourism through cooperation among city consortia, and exchanged a series of facilitation measures for inbound tourism in Beijing and the Beijing Tianjin Hebei metropolitan area; Wu Lei, Vice President and Marketing Business Group President of Henan Yinji Industrial Group Co., Ltd., shared his experience in the development of Yinji's cultural and tourism projects, focusing on technology empowerment, cultural and tourism win-win, and future directions; Xiao Jianyong, Vice President of Henan Culture and Tourism Research Institute, shared the phenomenon of cultural and tourism integration in Henan, and discussed the transportation, culture, brand IP, project driving, technological empowerment, and in-depth experience of cultural and tourism in the Zhengzhou Bianluo An urban agglomeration in Henan; Welcome to Wu Wenting, the project leader of China, who introduced the "Welcome China" project on how to serve the high-quality development of Chinese tourism. She also shared a new model of market-oriented certification projects to promote the coordinated development of urban tourism and culture.

Dr. Liu Xiangyan, Director of the International Research Institute of China Tourism Research Institute, presided over a special seminar on the theme of "Facilitation and Safety Management of International Tourism Services". Omurbek Kenzhebaev, Director of the International Finance, Green Economy and Tourism Bureau of Kyrgyzstan, stated that Kyrgyzstan has identified tourism as an important investment area and is actively building a national cultural tourism destination and deepening cooperation between regional countries to promote international tourist visits; Barakaev Elbekjon Abdullaugli, Director of the Tourism Bureau of Uzbekistan's Jizhak Region, shared the tourism characteristics of Uzbekistan and Jizhak Region. The region is developing environmentally friendly tourism and mountain tourism based on its own advantages to attract international tourists; Wang Xiaoshi, the Asia Regional Director of the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC), pointed out that new technologies such as biometric recognition are improving travel convenience and safety, and called for stable signals of visa free policies at the national level. He suggested that local international tourism marketing should increase content related to local residents to enhance its attractiveness to inbound tourists; Cui Dingbang, Director General of the Hong Kong Tourism Promotion Association, emphasized that convenient transportation, livability, and safety are the three key points for promoting international travel in cities. He also pointed out that measures such as real-time information dissemination and convenient public transportation can effectively alleviate safety pressure during large-scale events; Yang Jingjing, a professor at the School of Business of Beijing Technology and Business University and advisor to the Policy Committee of the Guangdong Macao Federation of Industry and Commerce, proposed from the perspective of information and consumption that improving language labeling, tourist information center services, and payment convenience are the core contents of international tourism facilitation. The first step to boost inbound tourism is to systematically enhance the quality and effectiveness of overseas marketing and promotion work.

Dr. Li Longhui from the International Research Institute of China Tourism Research Institute presided over a special seminar on the theme of "Connecting Tourists' Deep Experience with Urban Beautiful Life". Ilaria Ferrandin, a councilor from the Italian city of Cachami Giora Terme, shared her experience in developing cities that are suitable for tourism and living; Li Liang, member of the Standing Committee of the Alshan Municipal Committee and Deputy Mayor of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, introduced the transformation and achievements of the local tourism industry; Wang Songping, counselor of the People's Government of the Xizang Autonomous Region and the first director of the Tourism Development Department of the Autonomous Region, elaborated on the core driving role of tourism industry in Xizang's socio-economic development; Yan Lanru, General Manager of Qunar.com Smart Tourism, stated that Qunar.com will be committed to providing tourists with in-depth experiences and empowering the city with a better life; Founder of Shenzhou Journey, Li Pingzhang, shared his practical experience in serving inbound tourism and is committed to providing every international tourist with a more authentic and vivid experience of Chinese culture; Associate Professor Yang Xiaoyan from Minjiang University pointed out that tourism is shifting from sightseeing check-in to experiential enjoyment, which requires local governments to improve public services and market entities to provide better products that link the city's beautiful life.

Contribution | International (Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) Research Institute

Editor in Chief | Liu Xin

Source | China Tourism Research Institute (Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism)

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