On June 26, Nishan Sacred Land, a cultural experience center for Confucian culture, in Qufu, Jining, East China's Shandong province, hosted the 2022 Jining (Qufu) Forum on World Famous Cultural Tourism Cities. A declaration underlining culture's importance in tourism development was issued.

The following is the full text of the declaration:

Jining(Qufu) Forum on World Famous Cultural Tourism Cities

—Nishan Declaration

Today, representatives of World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) member cities from all over the world are gathering here in Nishan Sacred Land of Jining known as a cultural city, a city of canals and the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, for the Jining (Qufu) Forum on World Famous Cultural Tourism Cities 2022.

Cities have the strongest economic vitality and richest cultural heritage in every country and region. World famous cultural tourism cities play an important role in shaping cities' cultural image, tapping cultural resources of cities, improving the level of cultural resources utilization and releasing the potential value of cultural resources.

To further demonstrate the importance of culture in tourism, we hereby issue an initiative to world tourism cities:

First, promoting the high-quality utilization of cultural resources

We should step up the preservation of cultural relics, promote the rational and moderate use of cultural relics, and improve the level of the tourism-oriented utilization of cultural resources and relics, to bring alive cultural relics in museums, cultural heritage on vast land and texts of classics. We should map out scientific strategies for cultural tourism development, improve the preservation and utilization of cultural resources, and promote the sustainable utilization and development of cultural resources.

Second, exploring new ways of cultural expression and dissemination

We should explore core cultural elements, interpret them in world languages and give new ways of expression to classical cultures. We should push forward the creative transformation of fine traditional cultural resources, integrate them with contemporary information science & technology, and promote the innovation and dissemination of cultural forms in intelligent ways, to rejuvenate ancient cultures.

Third, leveraging the strategic value of cultural tourism

We should incorporate cultural tourism strategies into city development plans, make good use of cultural resources, foster the unique cultural characters and charm of tourism cities, and make them important symbols of city tourism. We should create favorable cultural tourism environment and improve the tourism quality of cities, to make tourism cities more appealing and competitive.

Fourth, tapping distinctive regional cultural tourism

We should inherit the cultural context of cities, protect cultural heritage, build cultural brands of cities and create their own cultural identities. We should integrate nature, delicacies, history and humanistic stories into regional tourism, to form distinctive regional cultural features. We should attach great importance to the exploration of city cultures, keep extending their cultural connotation, and enhance the cultural value of cities.

Fifth, learning scientific and effective experience to push forward cultural tourism innovations

We should summarize and promote the advanced experience of tourism cities in cultural tourism development, develop, publicize and implement construction and management standards of famous cultural tourism cities, keep achieving breakthroughs in optimizing cultural tourism experiences, promoting culture-tourism integration and pushing forward the crossover development of culture & tourism, to further improve the quality of cultural tourism cities.

Sixth, enhancing the competitiveness of city-based cultural tourism

We should strengthen the public tourism service and infrastructure construction of cities, to enhance the convenience and appeal of city tourism. We should attach great importance to the development of featured tourism products, and build integrated urban cultural tourism chains. We should strengthen the marketing and promotion of urban cultural products, build city cultural tourism brands and enhance the competitiveness of city tourism.

Seventh, promoting the integration between resident culture and city culture

We should attach great importance to the symbiosis between city cultural tourism and communities, and encourage organically infusing local customs and aboriginal cultures into city cultural tourism. We should guide tourists in experiencing local cultures and life, to build harmony between tourists and locals, and enhance tourists' cultural tourism experiences.

Eighth, strengthening exchanges and cooperation between world famous cultural tourism cities

Famous cultural tourism cities should give play to the role of tourism in promoting exchanges between civilizations and cultures, and keep promoting mutual cultural understanding, cultural exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations. We should demonstrate the diversity of human civilization, infuse new nutrients and vitality for world cultural development, and build a broad platform and a bridge of friendship for people of all countries to enhance mutual understanding.

Jining, Shandong, China

26 June, 2022