Beautiful China, Amazing Yibin. On the morning of August 26th, 2015 Sichuan International Cultural Tourism Festival was opened in Yibin. Mr. Wei Hong, vice secretary of Sichuan Provincial Committee of the CPC and governor of Sichuan Provincial People’s Government announced the opening and delivered a speech. Mr. Du Jiang, vice director of China National Tourism Administration, and Mr. Mario Hardy, CEO of Pacific Asia Travel Association, also attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech respectively.

　　As an important platform to display the excellent tourism resources and tourism cultural boutiques, Sichuan International Cultural Tourism Festival has been held for 8 sessions since 2003. 2015 Sichuan International Cultural Tourism Festival is held in Yibin. This is also the first time that this festival is held in Southern Sichuan. International tourism organizations and tourism agency representatives from 21 countries and regions including America, France and Taiwan and so on, experienced tourism products and underwent tourism promotion and negotiation trade and so on.

　　In his speech, Mr. Wei Hong said that tourism was the bridge to spread civilization, exchange cultures and enhance friendship. The in-depth integration, co-existence and co-enhancement of tourism and culture made us feel extremely beautiful of our home. This festival of 2015 was held in Yibin, a famous city in Southern Sichuan with rich bamboo culture, Miao Nationality culture, wine culture as well as the culture of War of Resistance against Japanese, which would be definitely useful for the world to have a better understanding of Sichuan and enhance the International development of Sichuan cultural tourism. Currently, Sichuan was vigorously digging development potential on the basis of plentiful resource advantages, and creating herself into a province with powerful economy, culture, and tourism in China. We had confidence and determination to create Sichuan into an international tourism destination which was beloved by global tourists. Sichuan welcomed domestic and foreign travel agencies and investors to inspect and exchange in Sichuan and share new opportunities of Sichuan tourism development. Sichuan welcomed more people to travel here, fully experience the uniqueness and excellence of Sichuan scenery, and have a taste of Sichuan’s special charming.

　　Mr. Du Jiang mentioned that Chinese government had valued the development of tourism and tourism was becoming one driving force to spur social and economic development in the new normal. Sichuan was the most important tourism destination in China. Sichuan Provincial Committee of the CPC and Sichuan Provincial People’s Government fostered tourism as the pillar industry and yielded plentiful achievements. As the most critical brand activity for Sichuan tourism, Sichuan International Cultural Tourism Festival had been an important platform to display Sichuan cultural resources and played active function for the development of Sichuan tourism. He hoped that foreign and domestic guests could take full use of this platform to strengthen exchanges, deepen cooperation, achieve mutual benefits and promote tourism cooperation to a new step.

　　Mr. Mario Hardy said that he believed that the beauty of a nation was not determined by some certain places of interest, but her people, cultural heritage and diversity. Sichuan was one of the destinations with unique diversity, which drove global tourists to explore and feel new experiences. Pacific Asia Travel Association was quite willing to display the places of interest and stories of Sichuan and her people to the world and work hard to promote Pacific travel and tourism to achieve sustainable growth and improvement of value and quality together with Sichuan and China.

　　On the opening ceremony, Sichuan Winners in Top 10 Most Beautiful Tourism Guides and Winners for the 2nd Sichuan Folk Song Competition were awarded. 5 Newly established 4A Level Scenic Spots in Sichuan were branded. 12 European panda fans attending “Traveling the Southern Silk Road and Visiting the Hometown of Pandas -- Panda Fans Traveling to Sichuan” were awarded Sichuan Tourism Promotion Ambassador Certificates.

　　Mrs. Huang Yanhong, vice governor of Sichuan Provincial People's Government presided over the opening ceremony. Representatives from domestic and foreign tourism enterprises, from other provinces and cities, from relevant municipal or provincial departments, also attended the opening ceremony.