World Tourism Alliance dialogue opens in Hefei, focusing on AI-driven tourism

More than 300 representatives from nearly 30 countries and regions gathered in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province, on Wednesday for the opening of the World Tourism Alliance's flagship forum Xianghu Dialogue, a platform for global tourism stakeholders to exchange insights, share best practices and strengthen cooperation.

Themed "Digital Intelligence: Shaping the Future of Tourism", this year's event was organized by the Anhui Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

Zhang Xu, chairman of the World Tourism Alliance, said in his opening address that the global tourism industry had shifted from recovery to normalized growth, with experience-based consumption emerging as a key growth driver and digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data accelerating the reshaping of the industry landscape.

According to the World Tourism Barometer published this year by UN Tourism, international tourist arrivals worldwide reached approximately 1.52 billion in 2025, up 4 percent year-on-year, or nearly 60 million more than in 2024.

Against this backdrop of industry transformation, Zhang emphasized that the global tourism sector needs a stronger governance system and an environment that fosters mutually beneficial cooperation.

Participants explored how tourism stakeholders can leverage digital and intelligent technologies to reshape products, services, governance and visitor experiences, fostering a smarter, more inclusive and sustainable tourism sector.

Keynote speakers highlighted the opportunities and challenges created by the fast-evolving artificial intelligence for the tourism sector and the shared responsibility of the whole industry, governments, and the broader ecosystem to scale AI responsibly and inclusively. The discussions also explored how digital technologies are changing the operational logic and business models of the tourism economy, with speakers sharing practical approaches and industry perspectives on digital transformation.

A high-level panel on connecting global tourism and driving collaborative growth in the digital era brought together participants to discuss opportunities and pathways for international cooperation regarding policy guidance, industry collaboration and academic research.

One of the event's key components, the China-Europe Tourism Dialogue highlighted Europe's practice of regenerative tourism and the potential for EU-China cooperation. Panel speakers from the European Tourism Association, Trip.com Group and Interrail, among others, discussed avenues for regenerative development of tourist destinations.

Jost Neumann, program coordinator at UN Tourism, presented the framework for joint research by the World Tourism Alliance and UN Tourism on preserving cultural heritage through rural tourism development.

The World Tourism Alliance also released three reports, covering cross-border tourism consumption trends in 2025-26, as well as market sentiment for China's inbound and outbound tourism and domestic tourism in the second half of 2026. The Alliance also inked a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with the European Travel Commission.

The Xianghu Dialogue will also feature a China-US Tourism Dialogue and business matchmaking sessions for Chinese and international travel companies, providing further opportunities for exchanges and cooperation.