Delegation of Sino-North Africa Education Innovation Association Visit the Ministry of Tourism of Tunisia

Delegation taken by Ms. Chen Lu, Secretary-General of Sino-North Africa Education Innovation Association, SNAEIA, successfully visited Ministry of Tourism of Tunisia from February 17 to 18 local time.

During the official meeting, His Excellency Mr. Soufiane Tekaya, Minister of Tourism of Tunisia, warmly welcomed the delegation taken by Chen Lu, and spoke highly of the contribution and achievements of SNAEIA in education cooperation between China and Africa. He said that tourism is an important pillar industry of Tunisia's national economy. The Tunisian government attaches great importance to the progress and development of tourism and regards the cultivation of tourism talents as the key to industrial upgrading. China has high-quality educational resources in the field of tourism education. We hope to strengthen the cooperation with China, learn from China's successful experience, and improve the overall quality, business ability and service level of tourism personnel in Tunisia.

President of Tunisian Federation of Travel and Tourism Agencies(FTAV) and the leaders of relevant government departments participated in the official talks. After introducing the general situation of SNAEIA, the efforts and achievements made in promoting education cooperation between China and Africa, Chen Lu said that the purpose of the visit is to give full play to the advantages of the platform of SNAEIA, promote cooperation between China and Tunisia in the field of tourism education, and train more high-quality tourism talents for Tunisia to help the transformation and upgrading of Tunisia's tourism industry. With regard to the purpose of this visit, Chen Lu’s group held practical talks and exchanges with the Ministry of Tourism of Tunisia and the Tunisian Federation of Travel and Tourism Agencies(FTAV) on the cooperation promotion of “Chinese Language + Tourism” vocational education standard and training project, and reached many consensus about the cooperation. After friendly negotiations, both sides agreed to sign a cooperation agreement in the Ministry of Tourism of Tunisia in May.

On the morning of February 18, the Ministry of Tourism of Tunisia and President of Tunisian Federation of Travel and Tourism Agencies(FTAV) cordially invited the delegation to attend the press conference on the theme of “Chinese Language + Tourism” vocational education standard and training project. Representatives from the Ministry of Tourism of Tunisia, Tunisian National Television and many local media representatives attended the activities.

At the press conference, Chen Lu gave a detailed introduction to the cooperation projects implemented by SNAEIA in North Africa and Tunisia while elaborated on the cooperation goals and implementation plan of the “Chinese Language + Tourism” project. She said that the project will rely on China’s high-quality educational resources, professional standards, curriculum standards, and international teaching staff to provide professional and systematic training for tourism practitioners in Tunisia, help Tunisian youth enhance their employment ability, their understanding of Chinese culture, and optimize the tourism experience of Chinese tourists in Tunisia. At the same time, the project will also build a bridge for Tunisian tourism enterprises to cooperate with Chinese counterparts, promote mutual exchanges and learning, even further enhance the position of Tunisian tourism products in the hearts of Chinese tourists.

The representative of the Ministry of Tourism of Tunisia said in his speech that China is the world’s largest tourism market, and Tunisia has attracted 25,000 Chinese tourists in 2024. The Ministry of Tourism of Tunisia and related institutions hope to further improve the internationalization level of tourism services in Tunisia through in-depth cooperation with China, especially the implementation of the “Chinese Language + Tourism” project, and strive to achieve the goal of doubling the number of Chinese tourists in the next few years.

This visit to negotiate cooperation is one of the important measures of SNAEIA to serve the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, promote China-Africa educational cooperation and “Education Follows Output”. By carrying out the “Chinese Language + Tourism” project cooperation, we will empower Tunisian tourism talents and promote the innovative development of friendly relations, cultural exchanges and tourism cooperation between China and Tunisia.