Ninth UNWTO/PATA Forum Successfully Held in Guilin
The Ninth UNWTO/PATA Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook was successfully held in Guilin, China on 19-21 October 2015. Jointly organised by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the forum was co-organised by the Guilin Municipal People's Government in collaboration with the SHTM at PolyU.
Taking the theme "Tourism and the Experience Economy", the forum provided a platform on which government officers, NGOs, industry
practitioners and academics could share their perspectives, research findings and practices.
Held on 19 October, the forum's opening ceremony was hosted by Mr Zhou Jiabin, Mayor of Guilin, and officiated at by Mr Zhao Leqin, Secretary of the Guilin Municipal Committee of the CPC, Director of Standing Committee of Guilin Municipal People's Congress; Mr Xu Jing, Executive Secretary and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, UNWTO; Mr Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA; and Professor Haiyan Song,
SHTM Associate Dean and Chair Professor. The keynote session that followed, chaired by Mr Xu Jing, was entitled "Tourism and the Experience Economy". It featured Mr Olivier Henry-Biabaud, CEO, TCI Research; Mr John Kester, Director of Tourism Market Trends Programme, UNWTO; Ms Daniela Wagner, Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa, PATA; and Professor Haiyan Song. Two panel sessions were also featured on the first day of plenary sessions.
The technical sessions on the second day
included one keynote and three panel sessions. Chaired by Professor Haiyan Song, the keynote session was entitled "Enhancing Tourism Experience - Theory and Practice". It featured Professor Brian King, SHTM Associate Dean and Professor; Mr John Koldowski, Head of the Service Innovation and Development Unit, College of Innovation, Thammasat University; Mr Jesper Palmqvist, Area Director Asia Pacific, STR Global; and Ms Carolyn Childs, MyTravelResarch.com, Australia.
The Forum was officially closed on 20 October with a keynote speech on "Smart Tourism and the Experience Economy" delivered by Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, Professor and Director, eTourism Lab, Bournemouth University; with closing remarks from Mr John Kester, UNWTO; Mr Wu Bo, Regional Director, Greater China, PATA; and Ms Chen Lihua, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guilin Municipal Committee, Vice Mayor of Guilin and Director of the Publicity Department of the
CPC Guilin Municipal Committee. The SHTM was delighted to support the forum and considers it vital in facilitating dialogue, idea exchanges and partnerships for all those who are involved in tourism development and trend analysis around the world.
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