2025 UN Tourism/PATA Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook to kick off in Guilin

The 2025 UN Tourism/PATA Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook, co-hosted by the UN World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), will take place in Guilin from Sept 18 to 20, 2025.

Centered on resilience, sustainability and smart tourism, the forum will bring together global industry elites to help shape the future of the tourism sector.

Participants will represent over 20 countries and regions – including the United States, Australia, France and Singapore – and include tourism officials, scholars and industry professionals. Through keynote speeches and panel discussions, they will exchange insights, share global tourism trends and cutting-edge industry cases, and contribute to boosting tourism development across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

Over the three-day event, sessions will cover key topics: UN Tourism will lead discussions on tourism governance, with speakers from Slovenia, Indonesia and Brazil; PATA will focus on building tourism resilience in the Asia-Pacific, featuring practical cases from Nepal and Spain; and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University will host a forum dedicated to tourism talent development.

Guilin's dedicated session will explore innovations in the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector. Chaired by Xu Jing, a former UN Tourism executive, this session will include contributions from experts hailing from Greece, South Korea and China.

A major highlight of the forum will be the global debut of UN Tourism's latest World Tourism Barometer. Additionally, leading industry figures will share their expertise and insights.

On Sept 19, the opening ceremony will feature speeches by Liu Shijun of UN Tourism, the PATA President and local leaders. Keynote addresses will follow, including an analysis of European tourism markets by TUI Group and a presentation on digital tourism practices by Alipay's Fliggy. These will be succeeded by panel discussions focusing on smart tourism destinations and tourism economic measurement.

Representatives from countries such as Slovenia, Indonesia and the Maldives, along with experts from institutions including The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and South Korea's Youngsan University, will share case studies and perspectives. Their contributions will help develop "Guilin Solutions" for the sustainable and intelligent development of global tourism.

During the forum, delegates will visit Guilin's cultural and tourism venues. This visit will showcase the latest progress in Guilin's efforts to become a world-class tourist city, while also pooling global wisdom to generate new ideas for advancing this goal.