by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 4:43 PM ET, Wed August 1, 2018
The United Nations World Tourism Organization will host a summit in September to focus on urban tourism and its potential to be more sustainable.
The goal of the seventh UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism is to set out a vision and roadmap looking toward 2030 for what has become a rapidly growing segment of the tourism business.
To be held in Seoul, South Korea, from September 16 through September 19, the event is the first of its kind in northeast Asia, said UNWTO.
The gathering will be "designed to encourage new strategic approaches to the challenge of a growing tourism sector and its impact on urban destinations, through sharing of innovative ideas and experiences," UNWTO said in a statement.
Innovative approaches to competitiveness in urban destinations, technology's impact on urban tourism, rejuvenation of cities, and increasing inclusion in city development are among the topics to be featured.
The BBC is lending its support to the gathering, with the lead personality from the network's Travel Show, Rajan Datar, scheduled to moderate a panel titled "High Level Panel: Urban Tourism in 2030." Additional panel members for this discussion include ministers and mayors from around the world.
The discussion will feature B. Joseph Pine, author of the best-seller "The Experience Economy." Pine is known for first using the term "The Experience Economy" to describe the major shift in motivation for people to undertake many economic activities, including travel.
Other planned speakers include city mayors and representatives of tourism administrations from destinations such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Cape Town, Osaka, San Sebastian, Singapore and Seoul, companies such as MasterCard, Google and Amadeus and the World Bank.
The summit will also encompass the growing segment of youth travel through the UNWTO Global Youth Summit on Urban Tourism as a side-event on September 18.
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