China's Jilin province seeks tourism cooperation with Zambia

LUSAKA -- A delegation from northeast China's Jilin province on Wednesday held a meeting with various Zambian firms involved in the tourism sector as part of efforts to collaborate in the promotion of the sector.

The meeting dubbed, "China-Zambia Culture Year' the Enterprises' Matching Meeting of Cultural Tourism between Jilin and Zambia, saw the delegation meeting with Zambian firms to establish partnerships.

Chen Shoujun, Deputy Director of the Culture and Tourism Department of Jilin Province said at the start of the meeting that the purpose of the gathering was to learn from each other in order to collaborate more.

He said the delegation was seeking cooperation from Zambian operators in the tourism industry for information which could be used to brand Zambia to tourists in Jilin province.

According to him, there were great opportunities for the Chinese province and the Zambian firms to complete each other because of the vast tourism potential existing in both Zambia and Jilin.

"The tourism sector in Zambia attracts a lot of tourists not only from Jilin but other parts of China. We want to have a more profound understanding of tourism so that we can go back and promote it in Jilin," he said.

He hoped that the meeting would help enhance cooperation and communication between China and Zambia in the tourism industry.

Samson Simwanda, Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Manager of the Multi Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ) said Zambia's tourism industry was still yearning for more investment and urged the delegation to explore various areas.

He said Zambia still has potential for investment in the provision of hotel facilities as well as conferencing facilities which the Jilin province could explore.

According to him, the Zambian government was in the process of establishing a tourism multifacility economic zone aimed at attracting more investment in the sector through the provision of special incentives.

Yao Yunwu, president of the Zambia-Jilin Chamber of Commerce, said the association was happy with the efforts of trying to link the tourism sector in Jilin and Zambia.

He said his association will work hard to ensure the success of the collaboration which would culminate in the growth of the tourism industries in both Zambia and Jilin.