On September 12, the 2025 China Culture and Tourism Industries Expo, hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, opened at the Wuhan International Expo Center in Hubei Province. With the theme "Deepening Cultural and Tourism Integration, Enjoying a Better Life," this year’s expo spans 100,000 square meters and integrates four major functions: exhibition, performance, sales, and tourism experience, alongside multiple business negotiation and trade activities held concurrently. Mr. He Yafei, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the International Mountain Tourism Alliance (IMTA), and Mr. Ao Kemo, Vice Chairman and Executive Secretary-General, led a delegation to participate in the expo and were invited to attend the opening ceremony and related events.
Prior to the opening ceremony, Mr. He Yafei and Mr. Ao Kemo accompanied Mr. Gao Zheng, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism; Mr. Li Dianxun, Deputy Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee and Governor; Ms. Li Ping, Vice Governor of Hubei Province; key leaders of the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee; and representatives from relevant national institutions and enterprises on a tour of the exhibition halls. At the IMTA booth, Secretary-General He Yafei provided a brief introduction to the IMTA’s work. During the opening ceremony, Mr. He Yafei delivered a keynote speech on behalf of IMTA. He stated that the China Culture and Tourism Industry Expo’s presence in Wuhan this year has created a high-quality platform for exchange, deeply aligning the city’s unique characteristics with the industry’s aspirations. This aligns with IMTA’s mission to "Protecting Mountain Resources, Promoting Mountain Civilization, Preserving Mountain Economies, and Prospering Mountain Communities." Whether through innovations in plains and lakes or practices in mountainous regions, this Expo represents an exploration of the cultural and tourism value of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. IMTA aims to utilize this Expo as a bridge to deepen cooperation with all parties, continue exploring areas such as AI + culture and tourism and integrated economic development, and allow more people to experience the beauty of mountains and the charm of culture, thereby injecting new momentum into the sustainable development of the global culture and tourism industry.
Following the opening ceremony, Mr. Ao Kemo accompanied Mr. Miao Muyang, Director-General of the Department of Industrial Development of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Mr. Ma Li, Deputy Director-General; heads of various offices under the department; and guests from outside Hubei Province on a visit to the IMTA booth. He introduced the alliance’s related operations and development initiatives. Relevant leaders of the Hubei Provincial Government expressed their intention to strengthen collaboration with IMTA to support Hubei’s goal of becoming a world-renowned cultural and tourism destination.
At this Expo, IMTA exhibited alongside member organizations such as Club MED, Cambodia Coastal City Development Group, Guizhou PlayPro Culture Co., Ltd., Danish Chinese Tourism & Cultural Exchange Association, Guangxi Tourism Association, and Guangdong VESSEL Tourism Development Co., Ltd., showcasing in the Culture and Tourism Services Pavilion. The IMTA booth featured carefully designed sections for promotional displays, institutional introductions, and equipment exhibitions, highlighting the IMTA’s achievements in mountain tourism brand building, platform development, research initiatives, member distribution, and innovative business formats. Inspired by the core element of mountain tourism, the mountain itself, the booth incorporated concepts of nature, exploration, and diversity. An immersive cooperation and negotiation area, designed with outdoor camping equipment, allowed visitors to experience the atmosphere of mountain tourism through visual, tactile, and psychological engagement.
This expo closely followed the pulse of the cultural and tourism industry, focusing on new demands, business formats, and scenarios. By combining exhibitions with consumer transactions, it emphasized the integration of culture and tourism and the empowerment of technology, promoting the debut of new cultural and tourism projects and products. The event provided enterprises with opportunities for promotion and supply-demand matching while creating an immersive, experiential, and consumable cultural and tourism environment for the public.
Source: International Mountain Tourism Alliance
Editor Ⅰ: Zhang Wenwen
Editor Ⅱ: Bao Gang
Editor Ⅲ: Liu Guosong
