Home
» City specials
» Hangzhou
Tourism officials prepare the red carpet for summit
Print Edition
As the head of Hangzhou’s Tourism Commission, Li Hong has his work cut out for him ahead of the Group of 20 summit to be held in the city next year.
For starters, he is dropping “a scenic city 200 kilometers from Shanghai” from his opening spiel about the city. The G20 meeting of world leaders gives Hangzhou a new profile.
The summit, to be held on September 4-5, puts the spotlight on Hangzhou as an international city, Li said.
“Hangzhou is a city of history, culture, innovation and liveliness,” Chinese President Xi Jiping said when he recently announced the city had been chosen to host the next summit.
Its theme will be “Building an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy,” Xi said.
To make sure the city doesn’t disappoint, Li and his Tourism Commission colleagues are already working on ways to make the city more foreigner-friendly.
“We must offer top-flight services and facilities to guests of every level — from national presidents to their staff,” said Li.
Already, training for airport and hotel staff is underway, volunteers are being recruited and English-language signs are being upgraded.
“We must show our hospitality in a professional way,” Li said.
Hangzhou received over 3 million overseas tourists last year, triple the number just a decade ago. The city boasts nearly 30 five-star hotels and hosts thousands of major conferences every year. Its airport handles over 500 international flights a week.
To the Chinese people, Hangzhou has long been famous as one of the nation’s most scenic beauties.
Domestic tourists already know that legacy; many foreigners do not. So tourism officials are developing separate marketing languages to target each group.
For example, the city’s English-language slogan is “Hangzhou, living poetry.” Its Chinese slogan translates as “leisure capital, quality city.”
Li said he doesn’t know how much additional tourism the G20 summit may generate in the future, but such a high-level conference will certainly put the city squarely on the international map.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
