Global Tourism Economy Forum Kicked off at ITB Berlin

Macau (Macao SAR) – April 19,2017 (travelindex.com) – Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF or the Forum), the leading international tourism platform designed to promote sustainable development of the global tourism industry with a focus on China, is scheduled to host its 6th edition from 16 to 17 October 2016 in Macao. In support of the 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, GTEF 2017 will engage prominent leaders in the public and private sectors in the discussion on Regional Collaboration and how tourism stakeholders down barriers, find common ground and grow stronger together.

The first stop of GTEF 2017’s international roadshow was ITB Berlin, the world’s largest travel trade show. Entering its 51st edition, ITB Berlin provides a platform for over 10,000 exhibitors from 180 countries and regions, including the Macao SAR, to connect with global tourism peers and explore cooperation opportunities.

Capitalizing on ITB Berlin’s long-standing and influential European-wide reach, GTEF aimed to create a compelling presence at the prestigious trade show to strengthen awareness of the Forum, China’s critical role in global tourism and Macao’s reinvented international image among worldwide tourism stakeholders, particularly stakeholders in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) which will be the Featured Partner Region at GTEF 2017 in Macao this October.

At ITB Berlin, the GTEF team pursued a full schedule of activities from 8 to 10 March, including a formal presentation of GTEF 2017 to the 16 Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) at the Hungarian Embassy in Berlin, meetings with representatives from these countries, and promotional activities along with the Macao Government Tourism Office at the exhibition booth at the trade show venue. At the Hungarian Embassy on March 8, His Excellency Dr. Péter Györkös, Ambassador of Hungary to Germany, Dr. Zoltán Somogyi, Executive Director of UNWTO, and Dr. Péter Princzinger, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Hungarian Tourism Agency, generously shared their insights into how to open the China market ; and Mr. Jason Wang, Chief Operating Officer of GTEF, and Ms. Michelle Cheng, Chief Executive Officer of Mazarine Asia Pacific (GTEF’s appointed public relations company), introduced GTEF and GTEF 2017’s programme and events.

In addition to featuring the 16 diverse and culturally rich Central and Eastern European countries (namely Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia), GTEF 2017 will present the spectacular Guizhou Province as the Featured Chinese Province, bringing a truly promising tourism market mix to the Forum. GTEF will once again offer both rewarding programmes and unrivalled business networking and matching opportunities to delegates from China and around the world, so that they could capitalize on the momentum of tourism development and growth.

For further information about GTEF, please visit www.gte-forum.com and stay tuned for the latest news released by its official social media channels.

About Global Tourism Economy Research Centre
The Global Tourism Economy Research Centre (GTERC) was established in Macau in 2012. Strategically based in Macau which is at the forefront of Asia’s burgeoning tourism economy, the Centre is an independent, non-profit international research organization with a special purview on tourism and travel development in Asia. The Centre also functions as the Secretariat of the Global Tourism Economy Forum.

The Centre shares insights with international and regional tourism stakeholders in the public and private sectors on how tourism economic development in Asia has positively impacted, and will continue to drive, global economic growth. The Centre’s progressive and unique approach to aggregating and analyzing research from global authoritative bodies seeks to deliver solutions and advance ideas that will lead to the sustainable development of travel and tourism in the region and around the world.

About Global Tourism Economy Forum
The Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) is hosted by the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR Government, co-organized by the China Chamber of Tourism under the authorization of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC), coordinated by GTERC and in collaboration with UNWTO. GTEF’s supporting units include 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), World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF), European Travel Commission (ETC) and Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO).