BERLIN, 9 March 2018: The long-term vision for the historic Silk Road routes and how to establish it as an important transnational travel path were given an airing during ITB, Wednesday.
The 8th UNWTO Silk Road Ministers’ Meeting was held on the sidelines of ITB Berlin.
Adopting the theme “2025 Silk Road Tourism Agenda”, the Ministers and Heads of national tourist offices shared their ideas and strategies, which bring together 34 countries.
Malaysia is the latest member to join this initiative spearheaded by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
“Our joint work on positioning the Silk Road as an internationally renowned and cultural tourism route is proving to be very positive,” said UNWTO secretary-general, Zurab Pollikashvili. “Cross-country tourism projects are growing, and the interest of trade and consumers in the Silk Road continues to rise.”
Primarily associated with land routes, the historic Silk Road has extended to include maritime itineraries linking various cultures.
Against this backdrop, UNWTO has assessed the tourism potential of Maritime Silk Road thematic routes across Asia presenting a research study ‘Tourism Impact of the 21st century Maritime Silk Road’.
While Silk Road destinations stand to benefit from the persistent strong growth of international tourism, putting sustainability and trans-border cooperation first will be key to fully develop its benefits.
The conclusions of the Silk Road Ministers Meeting will be discussed again during the 8th UNWTO Silk Road Task Force Meeting in Turkey in April, and during the 8th UNWTO International Meeting on Silk Road Tourism in Greece in October 2018.
