Hainan to establish global island research center

With a theme of "Island Tourism: International Cooperation and Sustainable Development", the session discussed the attitude island countries and regions should take toward tourism in their economic development and what approaches should be introduced to brand island tourist destinations.

Shen Danyang, vice-governor of Hainan, said there is huge potential for cooperation as Chinese tourists' needs for island leisure, cruiseliners, medical tourism and duty-free goods are expanding rapidly.

He suggested island economies share their experiences, further cooperate and jointly explore the opportunities Hainan will offer in its future development.

"Tourism is an important driver for local social and economic growth. It opens doors for many things but it could also produce burdens on ecological resources and the environment in the meantime. So a good balance between the two should be taken into consideration," said Gudrun Those Gunnarsdottir, director of the Icelandic Tourism Research Center, Iceland.

John Aquilina, Malta's ambassador to China, said Malta and Hainan have too many "common languages" as island economies and there are a wide range of fields for cooperation.