STORY: U.S. travel industry insiders underline tourism's pivotal role in fostering mutual understanding
SHOOTING TIME: May 23, 2024
DATELINE: May 25, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:15
LOCATION: XI'AN, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY/MARKET

SHOTLIST:
1. various of views of Xi'an
2. various of the China-U.S. tourism leadership summit
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): BEN HARTLEY, Executive Director, SILKROAD Ensemble
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ADAM JOHN FOSTER, Chairman, Helen Foster Snow Foundation
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): ADAM BURKE, President & CEO of Los Angeles Convention and Tourism Board, Vice Chairman of the World Tourism Alliance

STORYLINE:

For decades, travel has acted as an essential link between China and the United States, fostering mutual understanding between their people.

At a China-U.S. tourism leadership summit recently concluded in China's Xi'an, officials and travel industry leaders from both countries highlighted the pivotal role of tourism in fostering mutual understanding.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): BEN HARTLEY, Executive Director, SILKROAD Ensemble
"I think that tourism is incredibly important because only when you get to experience someone else's life, someone else's culture, when you go and spend time with them, you get to understand their daily life, their daily concerns, the things that bring them joy and you can truly understand other people and other ways of life and other parts of the world."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ADAM JOHN FOSTER, Chairman, Helen Foster Snow Foundation
"When people come here, when people experience the culture, they taste the food, they meet the people, they realize that we're all the same. We're just one big global family. So tourism is so important to our bilateral relationship. It's critical. I think that the U.S.-China relationship is the most important relationship in the world. It's critical that we build bridges of understanding between our two peoples."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): ADAM BURKE, President & CEO of Los Angeles Convention and Tourism Board, Vice Chairman of the World Tourism Alliance
"Tourism has always been the bridge that people-to-people and cultural exchanges have been the way to find common ground. Tourism is really what opened that door."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Xi'an, China.
(XHTV)