The 29th International Symposium on Forecasting (ISF) took place in Hong Kong from 21 to 24 June. Taking the theme "Services Sector Forecasting", the Symposium was organised by the International Institute of Forecasters and the SHTM.

ISF is a premier forecasting conference that attracts the world's leading forecasting researchers, practitioners and students to exchange ideas on forecasting in a number of areas including econometrics, finance, data mining, judgmental forecasting, electricity forecasting, telecommunication forecasting, business and marketing applications, supply chain forecasting, travel and tourism forecasting, demographic and social applications, environmental and climate applications, and technology and innovation forecasting.

At his opening address, Professor Haiyan Song, General Chair of ISF 2009 and Associate Director of the SHTM, said that the Symposium provided a platform for leading scholars to reveal their insights into cutting-edge forecasting research and practice, with a particular focus on the services sector. He was also very proud that this was the first time that Hong Kong had ever hosted a forecasting symposium.

The Symposium offered three keynote sessions featuring prominent speakers, including Professor Stephen F. Witt of PolyU, Professor Rob Hyndman of Monash University in Australia and Professor Scott Armstrong of the University of Pennsylvania in the USA.