China, Russia, Mongolia and the Republic of Korea agreed on Sunday to boost
tourism in Northeast Asia, reported China Daily.

The agreement, a memo signed at a forum involving the United Nations
Development Program and Jilin province authorities, aims to promote
cross-border tourism.

“Tourism is an industry that concerns a broad range of economic, social
activities and, therefore, business interests. It cuts across many policy areas
for governments in Northeast Asia and that requires closer ties and committed
cooperation,” said Choi Hoon, director of the UNDP Tumen Secretariat.

He explained that cross-border tourism provided the best opportunity to
enhance the region”s prosperity and security.

The Greater Tumen Initiative is an intergovernmental cooperation mechanism in
Northeast Asia.

It is supported by the UNDP, and has four member countries, China, the ROK,
Mongolia and Russia. It functions as a platform for economic cooperation in
Northeast Asia and serves as a catalyst for policy dialogue in areas of
transportation, energy, tourism, investment and environment.

Tourism is booming in Northeast Asia. The Tumen River area is home to a wide
variety of tourist attractions, ranging from spectacular natural beauty to
heritage.

The China National Tourism Administration said that the Asia-Pacific region
attracted 170 million international tourists annually and over half of them
traveled to Northeast Asia. The region”s annual average tourism growth rate
reached 7.7 percent from 2000 to 2010.

“China will consciously assume the responsibility of eliminating
regional barriers and travel obstacles. And we will work together with other
countries to push forward international tourism cooperation and make the region
an eye-catching global tourist destination,” said Wu Wenxue, senior
official from China National Tourism Administration.

Jilin province has developed 11 cross-border travel routes in the past
decade. And the Democratic People”s Republic of Korea “self-drive”
program gained in popularity since its introduction in 2011, attracting 30,000
tourists from home and abroad, according to the Hunchun Tourism Bureau.

Authorities have produced tourist maps for Eastern Mongolia, the Yanbian
Korean autonomous region, Russia”s Primorsky Territory and the Rajin-Songbong
area of the DPRK.

James Macgregor, a UNDP tourism specialist, praised the region”s vision.

“Northeast Asia represents one of the fastest growing tourism
destination regions in the world. The potential for establishing cross-border
tourism is huge,” he emphasized.

But experts close to the industry warn that there are too many uncertain
elements.

Hong Kui, a travel agency manager, complained that the infrastructure was
not ready to handle more international tourists.