Egypt's tourism advisor to China Abo el Maati Shaarawy hailed the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)'s decision to launch its "City Tourism Network" during the 5th Global Summit on City Tourism, set for Luxor City on November 1-2.

The Luxor-hosted summit will be held under the theme "Cities: Local Culture for Global Travellers".

In statements to MENA correspondent in China on Monday, Shaarawy said UNWTO Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific Xu Jing made the announcement during the opening of the 5th World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Summit in China's Chongqing city that will last till Thursday, September 22.

In his word at the Chongqing summit, Xu said the UNWTO City Tourism Network aims to be a platform for developing and implementing initiatives for cities across the globe, Shaarawy added.

Shaarawy quoted Xu as stressing that a key aspect of the "City Tourism Network" will be the "Mayors for Tourism Initiative", which will be open to any interested mayor from any city of any size. Through the Mayors for Tourism Initiative, cities will be able to share best practices in navigating the challenges and opportunities that tourism presents to local administrations. The first meeting will be held on the occasion of the launch of the Initiative in Luxor.

The Luxor summit will create an interdisciplinary platform on which city destinations exchange different experiences in city tourism development.

It will also provide a comprehensive framework of the extrinsic and intrinsic changes in city tourism as regards planning, governance and operational processes.

Source: MENA