Jointly organised by the UN Tourism (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the 2024 UN Tourism/PATA Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook was held in Guilin, China from 18 to 20 October 2024. The forum was co-organised by the Guilin Municipal People's Government and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region's Department of Culture and Tourism, in collaboration with the SHTM.
The forum's
theme of "Tourism in Asia and the Pacific: Consolidating Recovery and Looking Beyond" served as a knowledge platform on which national tourism administrations, national tourism organisations, destination management organisations, government officials, NGOs, industry practitioners, and academics could share trends, insights, research findings, and best practices.
Following a series of technical sessions on 18 October, the forum was opened on 19 October by Mr Jiabin Zhou, Vice Chairman of
the Standing Committee of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region People's Congress, Secretary of the CPC Guilin Municipal Committee; Mr Hae-Guk Hwang, Director of the Regional Department for Asia and the Pacific, UN Tourism; Mr Noor Ahmad Hamid, CEO, PATA; Professor Kaye Chon, SHTM Dean, Chair Professor and Walter and Wendy Kwok Family Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management; and Mr Fan Hu, Vice Governor, the People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The opening
session was moderated by Mr Yan Zhou, Vice Mayor of Guilin.
The keynote presentations and panel sessions that followed gave the practitioners and academics the opportunity to exchange views on various topics connected to the theme of the forum. The first keynote presentation was delivered by Mr Phireak Hoy, Vice Minister of the Tourism Ministry of Cambodia, who discussed Cambodia's tourism industry, and Mr Jakkaphorn Tangsutthitham, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of
Thailand, who spoke on the topic "Tourism in Asia and the Pacific: Leading Recovery and Inspiring the Future". The technical keynote presentation, entitled "Insights on Cross-border Tourism Trends", was delivered by Mr Shijun Liu, Vice Chair and Secretary-General of the World Tourism Alliance.
The first of the two panel sessions was entitled "Enhancing Destination Management Towards a More Sustainable Tourism", and was moderated by Mr Javier Ruescas, Senior Programme Officer of UN
Tourism's Market Intelligence, Policies and Competitiveness. Mr Ruescas then spoke on the topic of "Managing Tourism Flows"; Ms Hyemi Lim, Senior Researcher of the Korea Tourism Organisation, gave a speech entitled "Using the Korea Tourism Data Lab to Tackle Overcrowding and Revitalise Less Visited Areas"; and Ms Marieke Politiek, Team Lead Intel and Insights of the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions, discussed "An Integral Approach Toward Destination Management for the Benefit of
All: Lessons from the Netherlands".
Entitled "Future-Proofing Tourism in Asia and the Pacific: Consolidating Recovery and Looking Beyond", the second panel session was moderated by Mr Jonathan Low, CEO, Global Success Learning Academy. The participants included Ms Prudence Lai, Consultant, Euromonitor International, who spoke to delegates on "Health and Wellness Tourism: New Opportunities for Growth"; Mr Michael He, Lead for China Outbound Growth Operations, Airbnb, who discussed
"Experiential and Cultural Tourism: Connecting with Local Heritage"; Mr Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, Deputy Governor for International Marketing, Europe, Africa, Middle East, and Americas from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, who gave a speech on "Remote Work and Digital Nomadism: A New Travel Segment"; and Ms Mary Wan Mering, Director of Stakeholder Relations for the Sarawak Tourism Board, Malaysia, who spoke on the topic of "Skills Development and Training for the Tourism Workforce".
The
closing ceremony for the forum was led by Mr Hae-Guk Hwang from UN Tourism; Mr Noor Ahmad Hamid from PATA; Professor Kaye Chon from the SHTM; and Mr Liu Han, Secretary of the Party Group of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The SHTM is proud to play an important role in advancing the development of tourism and will continue its efforts to lead the sector into a sustainable future.
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