Encounter the World, Set Off for Tianjin: 2026 China Culture & Tourism Industries Expo Kicks Off
SHANGHAI, China, September 9, 2026 (EZ Newswire) -- On September 3, the 2026 China Culture & Tourism Industries Expo, hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, commenced at the Tianjin Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Center. During the Expo, Trip.com Group officially launched Trip Music Award 2, marking a new milestone in its efforts to expand the boundaries of cultural communication through music and promote deeper integration between culture and tourism.
With the theme of “Deepening the Integration of Culture and Tourism; Innovating for a Better Life through Smart Technology”, this year’s expo spans a total exhibition area of 100,000 square meters. It has drawn the participation of 2,540 culture and tourism enterprises from 20 countries and regions, as well as 30 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities across China.
As a leading global one-stop travel service provider, Trip.com made a strong presence at the expo, showcasing its core resources. During the event, the award-winning works from the Trip Music Award 2 were impressively presented at the Trip.com booth. The booth’s LED screens continuously featured the promotional video for Trip Music Award 2 alongside the winning music videos. A significant number of the triumphant creators also assembled in Tianjin to partake in the celebration, with music as a conduit to narrate the stories of Chinese cities to the world.
Trip Music Award 2 stands as an innovative practice in content co-creation, and a vivid example of how “music + travel” empowers inbound tourism and propels Chinese culture onto the global stage. It proves that the synergy of emotional resonance and platform traffic can deliver tangible international attention and drive visitor growth for tourism destinations.
As one of the flagship events of the 2026 China Culture & Tourism Industries Expo, the 2026 International Travel Agents Conference (Tianjin), guided by the Expo Organizing Committee and hosted by Tripadvisor China, was held concurrently. The conference brought together hundreds of Chinese and international guests, including leading travel agents from Tianjin’s key international source markets—SCO member states, Europe, the Americas, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as overseas travel influencers and industry experts and scholars, to explore cooperation opportunities and deliberate on future development.
Li Zhuo, Deputy Director of Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, stated in her address that Tianjin is endowed with a rich cultural and tourism heritage, unique resources, and vast potential for industry development. She extended a warm welcome to travel agents and tourism professionals from across the globe to visit and explore Tianjin, and invited more domestic and international travelers to experience the city’s distinctive fusion of history and modernity, openness and inclusiveness, to appreciate Tianjin’s beauty and savor the charm of China. Tianjin will persist in enhancing its business environment and providing high-quality tourism services, collaborating with global partners to expand the inbound tourism market, sharing the benefits of cultural and tourism development, and jointly promoting high-quality industry growth.
Wang Wei, Vice President of the China Association of Travel Services and the Senior Vice President of Trip.com Group, stated that hosting the conference in Tianjin effectively combines practical industry matchmaking with overseas brand promotion. By convening leading global travel agents, overseas influencers, and platform organizations, the event has established an efficient and pragmatic platform for international tourism cooperation. On one hand, it serves as a bridge for direct communication and targeted business matching for tourism enterprises both domestically and abroad. On the other hand, it capitalizes on the international resources of Tripadvisor and Trip.com Group’s global platforms to introduce Tianjin’s high-quality tourism products to international markets, attract travelers from around the world to China and Tianjin, and support Tianjin in expediting its development into an international tourism destination.
Kimi Liu, CEO of Tripadvisor China, extended a sincere invitation to global tourism industry partners. He proposed taking this conference as a new starting point to jointly pioneer new frontiers in inbound tourism, embrace market change with an open mindset, cultivate tourism products tailored to overseas markets, and win over global travelers with high-quality services. The aim is to draw more international visitors to China, turning them into avid experiencers and ambassadors of Chinese culture and tourism. He also expressed his anticipation for deepening strategic cooperation with Tianjin, working together to establish the city as a benchmark for inbound tourism in China, and bringing the city’s unique city brand of “Talk Tianjin, Taste Tianjin” to a wider international audience.
In the “Encounter the World” session, the conference held in-depth discussions on the next phase of China’s inbound tourism development. Richard Matuzevich, the Senior Manager of the External Liaison Department at the World Tourism Cities Federation, stated in his keynote presentation that China’s inbound tourism is transforming from a conventional destination model into an international hub. This transition necessitates synchronized advancements in market revitalization, seamless travel experiences, and regional connectivity.
Summer Tang, Vice President of Tripadvisor China, unveiled a data report titled "Changes in China’s Inbound Tourism Trends from a Travel Perspective." The report reveals that international travelers are progressively shifting their focus from China’s traditionally favored cities to a wider array of destinations that boast a rich cultural heritage and distinctive local lifestyles. Drawing on her practical experience, Olesia Razumnaia, the General Manager of Samara Travel Agency, observed that following the SCO Summit, cultural and tourism exchanges between China and SCO member states have accelerated their recovery, injecting renewed vitality into the tourism industry.
As a significant outcome of the conference, the “Set Off for Tianjin” International Zone was officially launched, introducing premium themed inbound travel routes in Tianjin to global audiences. Leveraging Trip.com Group’s global resources, the zone provides a one-stop online service portal integrating information search, itinerary planning and product booking. The featured routes tap into Tianjin’s highly distinctive cultural IP, cover diverse consumption scenarios and precisely match the needs of different overseas source markets. The launch of the zone and themed routes marks a shift in Tianjin’s overseas inbound-tourism promotion from fragmented campaigns to branded and systematic operations, providing authoritative guidance for travelers around the world to discover and explore Tianjin.
The “Set Off for Tianjin” session focused on promoting Tianjin’s culture and tourism internationally. Zhu Jingjin, Associate Professor at Tianjin Foreign Studies University, delivered a presentation titled "Discover the Beauty of Tianjin, Feel the Charm of China." Centered on themes including the night scenery along the Haihe River, century-old Western-style buildings, mountain and coastal landscapes, and intangible cultural heritage and folk customs, the presentation offered a panoramic view of Tianjin’s tourism offerings, combining an urban sensibility, immersive experiences, youthful vitality and cultural depth. Overseas travel blogger Billy shared his insights in "A Taste of Tianjin, A City of Joy," drawing from his experiences living and traveling in the city. He pointed out that overseas audiences increasingly seek to experience the vibrant and authentic everyday life of China, and that Tianjin serves as a vivid window into contemporary Chinese urban life.
The 2026 Tourism Innovation Contribution Awards were presented at the conference. China’s first immersive themed entertainment tourism train, the “Tianjin Fantasy Express," won the “Best Innovative Urban Landmark & Space” award for its deep exploration of the city’s cultural essence and innovative immersive experience scenarios. Integrating Tianjin culture, modern technology, intangible cultural heritage arts and interactive experiences, the train brings the city’s memories beyond static displays and makes them tangible and experiential. This initiative not only injects new momentum into the development of urban experiential tourism but also serves as a moving window to tell the world the story of Tianjin’s unique charm of “River, Sea, and Tianjin Rhyme."
The conference also featured a signing ceremony between Chinese and international travel traders under the theme of “Boost Exchanges & Expand Business." In the presence of the event’s guests, multiple groups of representatives from Chinese and overseas travel trading companies signed cooperation agreements encompassing traveler exchanges, joint development of cultural and tourism products, cross-border marketing and promotion, and other areas. Focused on the objective of attracting inbound visitors, these agreements foster precise matchmaking and mutually beneficial collaboration between Chinese and international tourism enterprises, open up two-way channels for international visitor flows, stimulate growth in the inbound tourism market, and establish a comprehensive service loop from overseas marketing to domestic reception — providing a practical model for international tourism cooperation.
In addition to the conference’s main agenda, a series of immersive cultural experiences were arranged. Chinese and international participants explored Yangliuqing Ancient Town, Ciyiyuan Art Gallery, and the Water Memory Museum, where they experienced Tianjin-style intangible cultural heritage crafts including New Year paintings, ceramic arts, and inside-painted snuff bottles. By engaging with these intricate traditional crafts, participants gained a deeper understanding of the essence of Tianjin culture while generating rich content and inspiration for the continued upgrading of inbound tourism offerings.
The successful conference marks a significant stride in Tianjin’s commitment to fostering coordinated cultural and tourism development across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, as well as enhancing the international profile of its city brand, “River, Sea, and Tianjin Rhyme." Through industry dialogues, cooperation agreements between Chinese and international enterprises, the launch of the international zone, and the unveiling of premium travel routes, Tianjin has advanced the branding and systematic development of its inbound tourism sector, infusing robust momentum into its aspirations to emerge as a pivotal domestic tourism hub and a key city for inbound tourism.
Looking ahead, Tianjin will take the conference as a new starting point, seize the strategic opportunities presented by China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and its vision of building a strong tourism nation. The city will continue to enhance its end-to-end services and support for inbound tourism, deepen practical cooperation with travel agents worldwide, and bring Tianjin’s unique charm to the global stage.
About Shanghai Ctrip Commerce Co., Ltd.
Ctrip is a travel services platform that helps travelers book and manage trips across hotels, flights, trains, tours, car rentals, cruises, visas, insurance, and corporate travel. It operates a broad portfolio of consumer travel brands and services, including hotel reservations, air ticketing, train tickets, vacation packages, and destination activities. Ctrip is part of Trip.com Group and serves customers in China and beyond with online tools, travel content, and integrated booking support. For more information, visit ctrip.com.
Media Contact
Alice Dai
daisj@trip.com
