The Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) is a premier international platform dedicated to advancing the sustainable development of the global tourism industry through exchange and cooperation. As a high-level annual summit, GTEF convenes government officials, industry leaders, experts, scholars, and renowned entrepreneurs to explore new opportunities and models in the global cultural and tourism sectors, broaden diverse investment and cooperation channels, optimize global resource integration mechanisms, and provide robust support for the high-quality development of the world tourism economy.

Since its inception in 2012, GTEF has successfully hosted ten editions in the Macao SAR, inviting over 700 distinguished speakers from 86 countries and regions, and attracting more than 14,000 participants, including heads of state, ministers, business leaders, and experts. Over the past decade, through close partnerships with 44 cooperating countries and 13 featured Chinese provinces and cities, GTEF has become a vital bridge for "the world focusing on China and China connecting with the world." Its global brand influence has earned widespread recognition from domestic and international government institutions and organizations, while effectively contributing to "telling China's story."

As GTEF's global influence continues to expand, it will further provide the Macao SAR with a world-class platform to fully leverage its strategic role as a "super-connector," strengthening links between China and international markets and better serving the nation's opening-up strategy. To this end, this edition marks a milestone innovation by hosting the Forum for the first time outside the Macao SAR in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, co-creating a new chapter in GTEF's development alongside Heilongjiang.

Heilongjiang Province is a vital gateway for China’s international engagement, a key node in the Belt and Road Initiative, and a central hub for Northeast Asian regional cooperation. Leveraging its unique geographical advantages and strategic positioning, Heilongjiang has crafted a distinctive global cultural and tourism brand, “Splendid Scenery of Northern China, Beauty in Heilongjiang,” through its exceptional ice-snow tourism, vibrant festivals, and rich historical and cultural heritage. This has driven a transformative shift from seasonal prominence to year-round vitality, establishing Heilongjiang as a model for comprehensive, all-season tourism development.

As a cornerstone for China’s “new quality productive forces,” Heilongjiang is advancing its ice-snow economy, winter sports, eco-tourism, and wellness tourism through technological innovation, fostering a new paradigm of comprehensive revitalization for the cultural and tourism sectors driven by scientific and technological advancements. By hosting world-class events such as the 2025 Asian Winter Games, the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, and the Harbin Summer Concert, Heilongjiang not only underscores its role as a global leader in the ice-snow economy and cultural-tourism development but also vividly showcases a new chapter of the “Chinese story” on the international stage.