UN Tourism hosts photo exhibition on China's wildlife, promoting eco-tourism

Secretary General of UN Tourism Zurab Pololikashvili addresses the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition held at the headquarters of UN Tourism in Madrid, Spain, Oct. 10, 2024. A photo exhibition showcasing China's diverse wildlife was held at the headquarters of UN Tourism in Madrid on Thursday, aimed at promoting the growing trend of natural tourism. "There are lots of natural parks and lots of beautiful places which are undiscovered and I think this is one of the first steps to promote Chinese natural tourism, which is also becoming very trendy, very important today," Pololikashvili told Xinhua. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)

MADRID, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- A photo exhibition showcasing China's diverse wildlife was held at the headquarters of UN Tourism in Madrid on Thursday, aimed at promoting the growing trend of natural tourism.

"There are lots of natural parks and lots of beautiful places which are undiscovered and I think this is one of the first steps to promote Chinese natural tourism, which is also becoming very trendy, very important today," Secretary General of UN Tourism Zurab Pololikashvili told Xinhua.

The exhibition features 20 photographs of wildlife, some of which have earned accolades in international competitions. These images were taken professional and amateur Chinese photographers ranging in age from 12 to over 70.

Pololikashvili said that tourists want to travel to China "to see not only buildings and architecture or the modern part of China, but at the same time the rural development," which is "one of our priorities."

This exhibition is one of the first steps "to promote together" natural tourism, and in China there are a lot of things to see "outside of the big cosmopolitan cities," he noted.

Chinese tourism, both inbound and outbound, has been recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first half of this year, China received 14.64 million international visitors, a 153 percent surge from the previous year. A significant portion -- 8.54 million -- entered through visa-free policies, reflecting a 190 percent rise, according to data from the China National Immigration Administration.

"Numbers are there and people are coming back to China. The interest is huge to travel in China," and this kind of activity will be "a good support."

In terms of China outbound tourism, "in the second part of 2023 and in all 2024 we're seeing that the numbers of Chinese tourists are increasing and we're coming back to 2019," he said, adding that "next year, it will be much better because everything is back."

He also noted that tourism is becoming more sustainable and people are looking for new destinations, new experiences.

Also at the opening ceremony, Harry Hwang, regional director for Asia and the Pacific at UN Tourism, highlighted that Chinese tourists are making a big impact not only "in Asia destinations, but in the whole world."

"Asia was one of the slowest regions to recover from pandemic" but once it's recovered "I think it will lead the growth and development of tourism, and in that interjunction Chinese tourism will be absolutely important," the regional director added.

Secretary General of UN Tourism Zurab Pololikashvili (4th R, front) attends the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition held at the headquarters of UN Tourism in Madrid, Spain, Oct. 10, 2024. A photo exhibition showcasing China's diverse wildlife was held at the headquarters of UN Tourism in Madrid on Thursday, aimed at promoting the growing trend of natural tourism.

"There are lots of natural parks and lots of beautiful places which are undiscovered and I think this is one of the first steps to promote Chinese natural tourism, which is also becoming very trendy, very important today," Pololikashvili told Xinhua. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)