A decade after the successful first forum in 2012, UNWTO & GTEF have announced plans for revamped and enhanced partnership for the forum's 10th anniversary.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the Global Tourism Economic Forum (GTEF) have outlined plans for an improved annual forum to be held in conjunction with the event’s 10th anniversary in Macao, China on September 21. According to the statement by UNWTO, the location of subsequent forums will then alternate between Macao and a different host country, to be jointly selected by UNWTO and GTEF.

“UNWTO is proud to work with the Global Tourism Economic Forum to unite governments and private sector leaders and address the biggest challenges and opportunities facing our sector today. We look forward to building on our successful partnership in 2023 and beyond,” says UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

The statement adds that the 10th edition of GTEF will be held around the theme of Destination 2030: Unlocking Tourism for Business and Development. It will bring

together governments as well as leaders from across the public and private sectors to further establish the Forum as the premier annual event for public-private partnerships and tourism for business growth and development.

“In response to China’s policies in supporting enterprises to ‘go global’, we will stage the GTEF, an international platform, overseas every other year. Looking forward to the future, we believe that mainland China, Macao, and even the world can benefit from the event,” says Pansy Ho, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of GTEF.

The statement adds that in Lisbon, UNWTO signed a MoU with the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre (GTERC), the coordinator of GTEF, to work together to identify areas of future cooperation.