URUMQI - Lying at the heart of the historic Silk Road, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is creating new opportunities to boost tourism and becoming a "key tourist destination" for the world, an international travel expert said.

Zoltan Somogyi, executive director for member relations and services at the United Nations World Tourism Organization, made the remarks at the China-Eurasia forum on tourism cooperation and development in Urumqi, the regional capital.

"Xinjiang will become one of the world's most dynamic tourism growth areas in the near future," he told China Daily. He added that, by "assembling the cultures of both Eastern and Western countries", China's far northwestern region had gained a distinct advantage in integrating the world's two largest markets, Europe and Asia.

The forum on Friday attracted almost 150 tourism officials from more than 10 countries along the ancient Silk Road route, including Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Zhu Shanzhong, deputy director-general of the China National Tourism Administration, stressed the significance of "opening without barriers" in the process of building the Silk Road brand with neighboring countries.

"Cross-border cooperation and regional links are the pillars of tourism development," Zhu said. "No one can win without cooperation, as the world is so tightly integrated."

Global tourism has recovered more strongly than expected from the financial crisis and recession of 2008 and 2009, and the increasing number of Chinese tourists has given "grassroots support" to economies around the world, Zhu said.

Last year, China ranked third on the world list of inbound tourist destinations and outbound consumption countries.

"The tourism industry in China has entered a golden age," Zhu said, adding that completed investment in tourism in China exceeded 60 million yuan ($9.4 million) during the first half, up more than 10 percent year-on-year.

"To build the Silk Road tour brand requires joint effort by more than 30 Eurasian countries. This time, Xinjiang is taking the lead in marketing and promotion," Zhu added.

The ancient route is more than 7,000 km long, 2,600 km of which run through Xinjiang. Along this section, there are 1,322 cultural relics under national and provincial protection, 31 ancient cities, 26 key scenic spots and five World Heritage sites.

"We have big potential in developing regional tourism, as we are rich in natural and cultural tourist resources," said Shi Dagang, vice-chairman of Xinjiang.

"The region is ready to welcome the influx of domestic and foreign tourists."

China Daily

(China Daily 09/05/2011 page4)