Utah governor and a son of businessman and
philanthropist Jon Huntsman of Huntsman Corporation, Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr.
said on Wednesday he is looking to expand tourism opportunities between his
state and China.
Taking the mike at a press conference after a bulk of introduction and lavish
praises from his host, the 46-year-old governor opened with the Chinese greeting
'Da jia hao' (hello), which drew thunderous applause from the audience.
"The state of Utah is immersed in white mountains and red valleys. The desert
and mountains have given the state some marvelous scenery and there are five
national parks in Utah. I welcome you all to pay a visit to my state and my
warm-hearted citizens," the governor who calls himself 'lao you tiao' (slick, or
sly) said in Chinese at the press conference.
Huntsman was heading a business delegation and launching a tourism publicity
campaign in the hopes of extending cooperation in all fields between his state
and China.
"I hope to expand tourism, economic and commerce cooperations between Utah
and China and the person to person interaction between them," the governor said,
without giving details.
According to statistics, the number of Chinese tourists that traveled abroad
in the past year hit 31 million.
Huntsman, hailed as the only US governor who can speak Chinese, said he hopes
"more and more tourists will fly to Utah for a visit and foster better
communication between both cultures."
"China's GDP has seen a dramatic growth and so has the income of the Chinese
people and Chinese people are capable of traveling to the US," the governor
said.
Immediate reports on the prices of the China-Utah packages were not
available.
The tourism industry has been labeled a 'peace ambassador' between the two
world powers.
The China National Tourism Administration chief Liu Kezhi said at the press
conference that China is the most populous country in the world with a total
population of 1.3 billion and the number of the US population has risen to 300
million.
"There is great potential between the two countries," Liu said.
Tourism is a bridge for friendship and the bilateral exchange will foster the
development of the China-US ties, according to Liu.
The official Chinese website for traveling to Utah www.utah-travel.cn was
also unveiled at the press conference.
"In 2002, Utah held the winter Olympics to display its fantastic scenery and
the warm hearts to the outside world. I believe that China will promote its
centuries-old history and culture to the outside world in the 2008 Beijing
Olympic Games," Huntsman said.
Huntsman became governor of Utah in 2004. He is a Republican, with fiscally
conservative views and supports free trade. He is an outspoken advocate of
Utah's strong role and potential on the global trade market, according to media
reports.
