UN Tourism: Global tourism grows 0.4% in the first half of the year

On October 20, 2026, the 20th UN Tourism/PATA Tourism Trends and Outlook Conference opened in Guilin, Guangxi, with more than 300 government officials, experts, scholars and tourism industry representatives attending, under the theme "New Frontiers: Tourism Trends in the Age of AI." At the conference, UN Tourism released the latest World Tourism Barometer report; a relevant person in charge of Trip.com Group delivered a keynote speech. A report on October 21 stated that Liu Shijun, Executive Director of UN Tourism, noted at the conference that global tourism grew 0.4% in the first half of this year, with the Asia-Pacific region growing 1%; what was released at the conference was the September 2026 edition of the World Tourism Barometer. Tian Guicheng of Hong Kong Polytechnic University introduced that the university has launched the world's first AI master's degree in tourism. The conference was first held in Guilin in 2007 and has become a tourism exchange and cooperation platform with international influence.