The First International Travel Service Conference 2025 CATS (CATS-ITSC) was held on 17-19 October, 2025 in the city of Sanya province of Hainan (PRC). The conference was organized by the Chinese Association of Travel Services (CATS).
Although CATS has been regularly holding its conferences for many years, for the first time the Chinese association decided to expand the format into a major international event. Travel Association “World without borders” and wtchat.travel platform were co-organizing and partnering this promising for the international tourism market event.
Although CATS has been regularly holding its conferences for many years, for the first time the Chinese association decided to expand the format into a major international event. Travel Association “World without borders” and wtchat.travel platform were co-organizing and partnering this promising for the international tourism market event.
The coorganizers of the event are China Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (CAAPA), The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), he China Association of Tourist Attractions, the China Association of Tourist Buses and Boats, the Hainan Exhibition Industry Association, the Sanya Tourism Development Bureau, the Sanya Tourism and Exhibition Association, and others.
The scale of participation in the event reached 600 key tour operators, 2,000 professional visitors, and over 5,000 attendees. International representation covered several European countries, South Korea, other Asian destinations, Russia and Kazakhstan.
In his welcome address, UNWTO Executive Director and former WTA Secretary-General Mr. Liu Shijun emphasized the importance of the CATS initiative and wished the project further success in its development.
The two days of the intensive forum program were held alongside an exhibition area featuring both major Chinese brands and local companies from Hainan. A special mention should be made of CTG (China Tourism Group), the general partner of the conference. Well-known brands such as major OTAs — CTrip, Fliggy, Tuniu — as well as traditional tour operators including China Comfort Travel Group, GZL Int'l Travel, CYTS, and others took part. A special networking zone was arranged for participants of the event.
As part of the business program on 17 October, CATS and Travel Association “World without borders” signed an Agreement launching a new unifying project for the tourism industry of the Silk Road countries — members and partners of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The agreement was finalized following China’s chairmanship of the SCO in 2024–2025 and is open to joining by tourism businesses, professional associations, marketing organizations, travel media, and other interested stakeholders.
Today, the SCO geography includes 25 countries, and the developing cooperation between the SCO and ASEAN expands this framework to 35 countries, most of which are significant outbound and inbound tourism markets.
On the second day of the business program, the central event was the CATS Custom Branch session — a kind of “association within the association”, bringing together Chinese travel companies specializing in high-quality cultural travel experiences.
After the conference, representatives of CATS, Travel Association “World without borders”, and wtchat.travel held consultations to summarize the results and agreed to jointly prepare the 2026 conference. The next edition is planned to significantly expand international participation, introduce a hybrid format with remote access to the forum program, and enable online networking and partnership with Chinese and other international partners.
The scale of participation in the event reached 600 key tour operators, 2,000 professional visitors, and over 5,000 attendees. International representation covered several European countries, South Korea, other Asian destinations, Russia and Kazakhstan.
In his welcome address, UNWTO Executive Director and former WTA Secretary-General Mr. Liu Shijun emphasized the importance of the CATS initiative and wished the project further success in its development.
The two days of the intensive forum program were held alongside an exhibition area featuring both major Chinese brands and local companies from Hainan. A special mention should be made of CTG (China Tourism Group), the general partner of the conference. Well-known brands such as major OTAs — CTrip, Fliggy, Tuniu — as well as traditional tour operators including China Comfort Travel Group, GZL Int'l Travel, CYTS, and others took part. A special networking zone was arranged for participants of the event.
As part of the business program on 17 October, CATS and Travel Association “World without borders” signed an Agreement launching a new unifying project for the tourism industry of the Silk Road countries — members and partners of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The agreement was finalized following China’s chairmanship of the SCO in 2024–2025 and is open to joining by tourism businesses, professional associations, marketing organizations, travel media, and other interested stakeholders.
Today, the SCO geography includes 25 countries, and the developing cooperation between the SCO and ASEAN expands this framework to 35 countries, most of which are significant outbound and inbound tourism markets.
On the second day of the business program, the central event was the CATS Custom Branch session — a kind of “association within the association”, bringing together Chinese travel companies specializing in high-quality cultural travel experiences.
After the conference, representatives of CATS, Travel Association “World without borders”, and wtchat.travel held consultations to summarize the results and agreed to jointly prepare the 2026 conference. The next edition is planned to significantly expand international participation, introduce a hybrid format with remote access to the forum program, and enable online networking and partnership with Chinese and other international partners.