Mr. Wang zhifa, Vice Chairman of China National Tourism Administration leading the Chinese tourism delegation met with Mr. Marthinus van Schalkwyk, South Africa’s Minister of Toursim in Cape Town, South Africa on October 19. Both parties conducted in-depth communication on further tourism cooperation between China and South Africa.

Mr. Wang Zhifa said China and South Africa are both rich in tourism resources, and the total visitors between the two countries grew rapidly in recent years. The development of tourism is based on the friendship and the stable bilateral political relations between China and south Africa.  He expected the tourism departments of China and South Africa could enhance the exchanges and cooperation to keep continuous growth of visitors from both countries.  Specifically, Mr. Wang Zhifa indicated that the special tourism products of South Africa are very appealing to Chinese tourists, so he hoped that South Africa will take good use of platforms like CITM frequently to intensify the promotion in China.

Mr. Marthinus highly appreciated Mr. Wang’s advice, and expressed the government of South Africa attaches great importance on China’s tourist market and will draw on the experience of China’s tourism in recent years, especially developing domestic travel market. Meanwhile, he put forward the proposal of signing a bilateral agreement on tourism cooperation, so as to establish an effective cooperative mechanism with China National Tourism Administration and increase the collaborative projects.

Relevant news in Chinese:
王志发会见南非旅游部部长马蒂纳斯·范斯卡尔奎克