The 24th World Route Development Forum, to be held in Guangzhou between Sept 16 and 18, is set to be the largest in the event's history.

More than 3,200 guests from over 300 airlines, 700 airport management bodies, and 130 government departments and tourism agencies from 112 countries have applied for the forum, said Zhang Kejian, chairman of Guangdong Airport Authority.

21 airlines, including Ukraine International Airlines, Finnair, South African Airways and American Airlines, are attending the event for the first time, said Steven Small, brand director of World Routes.

"We have exceeded all our targets for attendance and have been bowled over by the response to the event," Small said.

Held in the China Import and Export Fair Pazhou Complex, the forum will cover an area of 41,880 square meters, with three themed forums to be staged on international aviation hub strategy and urban innovation, airport-related industry and economy and smart city and smart airport respectively.

As Guangzhou carries out its strategy of becoming strategic hubs of shipping, aviation and innovation, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport served 65.48 million passengers last year, ranking the third in China and 13th globally, said Chen Zhiying, executive vice-mayor of Guangzhou.

The airport is connected to 220 destinations globally and stands as a key international transit point connecting Australia, East Asia and Southeast Asia, he said.

Five major industrial clusters have emerged around the airport, including aircraft maintenance, aviation logistics, aviation headquarters business, airport cross-border e-commerce and aircraft leasing.

As part of the UBM/Informa, a London-based international business-to-business event organizer, the forum has been held annually since 1995.

On the choice of China for this year's session, Small said: "China is planning 50 additional airports by 2020, and 11 of the top 20 fastest growing major airports in the world by passenger numbers in 2017 were in China. 

"Hosting World Routes in China is a great fit, due to the fact the event is solely focused on route development, and route development is a key tenant of the 13th Five-Year Plan of China."