According to the World Tourism Cities Federation, the 2026 World Tourism Cooperation and Development Conference will be held at Shougang Park in Beijing from September 8th to 11th. Representatives and cross-border travel agents from more than 50 countries and regions and more than 50 cities around the world will gather at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) for a cultural and tourism event themed "Digital Innovation and Win-Win Cooperation".

Tourism is one of the most dynamic sectors in global service trade. Since its inception in 2020, this conference, hosted by the World Tourism Cities Federation, has been held for six consecutive sessions on the platform of the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), drawing the attention of the world's tourism cities to Beijing time and again, and incorporating tourism, an important sector of service trade, into China's narrative of high-level opening up.

For many overseas tourists, Beijing is the first stop on their China trip. In recent years, with the continuous optimization of visa-free policies and the increasing frequency and intensity of international flights, the popularity of inbound tourism to China has continued to rise, highlighting Beijing's increasingly prominent role as an international exchange center and gateway city. The value of this conference goes beyond simply bringing Beijing to the forefront. Using Beijing as a focal point, it provides a model for cross-border cooperation among global tourism cities: how tourism cooperation can move from dialogue and exchange to industrial implementation.

On the annual agenda of the World Tourism Cities Federation, the Xiangshan Tourism Summit is known for its "discussions," where city mayors, business leaders, and academic leaders take the stage to discuss and analyze the forefront of the industry and look to the future. Meanwhile, the World Tourism Cooperation and Development Conference, held in conjunction with the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), focuses on "implementation": transforming industry judgments and strategies into real cultural and tourism products and industrial achievements, and translating them into signed agreements.

This conference is a truly practical event: over 80 leading overseas tour operators, OTAs, and TMCs will engage in in-depth discussions with over 110 Beijing-based destination management companies, hotels, and cultural tourism technology enterprises. More than ten inbound tourism and cultural tourism cooperation projects will be directly implemented during the signing ceremony. Among these initiatives, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and China Daily will jointly release "Travel in China: Beijing," systematically showcasing Beijing's inbound tourism resources and providing overseas tourists with pre-trip and in-trip information and services. Beijing Badaling Cultural Tourism Group will sign a memorandum of understanding with Mastercard, leveraging the Great Wall as a world-class cultural heritage site, Badaling's mature comprehensive tourism service capabilities, and the internationally accepted Mastercard payment network to transform the Badaling Great Wall scenic area into the first "World Cultural Heritage Inbound Payment Demonstration Scenic Area" in China.

The world's first ISO international standard for "Brand Evaluation of Tourist Cities" and its 121 detailed three-level scoring rules will also be released on-site, transforming the world's first ISO evaluation standard for tourist cities from theoretical provisions into an executable evaluation benchmark. The "World Tourism Cities Development Report (2025-2026)," which evaluates 100 cities worldwide based on the "1+6" evaluation system, will also be unveiled at the same time.

"Digital Innovation and Win-Win Cooperation"—the theme of this conference points to a cooperative perspective that transcends zero-sum games. The cultural and tourism industry isn't about who wins or loses, but about collectively expanding the pie. Inside the venue, a range of cultural and tourism technology products were showcased, including AIGC immersive interactive installations, AR real-time translation glasses, naked-eye 3D holographic digital humans, and exoskeleton wearable devices. Digital technologies are reshaping the boundaries of the travel experience; outside the venue, the radius of cooperation is also expanding.

In June of this year, the Federation's "Members' Home" was officially launched, with the initial goal of creating a "perpetual international exchange meeting room" that allows members' cultural and tourism resources to be regularly showcased and physically connected even outside of the conference period. This time, the meeting room was "moved" to the Shougang Park lawn: nine representative international tourist destinations set up independent booths to promote their local resources, while Air China, Mastercard, and Badaling Cultural and Creative Exhibition Area focused on "Global Travel & Convenient Payment," demonstrating international routes and cross-border payment solutions on-site. Air China's booth will also be live-streamed throughout the event. Resource display and exchange, which were originally activities during the conference, have become tangible daily activities here.

A more comprehensive view of Beijing was also revealed at this conference. When overseas tourists think of Beijing, they often think of the Forbidden City and the Great Wall first; this time, overseas travel agents will be taken to the front lines of resources, conducting on-site research in Dongcheng, Shijingshan, Changping, Yanqing, and Huairou districts, exploring themes such as digital tourism, historical sites, rural customs, natural landscapes, and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) business, and experiencing Beijing's diverse cultural and tourism industries firsthand. The conference also pioneered a "one conference, one district" mechanism, focusing this year on Yanqing, specifically promoting unique resources such as the Badaling Great Wall at night to the international tourist market. From iconic Beijing to multifaceted Beijing, this is not only an expansion of inbound tourism supply but also a global demonstration: in-depth cooperation in cross-border tourism can begin with a renewed understanding.

From dialogue to signing agreements, from a single event to a regular one, from a landmark to a global event. From September 8th to 11th, the 2026 World Tourism Cooperation and Development Conference will open at Shougang Park in Beijing. This grand event, themed around "cooperation," is writing a new chapter in global cultural and tourism cooperation, emphasizing "harmony and win-win outcomes."

(Source: China.com, Author: Wu Ce, January)