The second edition of Global Tourism Economy Forum ("GTE-Forum" or "the Forum"), one of the most prominent international events of the year, adjourned on 19 September with tremendous success after the three-day activities. Carrying on the achievement of the Inaugural Forum last year, the second edition of the Forum has also successfully gathered over 1,000 attendees from different countries and cities around the world, including delegations from more than 10 provinces and autonomous regions in Mainland China, with approximately 160 local and overseas media representatives covering this event. Apart from fostering the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) again, the Forum has successfully deepened exchange and investment cooperation between tourism and tourism-related industries of China and their counterparts in Portugal and Spain through a series of follow-up activities after the Inaugural Forum. This edition has not only successfully invited Portugal and Spain representatives to promote tourism investment during the event but also arranged four Chinese regions and provinces to participate in PRC Provincial Governors Presentation as an increase from last year. With the overseas corporate sponsorship on this edition as well, GTE-Forum has proven its recognized status in Mainland China and the international market. Ms. Pansy Ho, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of Global Tourism Economy Forum, concluded this edition of the GTE-Forum, "We must optimize both our software and hardware facilities so that the tourism industry can benefit the most from the tremendous potentials amidst the industry's continuous expansion. We should also share resources and mutual benefits, creating a hub of transportation systems which connect and extend to all destinations through integrated transport network in order to ease travel experience and promote individual mobility. In addition, we should share business resources, basic knowledge, technology knowhow or manpower in order to benefit different sectors and industries through tourism economy." Mr. Cheong U, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macau SAR Government and Executive Chairman of Global Tourism Economy Forum, delivered his closing remarks, "This year the Forum has set up a Ministerial Roundtable for tourism officials from various countries to explore opportunities and challenges brought by global tourism growth. We have also invited international tourism organizations, tourism industry partners, international business elites and experts to attend a series of discussion sessions. New seminars and promotion sessions were introduced for networking between Mainland China and foreign enterprises as well this year. The Forum also featured themed luncheons, entertainment shows and Macau World Heritage tour. Through a variety of activities, the Forum has encouraged broader discussions and deeper speculation, inspiring new ideas and perspectives which we believe will highly benefit the long-term and sustained tourism development. " Secretary Cheong continued, "Reflecting on our experience in organizing the past two editions, we will be most well-prepared for the Forum in the year ahead. We sincerely wish the participants can come back to Macau again with their continuous support for the third edition of Global Tourism Economy Forum in September next year." The third edition of the Global Tourism Economy Forum will be held once again in Macau next year. The organizer is looking forward to extending the achievements of the first two editions and continuously facilitating its role as an international platform of high-end business matching as well as tourism exchange and cooperation, allowing tourism industry partners from Mainland China to fully leverage the Forum as a springboard to achieve more Sino-foreign tourism cooperation across industries, sectors and regions, so that the tourism industry can generate unlimited momentum for global economic rebound. World-Class Speakers Line-up on 2nd Day of Forum
The Forum started the second-day agenda today with WTTC Session: Points of View from International Private Sector Leaders. Under the topic "Driving forward – accelerating the growth", Mr. Jean-Claude Baumgarten, Former President, CEO and Chairman of World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), and Vice Chairman of Global Tourism Economy Forum, along with various global business leaders including Mr. Ricco deBlank, CEO of Sun Hung Kai Properties Hotels; Mr. Michael Frenzel, Chairman of WTTC & Chairman of the Supervisory Board of TUI Germany GmbH and TUIfly GmbH; Mr. Arthur de Haast, Chairman of Hotels and Hospitality Group of Jones Lang LaSalle; Mr. Gilberto Jordan, CEO of André Jordan Group and Mr. Naren Srinivasan, Senior Vice President of Global Strategy and Corporate Development of The Hertz Corporation explored how travel and tourism play their role in driving global economy forward and accelerating global economic growth, as well as respective investment opportunities emerged. Afterwards, the Forum began Hospitality Session: Points of View from Global Industry Leaders, an in-depth discussion under the topic "From the drawing board to the Grand Opening". Starting from the key components of a successful hotel project, the panelists approached the impact of the hospitality sector on local, regional and national economies as well as on the society and the environment. Various leaders from hospitality and related sectors expressed their unique perspectives on hospitality development during the session, including Mr. Jerry Huang, President of Greater China, Artyzen Hospitality Group Limited; Mr. Jabulane Mabuza, Deputy Chairman of Tsogo Sun Holdings; Mr. Luis del Olmo, Executive Vice President, Group Marketing & Asia Pacific of Meliá Hotels International; Mr. Joaquín Serra Saval, Senior Executive Vice President of Natura Bissé; and Mr. Henrique Tomaz Veiga, Founder and Chairman of Aequitate, SGPS, SA. Meanwhile, the Forum arranged another concurrent session namely Portugal Investment Presentation, an introduction about investment immigration to Portugal under the topic – "Top Reasons to Invest in Portugal and Golden Visa" delivered by Ms. Maria João Bonifácio, Counselor for Economic and Commercial Affairs, Consulate General of Portugal to Macau and Hong Kong, who presented more diverse investment options for overseas travel to Forum participants. A tourism and investment presentation by Guizhou Province was also arranged during a Forum luncheon at 12:30 p.m. to familiarize the attendees with this province which is rich in tourism resources in Southwest China. Comprising two discussion sessions, the agenda in the afternoon began with China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable: Perspective from China International Chamber of Commerce for the Private Sector on Mainland Private Enterprises. Under the topic "Chinese Private Enterprises and Global Tourism Economy" as moderated by Mr. Alexander Wan, Senior Advisor of China Daily Asia Pacific, the session aimed at analyzing how Chinese private enterprises can not only invest strategically in tourism and related industries in overseas markets but also introduce western business model, technology and know-how through the "Go Global" policy. A number of China's most prominent entrepreneurs, experts and scholars in related fields including Mr. Fu Jun, Chairman of the Board of Directors and the President of Macrolink Group Limited; Ms. Jane Fountain, Managing Director of Harmony World Watch Centre; Ms. Wang Ping, Chairman of China Chamber of Tourism and Vice Chairman of Global Tourism Economy Forum; Mr. Peter Wong, Chairman of the M.K. Corporation Ltd and Vice Chairman of Global Tourism Economy Forum; Mr. Wu Yijian, President of Ginwa Investments Holding Group Ltd; Mr. Yang Bin, Professor and Senior Associate Dean of School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University; and Mr. Zheng Yuewen, Founder and Chairman of Creat Group shared their successful strategies and experience in expanding businesses in overseas markets and cooperation with foreign enterprises during the session, encouraging private entrepreneurs to go global so as to elevate China's tourism industry to international standards. The final discussion of this edition was held about the topic "Creativity and Innovation in Tourism" under PATA Session: Points of View from Asia Pacific Leaders which explored the application of creative, innovative and cutting-edge tourism concepts and techniques to create brand-new tourism products and services, revitalize existing products and optimize cultural and heritage assets so as to enrich common travel experience and generate economic spin-offs from tourism. Moderated by Mr. Martin Craigs, CEO of PATA, insights were gathered from the speakers including Mr. Kaye Chon, Dean of School and Chair Professor, School of Hotel and Tourism Management of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Mrs. Chadatip Chutrakul, CEO of Siam Piwat Company; Mr. David Gavaghan, CEO of Titanic Quarter; Mr. Grant Horsfield, Founder & Chairman of naked Group Ltd.; Mr. Ieong Tou Hong, Chairman of the Macau Economic Development Promotion Association and Honorary Advisor of Global Tourism Economy Forum and Ms. Zhang Mei, Founder & Chairperson of WildChina. - End - About the Global Tourism Economy Forum
Hosted by the Secretariat for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macau SAR Government, co-organized by the China Chamber of Tourism under the authorization of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) and coordinated by the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre, the Global Tourism Economy Forum is a prominent annual event for the global tourism industry. In 2012, the Inaugural Forum attracted over 1,000 delegates from 34 countries and cities all over the world. The Forum aims at establishing a platform for domestic and overseas exchange and cooperation, fostering and promoting integrated development in tourism and service industries, creating better investment prospects and deepening tourism cooperation, thus bringing new opportunities of economic development for China and the world.
