Sudanese officials are seeking to attract Chinese tourists, touting the impressive scenery and cultural heritage their country has to offer. At a tourism promotion event in Beijing on Wednesday, Sudanese officials also hailed a good relationship with China in making the case that Sudan could be an ideal destination for Chinese tourists. "We have unique tourist sites, ancient cultural heritage and beautiful natural scenery - that's Sudan's real treasure," Omer Eisa Ahmed, Sudanese Ambassador to China, told hundreds of potential tourists and Chinese travel agents at the event.

International students graduating in Japan could find it easier to launch their careers here if they fit into one of the categories spelled out in upcoming guidelines, which include jobs with a focus on international expansion in dining and apparel. The greater clarity on what types of workers would qualify for residency is meant to help domestic businesses hire more foreign-born talent straight out of Japanese schools. These individuals could also help promote tourism in Japan and support the Cool Japan soft-power initiative.

Over two thousand women received training in e-marketing, bead-making, cloth weaving, soap, air freshener, shoe making, hair-do, waste-to-wealth and make-up, among other skills at this year’s 10th African Arts and Craft Expo in Abuja. The 22-day expo, which ended last Sunday, also provided free medical tests for blood sugar and Body Mass Index for about 1,120 Nigerians, who could not afford such exercises. Also, 200 Nigerians were given free eye glasses while 620 got free dental test.

With the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics less than five months away, South Korea is accelerating its public diplomacy to promote the South Korea-hosted international sports event where the cultural allure of Korea could be illuminated globally. [...] The ministry is utilizing its 182 overseas diplomatic missions to reach out to the world to promote the sports games.

Aziz Boolani, CEO Serena hotels, in his introductory remarks, spoke of the initiatives taken by Serena hotels over the past few years and their contribution to the society. The focus was on adventure diplomacy, sports diplomacy and public diplomacy and how Serena has managed to bring these sectors of the corporate and diplomatic community together for a cause.

Launched by Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, the global marketing campaign of "Imperial Ambassador" aims to promote Beijing's global tourism image and establish its reputation in the travel and tourism industry, and is a fresh attempt to transform the city into an "international exchange hub".

Indonesia is promoting the annual Bali Arts Festival (PKB) by digitalizing its month-long activities and broadcasting live on particular website as well as in various social media channels. The breakthrough move came at the request of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who wanted to make people across the world know more about the festival, a senior official overseeing the Bali provincial tourism said.

Are there any limits to the channels and tools that a state can use to perpetuate narratives on national identity? Traditional approaches to what has been defined as nation-building have tended to rely on such things as studies of the use of the national language, school education, and political narratives. [...]  Indeed, cinema, large-scale events with hundreds of thousands of attendees, cultural initiatives, and even food narratives can be used to construct identity in a path that goes from traditional nation-building to what has recently been defined as nation-branding.