The 23rd World Route Development Forum (WRDF), an event dubbed as the Olympics for the civil aviation industry, concluded in Barcelona, Spain on Sept 26, and Guangzhou, the host city for next year's event, officially received the flag for the event at the closing ceremony.

The World Route Development Forum is a significant event for representatives and officials from airlines, airports, government and tourism departments to convene and talk about airline development and air service development opportunities.

The 2018 WRDF will be held from Sept 15 to 18 in Guangzhou next year and hosting the event will help grow the city into an international aviation hub.

On the evening of Sept 26, a special flag-presenting ceremony was held at the Fira BarcelonaGran Via Conference Center, Barcelona where Ma Xinhang, vice general manager of Guangdong Airport Authority and Qiu Jiacheng, chairman of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport were presented the cup and flag of the WRDF.

At the ceremony, a 25-minute video clip showcasing Lingnan culture was played along with distinctive performances including Cantonese songs and acrobatics. Moreover, Guangzhou's promotional video Guangzhou, Flower City in Bloom was once again played in Barcelona, the second largest city in Spain.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is one of the world's top aviation hubs and as of June 2017, a total of 77 airline companies operate flights from the airport with routes connecting Guangzhou with 219 destinations around the world.

Earlier this month, the city announced it would invest more than 315 billion yuan ($48 billion) in 80 key projects in infrastructure, aeronautical maintenance and aviation logistics from 2017-19 and vowed to build a 12-hour air transportation circle.

The No 2 Terminal project of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is planned to be put into use by 2018 and by 2019 the city's airport is expected to host 720 million passengers and handle 2.3 million tons of cargo and air mail.