Tianshannet-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Hou Weili and Qian Yongwen) news: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Forum “Year of Tourism 2023” has been scheduled for opening in Urumqi, capital of China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on November 23, organizers of the event said on Wednesday.

The event will feature a theme forum on the potential of tourism in the SCO space as well as sideline seminars on tourism in Xinjiang, sustainable development of the tourism industry, and tourism and poverty reduction, the organizers said.

Government officials of SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners, representatives of embassies of related countries in China and international organizations, those from culture and tourism businesses and journalists will gather in Urumqi for the event, which is co-hosted by the SCO Secretariat and the regional government of Xinjiang.

SCO member states declared 2023 the SCO Year of Tourism to support the tourism industry and increase the tourist appeal of the cities and regions in the SCO space in the Samarkand Declaration of the Heads of State Council of the SCO released in September 2022.

SCO member states further pledged to jointly boost the tourism industry and build a closer SCO community of culture at the Meetings of the Heads of Tourism Administrations of the SCO Member States held in India in March 2023.

Founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001, the SCO now has nine member states, three observer states and 14 dialogue partners. The intergovernmental international organization is committed to strengthening mutual trust, friendship and good neighbourliness among its member states, and encouraging effective cooperation in areas including politics, trade, economy, science and technology, culture, education, energy, transport, tourism and environmental protection.

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