What to expect from Global Tourism Economy Forum 2018
From left: GTEF’s Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes; Macao Special Administrative Region Government’s Ip Peng Kin; and GTEF’s Pansy Ho
The Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) will hold its seventh edition in Macau on October 23 and 24, spearheading discussions in the context of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Under the theme Strategic Partnership in a New Era, Rising Momentum for a Shared Future, GTEF 2018 will examine the impact of strategic tourism collaboration between the European Union (EU) and China in the 2018 EU-China Tourism Year (ECTY 2018), and the enormous latent opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.
Vice chairman and secretary-general of GTEF, Pansy Ho, emphasised that innovative and strategic tourism cooperation is key to capturing the possibilities derived from the country’s Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area development.
As an official partner of ECTY 2018, GTEF will feature EU as the partner region in its 2018 edition. Guangdong Province has been named the featured partner province.
Under the topic Strategic Partnership – Building Bridges of Cooperation for Shared Benefits, ministers and global private-sector CEOs will discuss how the framework of ECTY 2018 has served as a precursor of deepened China-EU cooperation in tourism and an enhancer of extensive and sustainable economic growth on both sides. Signing ceremonies for a series of cooperative agreements will be held on the day of the forum opening.
GTEF 2018 will also present a new edition of the signature Face to Face, Ministers and Private Sector CEOs session, in collaboration with the UNWTO.
Day 1 will feature “Festivals – Bridging Traditions and Tourism” and “Gastronomy, Creativity, Tourism” sessions. And among the highlights of day two are “Greater Bay Area Session Part I – Private Sector Perspective”, “Greater Bay Area Session Part II – Macao Perspective” and “Technology –The Virtual Bridge” sessions, along with three concurrent sessions and workshops such as China Outbound Tourism, Trade and Business Presentation and PET Conference.
Further, the fifth UNWTO/GTERC Asia Tourism Trends will be launched during the forum. A joint effort of the UNWTO and the GTERC (Global Tourism Economy Research Centre), the report will present tourism trends and outlook of the region, analyse Chinese outbound tourism to Europe and European Union outbound tourism to China, as well as examine the development potential of the Greater Bay Area, a new growth area of Asia.
As well, networking, investment and cooperation opportunities including business matching, destination presentations and exhibitions will be available.
Among partners and sponsors of the Forum sessions are ACFIC, PATA, WTCF, UNESCO, The Macau Chinese Enterprise Association, China Daily, UBS and Ivy Alliance Tourism Consulting.
source: TTG Asia
