Global tourism forum ushers in a new era

Themed “Strategic Partnership in a New Era, Rising Momentum for a Shared Future”, this year’s Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) examined the impact of strategic tourism co-operation between China and the European Union (EU) in the 2018 EU-China Tourism Year, and explored opportunities brought on by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development.

Held across two days on 23 and 24 October, GTEF 2018 brought the EU and Guangdong, the event’s Partner Region, and Featured Partner Chinese Province respectively, to discuss ways to encourage tourism exchanges and boost co-operation between China and the EU in tourism. Special keynotes and discussion panels were also held to focus on co-operation across the Greater Bay Area.

The forum gathered more than 2,000 ministerial officials of tourism and related fields, industry leaders, experts, scholars and participants from across the globe, including delegations from the 28 member states of the EU, for a series of insightful discussions.

A number of memorandums of understanding and agreements were also signed during the Forum to consolidate partnerships, while approximately 200 enterprises and organisations from various sectors across different countries and regions including China and member states of the EU engaged in business matching.