First Asia Tourism Trends Report Launched at GTEF

Macao (Macau SAR) – October 27, 2014 – The first Asia Tourism Trends report conducted by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre (GTERC) was one of the highlights of this year’s Global Tourism Economy Forum in Macau.

The report says Asia and the Pacific has observed strong growth in inbound tourism across the region, receiving some 248 million international tourist arrivals in 2013, about 23% of the world’s total. UNWTO forecasts that this share is expected to reach 30% by 2030, a percentage equivalent to 535 million international tourists.

At the opening ceremony of GTEF, the Chairman of the Forum, also the Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Edmund Ho Hau Wah, said Tourism is defined as the fifth strategic pillar industry of the Country’s Twelfth Five-Year Plan and an indispensable element for building the new MSR Economic Belt. Global elites in tourism and related industries will leverage on the Forum as a platform for collective discussions and high-level dialogue, discussing tourism as a driving force for building the new Maritime Silk Road and exploring new directions for the new growth momentum of the global economy. This can extend the influence of the tourism economy to various regions and aspects for achieving reciprocal benefits.

The event is hosted by the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government with support from the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao SAR, China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO).

The third edition of the Forum is dedicated to leading timely and systematic discussion s on the transformation of the Maritime Silk Road ( MSR) region, and actively responding to our Country’s initiatives of establishing the 21st century MSR under the theme of Maritime Silk Road From Macau We Begin. The Forum also aims to explore strategic intercontinental cooperation in tourism and business opportunities across nations, provinces and cities along the MSR route, carrying on the same exploratory spirit of our predecessors who reshaped the economic landscape over the past decades.

Contact information:
Global Tourism Economy Research Centre
398 Alameda Dr. Carlos d’Assumpcao
Edificio CNAC 11 andar,NAPE, Macau SAR
Office: 85382963600
Fax: 85382963611