He said the alliance has 89 founding members, many of which are tourism associations, enterprises, think tanks and research institutes.

More than 60 percent of the members are from overseas. The headquarters and secretariat of the alliance are based in Beijing.

Duan, who also serves as president of the Beijing Tourism Group, one of the biggest tourism enterprises in China, said the establishment of the China-proposed tourism alliance is a "natural outcome", as the country is becoming increasingly influential in the development of the world tourism industry.

According to a report on travel and tourism competitiveness released by the World Economic Forum in April, China, ranked 15th among the 136 countries and regions involved in the rating, has become the largest tourism market in the world and is making greater contributions to the development of tourism worldwide.

Li Jinzao, director of the China National Tourism Administration, said that in an era when the tourism industry worldwide faces opportunities as well as challenges, nongovernmental organizations have been a major force in the global tourism governance system.

"The establishment of the alliance is one of the milestones in the history of world tourism," he said.

"I hope that the World Tourism Alliance will get involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, so the tourism industry in China will take the opportunity to deepen cooperation with countries involved in the initiative," he said.