Address by Mr. Francesco Frangialli, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization of the United Nations at the Guangdong Forum on the Development and Cooperation of Modern Tourism Industry Hon. Governor of Guangdong Province Mr. Huang Huahua, Hon. Chairman of CNTA Mr. Shao Qiwei, Hon, Vice Governor of Guangdong Province Mr. Wan Qingliang, Hon, President of Sun Yat-sen University Mr. Huang Daren, Hon, Chairmand of Phoenix Television, Mr. Liu Changle, Distinguished delegates, Ladies and Gentleman, A very good morning to all of you! First and foremost, it is my great pleasure to be here to attend the Guangdong Forum on the Development and Cooperation of Modern Tourism Industry. On behalf of the World Tourism Organization of the United Nations, I wish to extend my warmest congratulations on the convening of this gathering. It has been a long time since I set my foot on this beautiful land of Guangdong, / a land blessed with rich culture and historical resources, / and a land of vibrant and booming economy. However, it has not been a long time since I met with your governor of Guangdong, Mr. Huang who led a gigantic delegation to Spain and visited the headquarters of UNWTO in Madrid in October this year. I am pleased to inform you that it is the fourth time that UNWTO is represented at the Guangdong International Tourism and Culture Festival and Pan-Pearl River Delta Tourism Promotion Convention. We value the importance of this significant event not only because it is held in Guangdong, but more so because it involves a much broader geographic area of Pan-Pearl River Delta. It is a region where tourism sector has been playing a vital role in its social and economic development. And it is a region of a prime tourist destination as well as a major source market of tourism. We in UNWTO, therefore, attach great importance to the continued collaboration with Guangdong in the development and promotion of its tourism. Ladies and Gentlemen, Today’s forum is being held at a critical moment when the global economy is going through the most severe period of turbulence since the Second World War. The international financial crisis is shaking the entire planet earth with increasing impact on what is called “the real economy”. Tourism is no exception. Although we had another record year of 2007 with international tourist arrivals reaching 903 million, a growth of 6% and tourism receipts reaching 856 billion US dollars, a 5.6% increase, the outlook of 2008 under the current circumstances can not be described as being bright. It is heartening to note that up to the end of August 2008, we have been able to register still a steady increase of 3.8% growth. It is clear, however, that an inversion of the upward trend has taken place since this summer. Behavior of consumers has started to change especially for North American and European travelers. They reduced their incidental expenditures; they gave preference to non-upmarket accommodations and to low cost airlines over traditional carriers. Ladies and Gentlemen, The growth of tourism in China over almost one and a half decades has been spectacular. Ladies and Gentlemen, In recent years, UNWTO has cooperation with many provinces in the Pan-Pearl River Delta. 本文来源：https://www.wddqw.com/doc/87085b554431b90d6c85c752.html