ASTANA – The Year of Tourism 2023 forum will take place from Nov. 23 to 26 in Ürümqi, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, announced Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Zhang Ming, the SCO’s press service reported on Nov. 11.

Zhang Ming. Photo credit: SCO/Telegram

SCO member states declared 2023 as the Year of Tourism in the SCO in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic that halted the tourism industry not only in the SCO space but worldwide, Zhang Ming said.

“At the upcoming forum, we plan to raise issues related to the development and implementation of measures in tourism across the SCO space,” he shared.

The forum is expected to bring together heads of tourism administrations from member states, SCO observers, dialogue partners, international organizations, heads of national tourism companies, representatives of business circles, and the media.

The SCO Secretary-General emphasized that Almaty was designated as the cultural and tourist capital of the SCO for 2023-2024.

After taking over the SCO chairmanship in July, Kazakhstan outlined specific plans for developing tourism in the SCO space, Zhang Ming noted, adding that an international tourism forum held in Aktau is among the initiatives designed to contribute to tourism revival.