As a global pandemic forces the world into a new era of international travel, Beijing Tourism is leading the way with a two-part online forum series, “Beijing Culture and Tourism Global Online Strategic Forum – Restart Travel, Together with Beijing.”
Scheduled to be held on 22-23 September 2020, the forum is aimed at tour operators and travel agencies who manage and sell travel to Beijing, destinations and tourism businesses around the world who can learn from Beijing’s examples, and others working in the tourism industry and travel media. Attendees will come away with a practical understanding of how Beijing is tackling many of the most challenging issues facing international tourism, and looking ahead to the future, by embracing new technology, creative solutions, and learning from past experience.
The Chinese forum brings together an expert lineup of more than 30 speakers from throughout the tourism industry, including leaders such as Airbnb, TripAdvisor, Lufthansa Group, TUI, PATA, WYSE Travel Confederation, Marriott, and many others.
Each session features six panel discussions and keynote presentations. These address questions of how tourism can bounce back from COVID-19, the future of business travel and the MICE sector, and the role of youth travel in global tourism recovery.
Keynote speeches include a presentation from the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, and a Q&A session addressing Beijing’s challenges as a tourism destination. Each forum session finishes with a research report presentation from McKinsey on global prospects for tourism recovery. Wei Pang, Deputy Director-General, Beijing Municipal Culture, and Tourism Bureau, Department of Foreign Exchanges and Cooperation offered this via the press release:
“Beijing Tourism’s goal in building this platform is to welcome friends around the world to discuss how to restart travel – not only travel to Beijing, but on an international level. As we move forward to embrace the new normal together, our Forum will develop confidence within the global travel industry by showing how Beijing and China are successfully leading the recovery of tourism.”
The event will be held from 4 pm China Standard Time (CST) on Tuesday, 22 September, for attendees in Africa, Asia, and Europe. A second session from 8 am CST on Wednesday, 23 September, is aimed at attendees in the Americas and Oceania. Both forum sessions will be recorded and available for playback.