Dominique de Villepin, chairman of International Mountain Tourism Alliance (IMTA), said the recovery of the tourism industry after the pandemic will be a process of transformation from quantity to quality. Tourism is related with health in many ways and mountain tourism boasts great potential to develop. As a mountainous park province, Guizhou has built itself into a model of combining mountain tourism and other industries with its rich and unique natural resources and is set to become a world-class destination.

IMTA was initiated by China and founded in Xingyi in 2017 with Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province, as its headquarter and secretariat.

A report on mountain tourism cooperation and development under the framework of RCEP co-compiled by International Mountain Tourism Alliance (IMTA) and Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) was released and 14 mountain and spring resorts nationally and internationally were honored as pilot models by the IMTA during the ceremony.

The conference is formed of a complex of activities and events with the theme of “integrate sports and tourism, enjoy a high-quality life”. The five events include the annual meeting of the International Mountain Tourism Alliance and the Dialogue of World Famous Mountains held on Friday.

Another major event saw more than 10,000 runners enjoying a half marathon race along the karst scenery route with Bouyei ethnic culture in Wanfenglin scenic spot on September 10.

Supporting activities like a softball competition, a summer camp, a triathlon competition, a wild fishing competition and a half marathon run had been held in Xingyi before the opening of the conference while a sport climbing competition and a cycling race will be held during the conference.

Xingyi, capital city of Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture of Guizhou province, has been the permanent venue for the conference since 2015. The city boasts China's largest artificial lake and fifth largest freshwater lake - Wangfeng Lake, known as paradise for water sports - and Wanfenglin scenic spot, a tour area featuring dense and bizarrely shaped karst peaks extending for hundreds of kilometers and ranked by Chinese National Geography as one of the five most beautiful peak forests in the country.