On 22 July, Zhu Shanzhong, Vice Chairman of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) met with the party of Kazuaki Maruo, President (Managing Director) of Nippon Travel Agency. The two parties exchanged ideas about further strengthening Sino-Japan cooperation in tourism industry and other issues.

On behalf of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), Zhu Shanzhong first welcomed Kazuaki Maruo and his party to visit China. He said tourism exchanges between China and Japan had increased in recent years, which promoted the friendship and peace between the two nations. Japan was an important source of tourists for China, and the scale of bidirectional travel between the two countries was above five million person-times a year. Although the global financial crisis and the Influenza A (H1N1) had resulted in a decreased number of travelers of the two countries, China National Tourism Administration would continue to cooperate with Japan’s tourism industry to promote the recovery and development of bilateral tourism industry.

When talking about the preparation of the Expo 2010 Shanghai, Zhu Shanzhong expressed his hope that Nippon Travel Agency and Japan’s tourism industry could actively promote the Expo Shanghai so as to attract and organize more Japanese tourists to Shanghai during the Expo period.

After reviewing the history of Nippon Travel Agency, Kazuaki Maruo said the company hoped to strengthen the exchange and cooperation with China’s tourism industry. He hoped that Nippon Travel Agency could serve as a bridge of enhancing Sino-Japan tourism exchanges and deepening the friendship of the two nations.

Source: National Tourism Administration

Editor: Xie Fang