Vanuatu has signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with HNA Tourism Group Co., LTD (HNA Tourism) open up cooperation on issues related to tourism and aviation resources.
The agreement was signed Tuesday in Hong Kong between Prime Minister Charlot Salwai and the Director of Hainan Airlines Group Board of Directors, Hainan Airlines Travel Industry Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Xin Di.
Among the attendees at the signing ceremony were Vanuatu Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Bruno Leingkone; Minister of Justice, Mr. Arnola Kiel Loughman; Ambassador Plenipotentiary to China, H.E. Nguk Yang Dennis Nai; the Director of HNA Group Board of Directors and HNA Tourism Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Xin Di; and lastly Hainan Tourism Investment Group Chiarman, Mr. Liu Jiangtao.
"In recent years, the number of Chinese tourists to Vanuatu has risen year after year; the annual growth rate has maintained at 4%. In 2016, there were thousands of Chinese tourists who visited Vanuatu either by plane or cruise,” PM Salwai said.
“Through cooperation with HNA Tourism we hope to further develop the tourism resources of Vanuatu and improve the infrastructure to provide a more comfortable tourism experience for Chinese tourists. The year 2017 marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vanuatu and China and we also hope that we can, through this initiative, further deepen the Vanuatu-China friendship."
The Director of HNA Group Board of Directors and HNA Tourism Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Xin Di said, Vanuatu is a holiday paradise in the South Pacific; it is also a crucial south node for the '21st Century Maritime Silk Road.'
“As a subsidiary of HNA Group's largest air travel industry unit, HNA Tourism will use its aviation, hotels, travel agencies, entertainment and other cultural resources to promote the development and upgrading of the tourism industry in Vanuatu. In addition, this will provide Chinese travellers with more options for outbound destinations."
Such cooperation will foster communication and consultation for the opening up of new airline routes. HNA Tourism will push forward its subsidiary outbound listed travel company, Caissa, to carry out active cooperation in areas such as product development, infrastructure transformation, route operations, hotel operations and the promotion of Vanuatu as an outbound travel destination.