International Mountain Tourism Alliance elects new leadership

The second General Assembly of International Mountain Tourism Alliance (IMTA) was recently held successfully with Dominique de Villepin re-elected as Chairman of IMTA, He Yafei as Vice Chairman and Secretary-General, Pansy Ho as Vice Chairman, and Fu Yingchun as Vice Chairman and Executive Secretary-General. This is a group of leaders with advanced ideas, professionalism, international vision and extensive influence in the domestic and international industries.

The International Mountain and Tourism Alliance is a non-government, non-profit international organisation established with the approval of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, and voluntarily formed by destination management agencies, private tourism organisations, groups, enterprises and individuals of major mountainous countries and regions in the world. The IMTA is registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China, and administered by the National Tourism Administration of the People's Republic of China. Established upon the initiative of the International Mountain Tourism Development Center in China’s Guizhou Province, the IMTA has its permanent headquarters (Secretariat) in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, and a liaison office in Beijing.

138 members from five continents gathered by video conference and leaders of IMTA reviewed the five years of work and proposed the development goals for the next four years and the work plan for 2023. The assembly deliberated and adopted the amendment note of the Statues of the International Mountain Tourism Alliance and other related matters.

The assembly also elected the second Council, consisting of 41 members from 22 countries and regions on three continents. Francesco Francalli, former Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization(UNWTO), Wei Xiao 'an, well-known Chinese tourism expert, Xu Jing, former Director of the Asia Pacific Department of UNWTO, Wu Xiaoli, Deputy Director of the Information Station of Phoenix TV, and Chen Ping, global Vice President of the Internationale Organisation Für VOLKSKUNST(IOV) were elected as individual councils.

The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), Doppelmayr Seilbahnen GmbH, Chimelong Group, Global Tourism Economy Research Centre (GTERC) and other 32 institutions were elected as group councils. These senior, competent and experienced individual and group councils with international influence in the tourism industry and related fields will further promote IMTA towards the goal of becoming a world famous platform for mountain tourism and an international organisation model, and build an international tourism organisation with reasonable structure, excellent ability, broader vision, courage to develop, unity and cooperation, and trusted of IMTA members.

In addition, 19 organisations have joined IMTA as new members, including the International Nordic Walking Association (INWA), the Pichincha Provincial Government of Ecuador, and the Gran Canaria Tourism Board of Spain. So far, the membership of IMTA has increased from 126 organisations and individuals at the beginning to 194, and the number of member countries and regions has also increased from 29 to 34. The membership has been continuously expanded, and the membership structure and layout have been further optimised.