Visit London and Shanghai Sign Historic Pact
SHANGHAI, China, April 14, 2006. Visit London is signing a Tourism Agreement with the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administrative Commission.
The arrangement follows the formal signing of a Friendship Agreement between the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and Mayor Han of Shanghai. The Tourism Agreement includes commitment to share best practice and learnings in relation to tourism and to co-promote the two cities.
James Bidwell, Chief Executive of Visit London said: 'By 2020 China will be the biggest source of outbound travellers in the world and we look forward to welcoming as many as possible of them to London. To successfully realise the potential, we are engaging with city authorities as much as the travel trade and commercial operators throughout the country. This Agreement is arguably one of the most important strategic initiatives for London's future tourism and a very exciting development in the growing relationships between our cities and countries."
First steps in implementing the Agreement will include:
o Further development of the annual China in London season.
o Visit London presence at travel trade fairs in Shanghai.
o Mutual exchange of best practice in tourism promotion.
o A programme of familiarisation and press trips.
o The development of Visit London's website for Chinese visitors - www.visitlondon.com.cn
The signing of the Agreement is a key plank in a week- long series of initiatives to promote London in China. A delegation led by the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone is in Beijing and Shanghai this week to promote tourism, inward investment, education and the creative industries.
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