Leading tourism researchers, business strategists
and market planners from North America, the Middle East, Europe and across Asia
Pacific have confirmed their attendance to the first-ever UNWTO-PATA Tourism Trends
and Research Conference in Guilin, China (PRC) this week from June 29-30.Oxford Economics Chairman John Walker heads an impressive line-up of presenters,
including representatives of global brands such as Amadeus, Nielsen, IPK
International and Visa International, as well national tourism boards, airlines,
travel companies and academic institutions.

The programme will feature a series of interactive sessions, as well as
presentations by world experts and moderated discussions on key tourism issues in
Asia Pacific. 

Topics include the impact of the global economy on travel and tourism across the
Asia Pacific region, the significance of low cost carriers and the expanding air
route network, the significance of China (PRC) in today’s travel equation, consumer
perspectives on future travel in the region, the dynamics of change in travel
distribution and using market intelligence in today’s commercial world.

“Effective strategic planning and research is increasingly critical to success in
today’s rapidly changing business environment and this is a first step in what we
hope will be an on-going dialogue between tourism researchers to improve information
exchanges and stay abreast of new data analysis and interpretation techniques”, says
John Koldowski, Director of PATA’s Strategic Intelligence Centre.

“It is fitting also that this inaugural event takes place in China (PRC), given the
speed with which travel and tourism is developing there and its influence on the
global structure of our industry”, he added.
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