10/08/2015
Kochi to Become World Tourism Cities Federation Member:
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kochi will soon become a member of Beijing-headquartered World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Council.
The Kerala government has accepted the invitation extended by WTCF to Kochi to be a member of the Council.
The council is aimed at creating a global platform for cooperation and development of tourism.
The acceptance letter in this regard will be handed over to the Chinese Ambassador to India Le Yucheng in the presence of chief minister Oommen Chandy, tomorrow at Kochi, a release said.
It was at a meeting between Kerala Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson and Beijing Mayor Wang Anshun, also the chairman of WTCF Council, held on the sidelines of recent BITE expo in Beijing, that Wang Anshun invited Kochi to join WTCF.
"We expect that joining the league will be a great step towards strengthening the association between Beijing and Kerala. The Government of Kerala is honoured by this invitation and has decided to accept the invitation," Kerala Tourism Minister AP Anil Kumar said.
In a letter sent to the government, WTCF Chief had said "As the Chairman of the WTCF Council, I sincerely invite you to join the WTCF. I believe that, by joining the WTCF, you will bring and share your successful experience in the development of the tourism industry with all other members of the federation."
"The WTCF acts in accordance with the core idea of Better City Life Through Tourism. The membership will enable us to share experiences in the development of the tourism industry and explore new tourism markets," Chief Secretary Shri Jiji Thomson said.
Tourism Secretary G Kamala Vardhana Rao said Kerala would be able to upgrade the level of tourism industry as the WTCF was into promoting the coordinated economic and social development of the world's tourism cities.
WTCF is a non-profit, non-governmental international organisation voluntarily formed by tourism cities and organisations of various countries and regions from around the world.
The WTCF was formerly founded in Beijing on September I5, 2012, and is the first international tourism organization to take cities as its focus in the entire world.
