Asian countries and cities should strengthen cooperation in tourism, delegates agreed at a forum held in Hangzhou Tuesday.

If they build a tourism alliance, they will be able to better package their attractions and draw more visitors, said Wang Guoqing, vice-minister of the Information Office of the State Council, at the opening of the forum, Quality: Cities and Tourism.

"I hope Asian countries will grasp the opportunities at the forum, and build a network for tourism resources, just like the Asia News Network (ANN)," he said.

ANN is a network of national daily newspapers, published mostly in English, to provide avenues for cooperation and to optimize coverage of major news events in the region.

The forum was jointly organized by the Hangzhou city government and China Daily, and attracted participants from global tourism organizations, editors-in-chief or representatives from the 14 ANN members, Chinese government institutions, embassies and tourism agencies of many Asian countries.

Among those attending the five-day event were Sun Zhonghuan, the chief of the Hangzhou advisory body and Zhang Jianting, deputy mayor.

Also held Tuesday were an ANN chief editors' forum, a Hangzhou tourism promotion campaign, and a group interview of Hangzhou's city head by the ANN journalists.

The delicate balance between the environment and tourism was a recurring theme at the forum.

"The most important question in Asia's rapidly growing tourism industry is how to create harmony between urban construction and environmental protection," Wang said.

The key challenges identified by China Daily Editor-in-Chief Zhu Ling are the protection of heritage in tandem with the development of tourism.

"How do we make tourism into a positive force in the booming of our cities?" Zhu asked, stressing that urban development and environmental protection are the locomotives driving tourism.

(China Daily November 7, 2007)