The 2nd Australia-China Tourism Forum, co-hosted by Sichuan University and Edith Cowan University, and supported by Australia-China Tourism Research Network, was held in Chengdu.

Ms. Cao Ping, deputy chairwoman of Sichuan University Board Council, addressed this forum, noting that it will help to promote the mutual exchanges, mutual understanding and mutual trust, and establish a win-win relationship between China and Australia. Mr. Christopher Lim, the Consul General of the Australian Consulate General in Chengdu, said that Chengdu has a huge potential of development thanks to its profound cultural heritage and rich natural tourism resources. He believed that, with the growing number of tourists from China and Australia, a new vitality could be injected into the bilateral relation by the governments or private sectors. Prof. Maryam Omari, Executive Dean of the Edith Cowan School of Business Law, expressed his hope that both institutions could establish a long-term partnership to pursue the academic exchanges and cooperation in the field of education, and drive the cultural and economic development based on tourism researches.

Themed with “Promoting Cultural Exchanges and Mutual Understanding through Tourism: New Ties in New Norms”, the grand event gathered together more than 300 representatives from political, industrial and academic circles of both countries, who made in-depth discussions on the development of new concepts, new views, new trends and the most popular tourism development issues in China and Australia, with its aim of building a platform for exchanges and cooperation between the Chinese and Australian tourism sectors and for seeking new opportunities of tourism development in the two countries.

On the sideline of the forum, some academic seminars, special lectures and training activities were arranged, a summit forum attended by representatives of the tourism, business, and academic circles was held, and a special salon for cross-century dialogues among three generations of travel scholars was also staged. Then, the guests made a tour to some scenic spots in Chengdu, including the giant panda breeding and research base. The international, professional and inclusive forum was highly praised by many participants.