October 29, 2012 - The Sixth UNWTO/PATA Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook was successfully held in Guilin, China, on 11-13 October 2012. The Forum was jointly organised by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), and co-organised by the Guilin Municipal People’s Government and Guangxi Tourism Administration, in collaboration with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s (PolyU) School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM).

The Forum has been successful in providing an annual Pan-Asia-Pacific platform for policy makers, senior officials, researchers and industry executives to take stock of global and regional trends and to better understand their potential impacts on tourism. This year, the forum took the theme “Collaboration and Partnership: Sharing for Better Practices”.

Technical sessions on the first day covered topics such as “Setting up the Scene” and “Collaboration and Partnership in Action”, followed by a series of parallel sessions featuring “Products and Markets”, “Innovation and Knowledge Transfer”, “Policy and Strategy” and “Pro Poor/Rural Tourism”. The Opening Session held on the second day was officiated by Mr Zoltán Somogyi, Executive Director of the UNWTO; Mr John Koldowski, Special Advisor to the CEO, PATA; Professor Kaye Chon, Dean and Chair Professor of the SHTM; Mr Dho Young-Shim, Special Advisor to the UNWTO Secretary General and Chairperson of the UNWTO ST-EP Foundation; Mr Li Zhigang, Mayor of Guilin; Mr Zhu Shanzhong, Vice Chairman of the China National Tourism Administration; and Mr Gao Xiong, Vice Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The following keynote session entitled “Collaboration and Partnership: Sharing for Better Practices” featured Mr Leslie Vella, Chairman of the Market Intelligence Group, European Travel Commission, who spoke about “Regional Collaboration in Research and Promotion: The European Experience”; Professor Chon of the SHTM, who spoke on “University-Industry Partnership for Hospitality and Tourism Education: The Story of Hotel ICON”; and Professor Marion Joppe, Professor of the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the University of Guelph, who delivered a speech on “Collaboration and Partnership Amongst Destination Marketing Organisations: A North American Perspective”.

The Forum was officially closed on 12 October by Mr Somogyi of the UNWTO, Mr Koldowski of PATA and Ms Chen Lihua, Vice Mayor of Guilin. The SHTM was delighted to support the Forum as the School considers it vital in helping all those who are involved in tourism marketing intelligence and trend analysis in Asia and the Pacific to network, exchange ideas, establish and cement partnerships.

About School of Hotel and Tourism Management
PolyU's School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) is a world-leading provider of hospitality and tourism education. It was ranked No. 2 internationally among hotel and tourism schools based on research and scholarship, according to a study published in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research in November 2009.

With 65 academic staff drawing from 19 countries and regions, the School offers programmes at levels ranging from Higher Diploma to Ph.D. Currently a member of the UNWTO Knowledge Network, the School was recently bestowed the McCool Breakthrough Award by the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (I-CHRIE) recognising its breakthrough in the form of its teaching and research hotel – Hotel ICON – the heart of the School's innovative approach to hospitality and tourism education.