Organisers have confirmed that the 12th Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) will return to Macao from 15 to 17 October, assembling policy-makers, CEOs and academics to dissect the rapid rebound of China-centred travel. Announcing the agenda on 7 October, the secretariat said this year’s theme—“Crisis · Resilience · Evolution: Building a Tourism Economy for a Shared Future”—reflects lessons learned from the pandemic and the policy innovations now propelling visitor flows. Supported by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the forum will feature Spain as Partner Country and Hainan as Featured Province, illustrating Beijing’s twin priorities of deepening Europe ties and integrating mainland island destinations into multi-stop itineraries. Sessions will probe AI-driven travel personalisation, cross-border digital payments and the sustainability metrics investors increasingly demand when underwriting resort projects. Side events include business-matching workshops and site visits to the Guangdong–Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. For corporate mobility managers, the headline is the re-emergence of GTEF itself. The show went fully virtual in 2023 and ran as a slimmed-down hybrid in 2024-25, but organisers expect in-person attendance this year to exceed 2,000 delegates from more than 80 countries. Macao’s visa-on-arrival regime for most passports—combined with high-speed rail links to Guangzhou South and a dense network of shuttle buses over the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge—makes the city an attractive convening point as China’s borders stabilise. Investment analysts will be watching Spain’s participation closely; the country recorded a 58 per cent jump in Chinese arrivals in the first half of 2026 after Beijing restored group-tour approvals and extended visa-free entry until December 2026. Expect announcements on joint marketing campaigns and potentially new direct flights to secondary Chinese cities. The forum’s timing is strategic: it falls just days after the National Day holiday, allowing government agencies to release fresh travel spending data and giving exhibitors an on-the-ground sense of market momentum. Vendors of fintech payment solutions, green hotel technologies and cultural-experience platforms are positioning the event as their key China launchpad for 2027.
Source: TTG Asia
