The World Tourism Cities Federation signed an agreement with Athens, the Greek capital, and Valletta, Malta's capital, at the federation's second summit on Thursday, in a bid to advance tourism cooperation, especially in the Chinese market. The move is based on the consensus of WTCF members that tourism is the key to sustainable development and cultural communication.

"We hope cities will make better use of the federation's platform," said Lu Yong, the federation's secretary-general. "We will enlist the WTCF experts' committee for advice in the member cities' tourism development. We'll also bring together companies across the countries to create synergies."

Athens is talking with several Chinese travel agencies regarding the design of travel itineraries that will appeal to the Chinese market.