Tourism forum urged to maximize use of technology to breathe new life into business

Global tourism, which is undergoing challenges amid an economic slowdown, should take full advantage of the opportunities brought by technological development and the Belt and Road Initiative to achieve sustainable growth, officials and industry leaders said in Macao on Saturday.

The rapid development of the internet has changed the way people travel and consume, with online travel gaining popularity.

According to market intelligence firm eMarketer, the world's digital travel sales hit $496.2 billion last year - up 15.4 percent from a year earlier, and the figure is expected to grow to $564.9 billion in 2016.

"Technology has changed travel experience, business models and destination management," said Taleb Rifai, secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

"These developments mean that the time has come to place focus on maximizing the power of technology for the benefit of tourism development," he told the opening ceremony of the Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) held in Macao at the weekend.

The forum, themed "The Growing Consumer Class - Rethinking and Reshaping the Future Tourism Landscape", was aimed at promoting international tourism cooperation and exploring new business opportunities by providing a platform for officials and industry insiders from around the world to share their insights on tourism.

The event was held as the tourism industry grapples with challenges brought by a slowed world economy. Although the number of tourists traveling internationally reached a record 1.18 billion in 2015, increasing 4.4 percent year-on-year, the growth rate is declining, according to UNWTO. The growth in 2014 was 4.7 percent.

Against the backdrop, it's essential to push forward innovation with the help of technology to instill fresh vitality into the traditional industry, officials and experts believe.

"To enhance sustainable tourism development, we need tourism innovations which go in line with the global trends nowadays," said Sonia Chan Hoi-fan, Macao's acting chief executive and secretary for administration and justice.

Ho Hau-wah, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and GTEF chairman, said China's technological development, together with the innovations made under its Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation policy, has brought unprecedented changes to the country's traditional tourism ecosystem and contributed to fostering deepened and widened tourism development.

On the global scale, meanwhile, the Belt and Road Initiative, mooted by President Xi Jinping in 2013, is believed to be another driver for global tourism growth. More than 60 countries and areas around the world, covering a total population of 4.6 billion, are involved in the initiative.

"Economic cooperation between China and economies along the Belt and Road Initiative has been carried out in a wide range of areas. Among them, tourism has great potential," Wang Qinmin, chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, said.

"It's estimated that China will bring 150 million tourists to countries along the route and make a consumption of $200 billion there. At the same time, 85 million people from those countries are expected to come to China, generating $110 billion in tourism revenue."

sally@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 10/17/2016 page1)