Asia Conference on Marine Tourism opens in Ningbo

China has attached great importance to the development of the marine economy in recent years, and marine tourism, an integral part of the marine economy, has seen robust development due to the introduction of favorable policies, said Rao Quan, vice minister of Culture and Tourism, at the opening ceremony of the Asia Conference on Marine Tourism 2022 which was held in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province on July 13.

Rao also called on Asian countries to join hands in the pursuit of high-quality and sustainable development of marine tourism.

Cheng Yuechong, vice governor of Zhejiang, pointed out that Zhejiang has unique advantages in developing the marine economy, and that the province regards marine tourism as a new engine driving the growth of the marine economy.

The conference, he added, has provided an important platform to boost maritime tourism exchanges and cooperation in Asia.

Ningbo, a renowned historical and cultural city in China and an economic hub in the southern end of the Yangtze River Delta, occupies an important position in the history of marine civilization and the global industrial chain and supply chain, according to Peng Jiaxue, Party chief of Ningbo.

He noted that the hosting of the conference dovetails with the central government’s call to deepen exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, as well as build an Asian community with a shared future. He added that Ningbo will leverage the conference to bolster its campaign to become a modern coastal metropolis.

Themed "Promoting the Development of Asia and Sharing the Marine Economy", the conference was sponsored by the Bureau of International Exchanges and Cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and the Ningbo Municipal People's Government.

Nearly 200 people, including diplomats, government officials, experts and scholars, attended the event.

The China Diving & Salvage Contractors Association inaugurated a leisure diving base in Ningbo's coastal county of Xiangshan on the sidelines of the event.