A senior official of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said Tuesday that the UN body will continue to support efforts by countries along the ancient Silk Road to revitalize the routes into a world-class network of tourist destinations.

Speaking at a meeting gathering tourism regulators from Armenia, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Russia and Spain, UNWTO Executive Director Zhu Shanzhong said the Western Silk Road Development Initiative jointly put forward by these countries in April is a great success in putting the concept of the Western Silk Road on the tourism map.

"We now move towards agreeing upon common initiatives capable of bringing this exciting project to life," he said.

Meanwhile, in a video message to the meeting, the Second International UNWTO Western Silk Road Workshop, Eric Philippart, European Commission's special counselor responsible for the 2018 EU-China Tourism Year, said the EU hopes to attract more Chinese visitors.

They should return home with great memories to share, Philippart said.

The Western Silk Road Tourism Development Initiative aims to revitalize the Silk Road heritage located in the European region, from the Caspian Sea, around the Black Sea and along parts of the Mediterranean basin.

The project is designed to strengthen and diversify the tourism offer of Western Silk Road destinations as well as to enhance regional cooperation and cross-border partnerships.

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