About IMTA
The International Mountain Tourism Alliance (IMTA) is a non-government, non-profit international organization established with the approval of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, and voluntarily formed by mountain tourism related organizations, groups and individuals. IMTA is registered at the Ministry of Civil Affairs of China, and administered by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China. IMTA has its permanent headquarters in Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, and a liaison office in Beijing.
IMTA was formally established on 15 August, 2017, with the goal of sustainable tourism, and the mission of protecting mountain resources, preserving mountain civilization, promoting mountain economy and prospering mountain communities. It is committed to preserving and utilizing mountain tourism resources, participating in the construction of mountain tourism governance system, facilitating international tourism exchanges and business cooperation, sharing experience of mountain tourism development, and promoting mountain economy and sustainable development.
The organizational structure of the IMTA includes the General Assembly, the Council and the Secretariat. The General Assembly is the deliberation and decision-making body of the Alliance, consisting of all IMTA members. The Council is the decision-making and executive organ of the Alliance. The Secretariat is the day-to-day administrative body of the Alliance, and has relevant branches. The official languages of the IMTA are Chinese and English.
At the IMTA Membership Preparation Conference on 21 September, 2016, Mr. Dominique de Villepin, former Prime Minister of France, was elected Chairman of the IMTA; Mr. Shao Qiwei, former director of the China National Tourism Administration, was elected Vice Chairman; and Mr. He Yafei, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, was elected Secretary-General (legal person representative). The first IMTA Council consisted of 32 institutions and individuals. On 27 December, 2022, the second General Assembly of the IMTA elected its second Council and leading members. Mr. Dominique de Villepin was re-elected as the Chairman of the IMTA; Mr. He Yafei as Vice Chairman and Secretary-General; Ms. Pansy Ho as Vice Chairman; and Mr. Fu Yingchun as Vice Chairman and Executive Secretary-General (legal person representative). On 9 July, 2025, the 5th Plenary Session of the second General Assembly, Fu Yingchun stepped down due to reaching the age limit during his term. Ao Kemo was appointed as Vice Chairman and Executive Secretary-General (legal representative), and Liu Zhaohui as Vice Chairman. The second Council consists of 40 members from 22 countries and regions of three continents.
Currently, members of the IMTA include 210 groups and individuals from 40 countries and regions across six continents, including 117 domestic institutions, 82 overseas institutions and 11 individuals. The group members include tourism institutions, non-profit organizations, culture & tourism businesses, financial consulting agencies, tourism colleges, airlines, tourism equipment manufacturers, and outdoor sports organizations from countries and regions renowned for mountain tourism. The individual members include well-known managers, experts, scholars, and entrepreneurs in tourism-related businesses.
Following the mandate of the Statutes, IMTA is committed to building a research and evaluation platform for the development of mountain tourism industry, studying, formulating, releasing, and promoting international standards related to mountain tourism, carrying out mountain tourism resource assessment, market survey, business index prediction, and studying the methods of predicting the development of world mountain tourism. In addition, IMTA is dedicated to building a platform for investment cooperation and innovation in mountain tourism, focusing on the protection and tourism utilization of mountain resources, developing characteristic mountain tourism products, carrying out market promotion, guiding and promoting investment and financing cooperation, building a dialogue platform for members, shaping the Alliance's self-created brand, and providing member consulting and training services. Positive results have been achieved in enhancing and expanding IMTA's international influence and voice.
IMTA is willing to join hands with the world tourism in the spirit of equality, inclusiveness and cooperation to discuss, build and share the high-quality development results of mountain tourism, so that the ecological civilization will lead mountain tourism to a better future.