The event will be the 24th annual World Routes forum and is expected to attract about 3,000 delegates representing 300 airlines, 700 airports and 130 tourism authorities.
World Routes 2018 will support Guangzhou’s economic development by bringing the international aviation industry to the city.
It is a major opportunity to showcase Guangzhou’s commercial strength and the expansion of its airport, which has gained 67 new international services since 2011 including San Francisco, Frankfurt, Rome, Moscow and London.
A second terminal is being constructed at the facility to increase the airport’s maximum annual capacity to 80 million passengers, it currently handles 55 million a year, when it opens in 2017.
The long-term aim is for the airport to have five runways and three terminals to handle 62,000 flights, 100 million passengers and three million tons of cargo a year.
Katie Bland, director of Routes, said: “China is the world’s second largest aviation market and it is continuing to grow. By 2034 it will have overtaken the US as the busiest market with 1.196 billion passengers a year.
“Within China, Guangzhou is a powerful driving force of the national economy.
“It is taking a leading role in China’s national strategy to improve international transport connections so it is an excellent destination for the world’s aviation industry.”
Zhang Kejian, chairman of the board of Guangdong Airport Authority, added: “The development of Guangzhou Baiyun airport as a giant international air hub is an essential part of the national Chinese strategy to enhance the status of its civil aviation from ‘large’ to ‘powerful’.
“Taking the great opportunity of hosting World Routes 2018 will definitely improve Baiyun airport’s international connections, further boost national and regional economic and social development, enhance the core city status of Guangzhou in China, as well as promote the development of the world-class city group in the Pearl River Delta.”
The Guangzhou event will be the third World Routes to be held in China. Chengdu will host World Routes 2016 in September and Beijing hosted World Routes 2009.
