The 2026 World Tourism Cooperation and Development Conference was held in Beijing, and the "World Tourism City Development Report" was released

China News Service, Beijing, September 9 (Reporter Xu Jing) The 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services opened in Beijing on the 9th, and the 2026 World Tourism Cooperation and Development Conference was held on the same day. The "World Tourism City Development Report (2025-2026)" released at the meeting showed that Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong ranked among the top ten comprehensive rankings of world tourism cities.

This conference is hosted by the World Tourism Cities Federation and hosted by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism. With the theme of "Renewal of Digital Intelligence, Win-win Cooperation", more than 400 guests from more than 50 countries and regions around the world discussed the cooperation paths and development trends of the world tourism industry in the era of digital intelligence.

The above-mentioned report comprehensively evaluates 100 tourism cities around the world from six dimensions: city popularity, industrial prosperity, city intelligence, tourism safety, economic contribution and tourist satisfaction. The top ten comprehensive rankings of world tourism cities are New York, Tokyo, Paris, London, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Milan, Istanbul and Dubai.

The report points out that in terms of regional distribution, 9 of the top 20 cities in the comprehensive ranking are in the Asia-Pacific region, which are active in aspects such as visa convenience, air connectivity, digital services, security governance, and cultural consumption innovation. Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong have entered the top ten in the world, and Hangzhou and Chengdu have entered the top 20 in the world. China has become the country with the largest number of shortlisted cities. The world tourism city pattern is shifting from being dominated by traditional European and American centers to multi-regional and multi-level competition.

Olaf McKay, Mayor of Valletta, Malta, proposed that evaluating the effectiveness of tourism development should not only look at the number of tourists, but also take into account the well-being of residents, corporate profits, cultural heritage protection, and ecological carrying capacity. He believes that the World Tourism Cities Federation and this conference have established a high-quality cooperation platform, bringing together city managers, tourism institutions, scientific research forces and industrial partners to jointly explore development opportunities.

Ben Montgomery, Vice Chairman of the Asia Pacific Travel Association, believes that current digital technology is profoundly reshaping the tourism industry. The theme of this conference is in line with the reality of industry development. The value of the tourism industry lies in interpersonal connections, cultural mutual learning and international understanding. The development of digital tourism must take into account both industry direction and fair distribution of benefits.