Guangzhou is slated to host the 2018 World Route Development Forum from Sept 15 to 18, according to a press conference held by the information office of the people's government of Guangzhou on June 26.

The press conference is held on June 26. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The event, dubbed the Olympics for the civil aviation industry, will gather representatives and officials from airlines, airports, governments and tourism departments in the southern Chinese city, where they will talk about airline and air service development opportunities.

As an important chance to promote the development of the Guangzhou route network, display Guangzhou's image and boost regional economic development, the forum will greatly enhance Guangzhou's position in the global aviation network, promote the gathering of high-end resource elements, and lure more talents and investments to the city.

At the press conference, Guangzhou also unveiled its efforts to operate another 30 international air routes to cities such as Madrid in Spain and Chicago and Boston in the United States, further increasing Guangzhou's pace in building itself into an international aviation hub.

Qiu Jiachen speaks at the press conference. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

According to Qiu Jiachen, chairman of the board of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, the airport will use the forum to join hands with more domestic and foreign airlines, increase the frequency of flights, optimize aircraft types, operate more routes to Europe and the US, consolidate routes to Southeast Asia and Oceania, build African express lines, and develop South American routes.

Guangzhou has over 300 air routes, 157 of which are international. Last year, the passenger throughput of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport reached 65.84 million, an increase of 10.2 percent year-on-year, ranking 13th in the world. The number of overseas passengers coming to or departing from the city stood at 15.89 million, an increase of 17.6 percent year-on-year, accounting for 24 percent of Guangzhou's total passengers in 2017. The city's cargo and mail throughput reached 1.78 million tons in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 7.9 percent. With the operation of the T2 terminal, the passenger throughput of the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in 2018 is expected to hit 70 million.

A special sharing session is held after the press conference. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]