"Hainan's construction of pilot free trade zone and free trade port with Chinese characteristics has provided many new opportunities for international cooperation in island tourism." On March 28, at the Islands Economic Cooperation Forum of Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2019, Deputy Governor of Hainan Province Shen Danyang's opinion was unanimously agreed by the guests from involved countries. There are tens of thousands of islands, and dozens of island countries and regions worldwide, so island resorts have always faced homogeneous competition. How to conduct international cooperation between island tourist destinations and realize sustainable development of island tourism was one of the focuses of the Conference. In 2018, Hainan had 74 international routes, and 9 international container shipment routes, and 59 countries gained visa-free access to China. The number of tourists rose by 11.8%. Hainan also aims to be an international tourism consumption center, which is the benefit brought by China's construction of Hainan free trade zone (port). Shen Danyang said it would provide a larger development space for island tourism through sharing experiences, strengthening tourism development planning and policy communication, and building a community of shared future with characteristics based on close cooperation under globalization. Keerthi TENNAKOON, Governor, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, couldn't agree with him more. He said Sri Lanka and Hainan had many common features, including improving tourism quality and further exploring tourism potential, and had many cooperation fields. "Some issues cannot be solved by a country or region, so a cooperation mechanism must be established." WON Hee-Ryong, Governor, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, ROK, said Jeju was collecting and analyzing data systematically and introducing big data platform to encourage citizens to join the blockchain. He also hoped to introduce clean and intelligent transportation and travel methods as soon as possible. "We hope to implement the involved technologies through international cooperation," he said. Besides natural resources, human cultural assets also form an important part of tourism. Hiria OTTINO, President, Pacific-China Friendship Association, said, "Hainan has shown us it can simultaneously protect culture and natural resources, which is the future direction of sustainable tourism." Source: The People's Government of Hainan Province Image Attachments Links: Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=332950 Caption: Scene of "The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Islands Economic Cooperation Forum", themed on Island Tourism: International Cooperation and Sustainable Development.