The first cultural tourism talent cultivation forum commenced in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Oct 19, attracting more than 100 attendees, including media representatives, trainees, teachers, and people in charge of tourism colleges.

The forum was hosted by the China Tourism Education Association and undertaken by Guilin Tourism University (GLTU).

Cheng Daopin, president of GLTU and vice chairman of the China Tourism Education Association, said that a new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay, as well as domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other has been fostered due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which has posed unprecedented challenges and opportunities for the tourism industry.

Cheng added that the forum is expected to push forward the training of cultural tourism talents.

Liu Lili, secretary general of the China Tourism Education Association, noted that the demand for integrated and innovative talents in the cultural tourism industry has increased and become more urgent. The forum has established a platform for communication and sharing, better offering talent and intellectual support for the high-quality development of the cultural tourism industry in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.

Keynote speeches in areas spanning the impact of public health emergencies on the tourism industry, innovation in talent cultivation under the integration of culture and tourism, as well as the practices and paths made by tourism colleges in improving talent training were given by guests during the forum.

An on-site tour to relevant training bases in GLTU for trainees and guests was also organized.

Trainees will participate in the four-day training after the forum, which will apply measures like project-based learning methods and educational drama theory to improve their skills.