The mayor, Ángeles Muñoz, has participated in a virtual way in the summit organized in Beijin (China) by the World Federation of Tourist Cities (WTCF), an international network of which the city has been a part since last June, and has bet for international cooperation to consolidate the positioning of Marbella “as a destination and as a globally recognized brand.” The councilor, who has spoken for the first time in this forum, has stated that the municipality “joins this organization with the desire to contribute and also to extract experiences from other places that, with total security, will enrich us all.”
The first councilor, who alluded to the importance of the synergy of the sector to overcome the challenges and promote the recovery of world tourism, also highlighted that, after the health crisis, it has become clear “a demanding tourism that demands an offer much more powerful complementary approach ”, at which point he has emphasized a public-private collaboration strategy“ that allows us to be at the forefront not only in the hotel plant, but also in terms of gastronomy, leisure, culture, heritage, shopping, nature or sports, to attract a residential tourist who wants to live in the best place in the world ”.
The meeting, held at the Beijing National Convention Center and organized by the WTC, the Beijing municipal government and the main international organizations and tourism institutions, has brought together more than 360 guests from 40 countries under the slogan ‘Revitalize tourism world and stimulate the development of cities’. After the ceremony and the opening speeches, there were meetings to address the current situation of the sector from a global perspective, a special forum, the publication of research results, the dialogue on the sustainable development of tourist cities and different sub-forums.
Among other interventions, the Secretary General of the UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili, and the Minister of Culture and Tourism of China, Hu Heping, took the floor in an event that was broadcast in ‘streaming’ with face-to-face and online multilingual support in five languages : Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian. Currently, the World Federation of Tourist Cities has 200 WTCF members from more than 150 cities in 78 countries and regions. The mayor recalled that “Marbella is a unique destination and our alliance with projects like this institution makes us stronger and more competitive in a globalized world.”