History is in the making. This time around it is about Liberia being the only country from Africa to have participated in the 2019 Shuzhou International Culture and Tourism Festival.
The festival, held at the Suzhou Beimajian Ecosystem Park, aimed to promote cultural exchange, according to a press statement from the Liberian Embassy in Beijing, China.
With over 30 participating countries, including Finland, Iran, and South Korea, Liberia made history by becoming the only and First African nation to take part in the festival which ran from May 1-4, 2019.
“Shazou festival is a platform that we intended to use to attract more Chinese tourists to Liberia and, so far, the results are forthcoming. At the Liberian embassy in China, we are tapping into every available opportunity to attract Chinese investors to the country’s tourism, music, and movie industries,” says Ambassador Jon Bricks, Liberia’s cultural attaché in Beijing.
Amb. Bricks added Liberia is represented at this year’s festival in China by Liberia’s tourism director, Juanita M. Yiah and crafts entrepreneur, Alfreda Socar, who participated in the festival on day two of the event through a live exhibition.
In addition, the Shuzhou platform provided opportunities for embassy staff to push the pro-poor agenda through a cultural exchange to boost to the county tourism industry.
Amb. Bricks also disclosed that the Liberia delegation at the festival has been able to host talks with lots of Chinese travel advisors to begin promoting Liberian tourism sites on their platform to Chinese tourists.
Source: liberianobserver.com
