The Seventh China Tourism Forum was staged in Haikou, Hainan Province, China, from 24 to 25 October 2011, hosted by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and co-organised by the SHTM and the Tourism College at Hainan University, with special support from the Hainan Tourism Bureau.

Themed "Tourism and Sustainable Development", the Forum was opened by Professor Kaye Chon, Dean and Chair Professor of the SHTM; Professor Guohua Fu, Dean and Vice President of Hainan University; Professor Lin Wang, Dean of Tourism College, Hainan University; and Mr Yao Chen, Inspector of Hainan Tourism Bureau.

The keynote presentations featured prominent speakers including Mr Harry Hwang, Deputy Director, Regional Programme for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), who shared his view on the collaboration between China and the UNWTO on sustainability in tourism. Dr Andy Nazarechuk, APacCHRIE President, reflected on the role of education in the future development of tourism in China. Professor Haiyan Song, Associate Dean and Chair Professor of the SHTM, analysed destination competitiveness and the PolyU Tourist Satisfaction Index, and Professor Alastair Morrison, President of the International Tourism Studies Association discussed marketing and the development of sustainable tourism at the international level. Mr Anthony Lau, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, wrapped up the second keynote session by delivering a speech entitled "Hong Kong and Mainland China – A Winning Tourism Strategy". Other speakers included representatives from the China National Tourism Administration, the Hainan Tourism Bureau and Nankai University.

Professor Kaye Chon and Professor Lin Wang closed the forum by presenting best paper awards to Dr Doris Wu, Professor Haiyan Song, Dr Gang Li and Dr Fangping Peng for their English paper entitled "Nonlinear Econometric Analysis of Tourism Demand", and to Ms Yun Chen and Professor Liang Tian for their Chinese paper entitled "A Study on the Seasonality of Inbound Tourism in Hainan".