Chinese tourism expert wins UNWTO Ulysses Prize

MADRID, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The Madrid-based United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on Thursday confirmed that it had awarded the 16th edition of its Ulysses Prize for excellence in the creation and dissemination of knowledge in tourism to Bao Jigang, professor and director of the Center for Tourism Development and Planning Research at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China.

The Ulysses Prize is awarded to "a distinguished scholar for his/her outstanding contribution to create and disseminate innovative knowledge in tourism."

The UNWTO explained that Bao had "played an instrumental role in growing domestic tourism (in China) in both size and significance and in establishing his country as a leading tourism destination."

Bao will formally receive the prize at the 25th session of the UNWTO General Assembly, to be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, later this year.