More than 500 tourism experts and players from 17 countries and regions gathered at the International Islands Tourism Conference that concluded in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, on Oct 14.

Hosted by the Zhejiang government, the conference aimed to offer suggestions for the high-quality development of island tourism, promote international openness and cooperation, and achieve synergy between tourism and related industries.

The participants looked into the development models of 36 small island developing states worldwide, proposed cutting-edge topics, and explored the integration of culture and tourism with rural revitalization as well as a new wave of exploring the transformation of future island tourism destinations.

More than 14 enterprises signed cooperation contracts worth 8.35 billion yuan ($1.14 billion) at the conference, and they are expected to optimize the integration of upstream and downstream resources in the island tourism industry.