Public Lecture on Post COVID-19 Tourism Recovery Strategies for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

2022年6月2日 (星期四) Thursday, 2 June 2022

10:00-12:00

澳門望廈山澳門旅遊學院望廈校區協力樓禮堂 ｜ ZOOM 線上會議

Auditorium, Team Building, Mong-Ha Campus, IFTM｜Online via ZOOM

講座將以普通話進行；現場設有英語翻譯字幕

The lecture will be conducted in Mandarin with English-translated subtitles available for on-site participants

主講嘉賓 Speaker

保繼剛教授 Professor Bao Jigang

中山大學旅遊學院創院院長

Founding Dean of School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat-sen University

中山大學旅遊發展與規劃研究中心主任

Director, Center for Tourism Planning and Research, Sun Yat-sen University

保教授為中山大學旅遊學院創院院長（2004-2018），現任中山大學旅遊發展與規劃研究中心主任，中國旅遊協會副會長、旅遊教育分會會長，聯合國世界旅遊組織旅遊可持續發展觀測點管理與監測中心主任，聯合國世界旅遊組織專家委員會委員，國際旅遊研究院會士。發表論文300餘篇，出版著作20餘部。主持國家自然科學和社會科學藝術類基金8項，主持廣東省、湖北省、湖南省省級旅遊發展規劃，主持桂林市、蘇州市、黃山市、張家界市、西雙版納、珠海市等城市旅遊發展規劃，主持新疆喀納斯、大香格里拉等旅遊區規劃，宣導並主持推動了“阿者科計畫”。

研究專長包括旅遊地理、旅遊可持續發展、主題公園、旅遊規劃。

Professor Bao Jigang is the founding dean of School of Tourism Management (2004-2018) at Sun Yat-sen University. Since 2013, Professor Bao has been the president of China Tourism Association - Education Chapter. He pioneers to develop tourism from a small research area to an independent discipline in today’s China.

Professor Jigang Bao is active in publishing, forming international collaboration and communications, and linking theories to tourism practices. He has authored more than 300 articles and published over 20 books. Professor Bao joined the International Academy of the Study of Tourism as a fellow in 2001 and was elected as the Second Vice President of IAST in 2019. He has been working closely with UNWTO and established “Monitoring Center for UNWTO Sustainable Tourism Observatories” in 2006. The Center oversees nine world-class destinations in China and facilitates international communications regarding sustainable tourism theories and practices. Professor Bao has conducted over 60 consulting and research projects for international, national and regional organizations and governments. In recent years, he has been devoted to issues about tourism and poverty alleviation. One representative work is “Azheke Project”.

Professor Bao is a proud alumnus of Peking University and Sun Yat-sen University. Majored in tourism geography, he is an outstanding tourism scholar with expertise in tourism sustainable development, theme parks, and tourism planning.

Photos of the public lecture

The 4th GBA Tourism Research Alliance Forum was successfully held on 5 November 2021

IFTM hosted on Friday (5 November) the 4th Greater Bay Area Tourism Research Alliance Forum. The event, with the main theme as “Effective Governance & Coordination for Post-COVID Greater Bay Area Tourism”, brought together scholars, government officials and professionals from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and further afield, to discuss the latest tourism research covering the city cluster.

During the event, IFTM and the China Tourism Academy announced the signing of a partnership to boost strategic cooperation and sharing of knowledge. The memorandum of cooperation envisions joint development of tourism research, collaboration in hosting conferences and seminars, and the promotion of personnel exchanges.

The 4th Greater Bay Area Tourism Research Alliance Forum took place at the Conference Room of IFTM’s recently refurbished Educational Hotel Pousada de Mong-Há. The event was held in hybrid format, with some speakers on-site, while others made their presentations via live video streaming. Participants were able to attend the Forum either in person or online.

Keynote speakers at the Forum included the President of the China Tourism Academy Prof. Dai Bin, and Prof. Bob McKercher from the University of Queensland in Australia, who is also Chairman of the Board of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism. MGTO’s Deputy Director Mr. Ricky Hoi Io Meng gave a welcome speech while IFTM’s President Dr. Fanny Vong Chuk Kwan delivered a closing speech.

Several IFTM academics had their latest research featured at the 4th Greater Bay Area Tourism Research Alliance Forum. Scholars Dr. Penny Wan Yim King, Dr. Li Xiangping and Dr. Virginia Lau Meng Chan formed a partnership to produce 2 presentations for the event. One discussed the role of public-private cooperation in Macao’s post-COVID-19 tourism recovery; and the other proposed the development of a tourism-focused satisfaction index for the Greater Bay Area. In addition, IFTM’s Dr. Cindia Lam Ching Chi and Prof. Zhao Ying from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong Province presented their research project “Tourists’ decision making in movement behaviours within the Greater Bay Area – A time budget perspective”.

The 4th Greater Bay Area Tourism Research Alliance Forum was organised by IFTM, and supported by the School of Tourism Management at Sun Yat-sen University and the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The 3 higher education institutions established in November 2018 the Greater Bay Area Tourism Research Alliance with an aim to conduct joint research and contribute to the development of tourism in the region, providing support to local policymaking efforts.

More about the Forum:

https://itrc.iftm.edu.mo/news-items/gbaforum2021

Macao Human Resource Monitoring Study (MHRM) - December 2020

I. About the Survey 調查介紹

II. Respondents' Corner 受訪者專區

III. Promotion Activity 宣傳活動

IV. Contact Us 聯絡我們

I. About the Survey 調查介紹

Objectives 調查目的

MHRM is one of IFTM Tourism Research Centre (ITRC)’s long-term research. The aim is to fill the gap in knowledge of information of the Macao’s labor force such as employees’ level of job satisfaction, job stress, intention-to-quit and organizational loyalty measures, as well as satisfaction with a host of occupational and work conditions such as benefits, opportunities for advancement, inter-relationships at work, etc. with focuses on the tourism, hospitality and gaming industries. Information are gathered and analyzed for industry leaders and the general public to reply on in regard to understanding issues surrounding the labor force.

澳門人力資源監察調查為澳門旅遊學院旅遊研究中心(ITRC)的長期調研項目之一。這項調查旨在補充本澳勞動力市場的資料，主要針對旅遊業、款客服務業和博彩業收集資料，以填補現有統計資料的空白，包括顧員的工作滿意度、工作壓力、離職意向、對機構的忠誠度、及一些與機構和工作條件相關的滿意度，例如：福利、晉升機會、機構的內部人際關係等進行分析，讓業界的領導層和公眾了解並認清圍繞勞動力的議題。

Survey design 調查設計

MHRM telephone interview employs the random-digit dialing (RDD) by telephone interviewers under close supervision. To minimize sampling bias, first five digits of telephone numbers were first drawn randomly from the residential telephone database as “seed numbers”, then the remaining digits were drawn randomly to generate the samples to minimize non-registered numbers bias.

澳門人力資源監察調查電話訪問採用隨機號碼撥號(RDD)的形式進行，訪問員在嚴格督導下親身進行電話訪問。為使抽樣誤差減至最低，調查首先以隨機方法從住宅電話號碼資料庫中，抽取部份住宅電話號碼的前五位數字作「種籽」號碼，然後再以隨機方法抽取其餘數字以生成樣本，以減低因忽略非登記號碼而產生的誤差。

Survey Respondents 調查對象

The target respondents for this survey are those 18 years old or above, and are currently working/ worked in Macao in the past 12 months. When telephone contact is successfully connected with a target household, one eligible person will be selected. If more than one eligible person is available, selection will be made using the “next birthday rule” that selects the person who will have his/her birthday next from all those available. Selected respondents may opt to complete the questionnaire through telephone interview or fill in the online questionnaire via a given link.

調查的訪問對象是18歲或以上，目前或於過去十二個月在澳門工作的人士。訪問員在成功接觸目標住戶後，將訪問其中一名合資格的成員。如多於一名合資格的成員，將以「即將生日」的方法選取受訪者。被抽中的受訪者可以通過電話採訪完成問卷調查，也可選擇通過指定鏈結填寫線上問卷。

Data Collection Period 資料收集期

The data collection period starts from December 21 to December 31, 2020.

資料收集期由2020年12月21日12月31日。

II. Respondents' Corner 受訪者專區

Interviewers will introduce themselves on the phone and verify the phone number with the respondents before starting the questionnaire. If respondents have any doubts about the identity of the interviewers, they can call 8598 1543 during office hours for verification. The incoming caller ID for this survey is 2856 1252.

調查員會先在電話上介紹自己，並與受訪者核實電話號碼。如對調查員的身份有存疑，受訪者可於辦公時間致電8598 1543核實調查員身份。調查員的來電號碼為 2856 1252。

III. Promotion Activity 宣傳活動

Lucky Draw 大抽獎

In appreciation for the support and cooperation of the respondents, all respondents that successfully complete the survey of this study (fieldwork & telephone) can enter the lucky draw with the chance to win MOP1,000 supermarket coupons (10 sets in total).

The winner will be announced on ITRC’s Facebook page (https://facebook.com/itrc.iftm/) on January 29, 2021 and contacted by our staff via phone and SMS. If the winner cannot be reached by phone or SMS, or do not collect the prize within the given period, we reserves the right to draw a substitute winner from the rest of the participants. For terms and conditions, please click here.

為答謝受訪者的合作和支持，所有受訪者成功完成此項研究的調查(街頭及電話)即可參加大抽獎，有機會贏取1,000澳門元超市禮券(共10份)。

得獎名單將於2021年1月29日公佈於本中心的Facebook (https://zh-tw.facebook.com/itrc.iftm/)，得獎者將會以電話和電話訊息方式收到通知。倘若主辦單位未能透過電話或電話訊息方式與得獎者聯繫，又或者得獎者於領獎期間屆滿後亦不領取獎品，學院保留於其餘參加者的名單內抽出替補之權利。有關條款與細則，請按此處。

IV. Contact Us 聯絡我們

Enquiry Hotline: 8598 1543

查詢電話: 8598 1543

Office hours:

Mondays to Thursdays

9:00 to 13:00, 14:30 to 17:45

Fridays

9:00 to 13:00, 14:30 to 17:30

辦公時間：

星期一至四

上午九時至中午一時，下午二時三十分至五時四十五分

星期五

上午九時至中午一時，下午二時三十分至五時三十分

Results of a Joint GBA-Related Research 大灣區相關的聯合研究結果

Foundations for Developing a Destination Brand for the Greater Bay Area

發展粵港澳大灣區目的地品牌的基礎

With a big group of participants’ support and participation at the Greater Bay Area Forum for Collaborative Tourism Research held on 8th May 2018, opinions as to what issues and challenges were most pressing and important for research to address were shared. This had led to Macao Institute for Tourism Studies undertaking the joint research study on Destination Image of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area together with Sun Yat-Sen University, School of Tourism and Management, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University SHTM. The related study “Foundations for Developing a Destination Brand for the Greater Bay Area” was presented and shared at different academic and policy-address events with the industries during 2018-2020, including the followings:

·       “The 3rd Annual Conference of the International Place Brand Association" hosted by the 6th International Conference on Destination Branding and Marketing （7 December 2018）

·       Sun Yat-Sen University, School of Tourism and Management Academic Salon（10 December 2018）

·       “Guangzhou Huadu Tourism Investment Promotion Conference and ‘New Cultural Tourism Landmark, See Huadu in Bay Area’ Tourism Development Forum＂ (19 December 2018)

·       The Department of Culture and Tourism of Province（8 August 2019）

·       Tourism Administration of Guangzhou Municipality （9 September 2019）

·       Tourism Research and Education Forum of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau and ASEAN（31 October 2019）

·       Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Sports, Radio and Television（24 June 2020）

·       “Tourism Tribune China Tourism Research Annual Conference 2020＂（6 November 2020）

The result of this year-long joint research can be downloaded via the following links.

Result and journal publication 

Chinese PPT

English PPT

Published article

About the Forum

GBA Forum for Collaborative Tourism Research

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全賴一眾參與者的支持和出席於2018年5月8日舉辦的大灣區旅遊研究合作論壇，就研究上最迫切重要的問題和挑戰發表了意見，澳門旅遊學院與中山大學旅遊學院、香港理工大學酒店及旅遊業管理學院聯合開展了粵港澳大灣區城市旅遊形象調研，相關研究成果＂發展粵港澳大灣區目的地品牌的基礎＂於2018至2020年間在不同的學術及政策會議上與各界分享研究成果，當中包括：

·       “第三屆國際地方品牌協會年會暨第六屆旅遊目的地品牌及市場發展國際會議＂（2018年12月7日）

·       中山大學旅遊學院學術沙龍（2018年12月10日）

·       “廣州市花都旅遊招商推介會暨‘文旅新地標、灣區看花都＇旅遊發展論壇＂ (2018年12月19日)

·       廣東省文化和旅遊廳（2019年8月8日）

·       廣州市文化廣電旅遊局（2019年9月9日）

·       粵港澳暨東盟旅遊研究與人才培養論壇（2019年10月31日）

·       深圳市文化廣電旅遊體育局（2020年6月24日）

·       “2020《旅遊學刊》中國旅遊研究年會＂（2020年11月6日）

請點擊下列連結下載參閱這項為期一年的聯合研究結果。

結果和學術文章

中文PPT簡報

英文PPT簡報

學術文章

關於論壇

發展粵港澳大灣區目的地品牌的基礎

Macao Human Resource Monitoring Study (MHRM) - June 2020

I. About the Survey 調查介紹

II. Respondents' Corner 受訪者專區

III. Promotion Activity 宣傳活動

IV. Contact Us 聯絡我們

I. About the Survey 調查介紹

Objectives 調查目的

MHRM is one of IFTM Tourism Research Centre (ITRC)’s long-term research. The aim is to fill the gap in knowledge of information of the Macao’s labor force such as employees’ level of job satisfaction, job stress, intention-to-quit and organisational loyalty measures, as well as satisfaction with a host of occupational and work conditions such as benefits, opportunities for advancement, inter-relationships at work, etc. with focuses on the tourism, hospitality and gaming industries. Information are gathered and analyzed for industry leaders and the general public to reply on in regard to understanding issues surrounding the labor force.

澳門人力資源監察調查為澳門旅遊學院旅遊研究中心(ITRC)的長期調研項目之一。這項調查旨在補充本澳勞動力市場的資料，主要針對旅遊業、款客服務業和博彩業收集資料，以填補現有統計資料的空白，包括顧員的工作滿意度、工作壓力、離職意向、對機構的忠誠度、及一些與機構和工作條件相關的滿意度，例如：福利、晉升機會、機構的內部人際關係等進行分析，讓業界的領導層和公眾了解並認清圍繞勞動力的議題。

Survey design 調查設計

MHRM employs the random-digit dialing (RDD) by telephone interviewers under close supervision. To minimize sampling bias, first five digits of telephone numbers were first drawn randomly from the residential telephone database as “seed numbers”, then the remaining digits were drawn randomly to generate the samples to minimize non-registered numbers bias.

澳門人力資源監察調查採用隨機號碼撥號(RDD)的形式進行，訪問員在嚴格督導下親身進行電話訪問。為使抽樣誤差減至最低，調查首先以隨機方法從住宅電話號碼資料庫中，抽取部份住宅電話號碼的前五位數字作「種籽」號碼，然後再以隨機方法抽取其餘數字以生成樣本，以減低因忽略非登記號碼而產生的誤差。

Survey Respondents 調查對象

The target respondents for this survey are those 18 years old or above, and are currently working/ worked in Macao in the past 6 months. When telephone contact is successfully connected with a target household, one eligible person will be selected. If more than one eligible person is available, selection will be made using the “next birthday rule” that selects the person who will have his/her birthday next from all those available. Selected respondents may opt to complete the questionnaire through telephone interview or fill in the online questionnaire via a given link.

調查的訪問對象是18歲或以上，目前或於過去六個月在澳門工作的人士。訪問員在成功接觸目標住戶後，將訪問其中一名合資格的成員。如多於一名合資格的成員，將以「即將生日」的方法選取受訪者。被抽中的受訪者可以通過電話採訪完成問卷調查，也可選擇通過指定鏈結填寫線上問卷。

Data Collection Period 資料收集期

The data collection period starts from June 15 to July 11, 2020.

資料收集期由2020年6月15日至7月11日。

II. Respondents' Corner 受訪者專區

Interviewers will introduce themselves on the phone and verify the phone number with the respondents before starting the questionnaire. If respondents have any doubts about the identity of the interviewers, they can call 8598 1543 during office hours for verification. The incoming caller ID for this survey is 2856 1252.

調查員會先在電話上介紹自己，並與受訪者核實電話號碼。如對調查員的身份有存疑，受訪者可於辦公時間致電8598 1543核實調查員身份。調查員的來電號碼為 2856 1252。

III. Promotion Activity 宣傳活動

Lucky Draw 大抽獎

In appreciation for the support and cooperation of the respondents, all respondents that successfully complete the survey can enter the lucky draw with the chance to win MOP1,000 supermarket coupons (10 sets in total).

The winner will be announced on ITRC’s Facebook page (https://facebook.com/itrc.iftm/) on August 14, 2020 and contacted by our staff via phone and SMS. If the winner cannot be reached by phone or SMS, or do not collect the prize within the given period, we reserves the right to draw a substitute winner from the rest of the participants. For terms and conditions, please click here.

為答謝受訪者的合作和支持，所有成功完成調查的受訪者即可參加大抽獎，有機會贏取1,000澳門元超市禮券(共10份)。

得獎名單將於2020年8月14日公佈於本中心的Facebook (https://zh-tw.facebook.com/itrc.iftm/)，得獎者將會以電話和電話訊息方式收到通知。倘若主辦單位未能透過電話或電話訊息方式與得獎者聯繫，又或者得獎者於領獎期間屆滿後亦不領取獎品，學院保留於其餘參加者的名單內抽出替補之權利。有關條款與細則，請按此處。

IV. Contact Us 聯絡我們

Enquiry Hotline: 8598 1543

查詢電話: 8598 1543

Office hours:

Mondays to Thursdays

9:00 to 13:00, 14:30 to 17:45

Fridays

9:00 to 13:00, 14:30 to 17:30

辦公時間：

星期一至四

上午九時至中午一時，下午二時三十分至五時四十五分

星期五

上午九時至中午一時，下午二時三十分至五時三十分

Tourism Research and Education Forum of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau and ASEAN (31 Oct -1 Nov 2019)

Hosted by the School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat-sen University, China and coorganised by Macao Institute for Tourism Studies and School of Hotel and Tourism Management, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, the “Tourism Research and Education Forum of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau and ASEAN” was successfully held on 31 Oct to 1 Nov 2019, in Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou. 

The Forum invited scholars from universities and tourism institutions in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao and ASEAN countries and had attracted 120 participants. A discussion and communication focusing on the “Tourism Research and Education” was carried out to find out key issues and solutions. Through this platform, a good tourism academic sharing and long-term cooperation could be established between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, as well as between China and ASEAN countries.

Themes of the Forum included higher education and talent development of tourism in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; development of Urban Tourism in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; joint training of cross-cultural tourism talents between China and association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN); tourism research communication and cooperation between China and ASEAN.

President Dr. Fanny Vong presented her keynote speech on “Macao-Guangzhou collaboration in Talent Development for Tourism” and Prof. John Ap delivered his keynote presentation about “Tourism Education& Research in Macao: Some Perspectives & Observations”. Prof. Leonardo A. N. Dioko shared the results of a year-long research by IFTM, SYSU, and HKPU “Foundations for developing a destination brand for the Greater Bay Area” together with Prof. Guojun Zeng and Mr. Mingyang Zhu from SYSU as well as Dr. Ksenia Kirillova from HKPU.

IFTM faculty also shared their joint research findings at the Forum:

• Prof. John Ap and Dr. Jose But presented “Local Community Perceptions of Tourism Development in Macao”

• Dr. Shanshan Qi, Mr. Don Wu presented “Smart Tourism Development in Guangdong-Hong Kong- Macao Greater Bay Area”

• Mr. Wilson Hong presented “An Eye-Tracking Study of Exoticism in Intra-national Destinations in the Greater Bay Area of China”

Dr. Eve Ren, as representative of IFTM, also joined the forum and attended the “Guangdong Tourism Management Teaching Committee Meeting” which was held during the above-mentioned forum.

IFT, SYS and HKPU organised the GBA Collaborative Tourism Research Forum

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On 8 May, Macao’s Institute for Tourism Studies’ Tourism Research Centre (ITRC), the School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat-Sen University (SYS), and the School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU) jointly organised The Greater Bay Area Collaborative Tourism Research Forum. The Forum was unique because of its working and interactive

format with the audience, which was designed for the purpose of defining a collaborative research agenda for tourism stakeholders in the Greater Bay Area. The Forum provided an opportunity for hospitality and tourism policymakers, industry executives, and researchers in the Greater Bay Area to discuss, identify and prioritise future joint research needed to address the myriad challenges and opportunities regarding the long-term tourism development of the Greater Bay Area.  

The Forum was comprised of two sessions. The first consisted of short statements delivered by the three Co-Chairs of the Forum, wherein they broadly outlined some key issues, trends, developments, and rationales for cooperation. The Co-Chairs of the Forum included Professor Jigang Bao, Dean of the School of Tourism and Management, Sun Yat-Sen University, Professor Haiyan Song, Associate Dean and Chair Professor of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Hong Kong Polytechnic, and Dr. Fanny Vong, President of IFT.

The second session consisted of participants being broken down into several smaller groups during which they held intense and interactive discussions and shared their opinions as to what issues, problems, and challenges were most pressing and important for research to address.

A total of 110 participants registered for the event, including representatives from HKP, SYS, and IFT, as well as other higher educational institutions in the GBA. Other participants included community members from across the GBA policy-makers, government officials, industry executives, and members of various community interest groups, think-tanks and private associations.

The event photos have been uploaded to the Forum's webpage, please feel free to view and download. 

5月8日，旅遊學院旅遊業研究暨科研中心與中山大學旅遊學院及香港理工大學酒店及旅遊業管理學院合辦大灣區旅遊研究合作論壇。是次論壇的獨特之處在於其與參與者的工作性和互動性，來為大灣區旅遊利益相關者合作研究制定研究議程。 論壇為大灣區的酒店和旅遊政策制定者合作研究、行業主管和研究人員提供了一個很好的機會去探討大灣區在長期旅遊發展中面臨的挑戰和機遇，並辨識未來聯合旅遊研究優先課題的議程。

是次論壇有兩個部分，首先是由論壇的三位聯席主持發表簡述，他們廣泛地概述了一些關鍵問題、趨勢、發展和合作原因。 論壇聯席主持包括中山大學旅遊學院院長保繼剛教授、香港理工大學酒店及旅遊業管理學院副院長及講座教授宋海岩教授及旅遊學院院長黃竹君博士。

第二部分參與者分成幾個小組來進行激烈而互動的討論，並對於研究定立出問題及討論最緊迫重要的挑戰。

約有110名人士登記參與論壇，當中包括香港理工大學、中山大學及旅遊學院的代表和大灣區其他的高等院教學者和研究人員，另外更包括來自大灣區各地的政策制訂者、政府官員、社區持分者、智囊團和社團等多個代表。

會議論文集和活動相片己上載至論壇網頁，歡迎閱讀。

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IFT’s Tourism Research Centre hosts TOURISM 20:20 international symposium on the past and future of tourism & launches initiative towards Global Research Alliance in Tourism

During the TOURISM 20:20 international symposium, the Director of the IFT Tourism Research Centre (ITRC), Professor Leonardo (Don) A.N. Dioko signed a Joint Statement with the founding (working committee) members of the new Global Research Alliance in Tourism (GReAT) coming from 8 renowned tourism research centres and universities in Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States, witnessed by the UNWTO Secretary General, Dr. Taleb Rifai, and IFT’s President, Dr. Fanny Vong.

The Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT), through the IFT Tourism Research Centre, hosted the TOURISM 20:20 international symposium on 12 October at IFT new Taipa campus. Scholars, industry executives, and educators in the area of tourism from Macao and around the world attended the event and shared ideas on tourism development over the last 20 years and discussed challenges ahead in the next 2 decades. The symposium is one of the series of events celebrating the 20th anniversary of IFT.

During the opening session, Dr. Fanny Vong, President of IFT and Dr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) welcomed all the delegates, which included more than 120 participants from the academic community and from the industry coming from at least 10 countries and regions.

After that, a signing ceremony took place during which the founding (working committee) members of the new Global Research Alliance in Tourism (GReAT) signed a Joint Statement witnessed by the UNWTO Secretary General, Dr. Taleb Rifai, and IFT’s President, Dr. Fanny Vong. The Joint Statement affirms the urgent need to address the most persistent and important research issues, problems, and unresolved questions in tourism on a global scale, through a worldwide network of institutional partners working and pooling together their collective knowledge and resources. The Director of the IFT Tourism Research Centre (ITRC), Professor Leonardo (Don) A.N. Dioko was joined by nine partners from renowned tourism research centres and universities in Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States in signing the Joint Statement.

During the symposium, discussants including Mr. Mario Hardy, Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Dr. Yeong-Hyeon Hwang, Chairman, Asia Pacific Tourism Association (APTA), Mr. Xu Jing, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, UNWTO together with Dr. Kamilla Swart, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa reviewed and exchanged ideas on the lessons from the past and challenges for the future of tourism industry. Another session covering the past and future of tourism education and knowledge was discussed by Dr. Niramit Kunanuwat, Suan Dusit University, Thailand, Dean Haemoon Oh, University of South Carolina, US, Professor Noel Scott, Griffith University, Australia, and Professor Christopher Ryan, University of Waikato, New Zealand.

About the symposium

TOURISM 20:20 international symposium examined tourism development over the last 20 years and looked at the challenges ahead in the next 20. Tourism has progressed tremendously in the last twenty years. Rapid globalisation and integration, technological advances, climate change, the advent of low-cost travel and accommodation, and more open visa policies are but a few of the great changes that shaped travel. While the last two decades brought forth momentous change for all countries and for the travel industry, it also portended great adversity and difficulties on issues of security, freedom to travel, equality and emergent diseases, and conflict. Issues including how has travel changed in the last 20 years, the lessons have been learned, how has the travel industry coped with change, the opportunities and challenges lie ahead among the questions TOURISM 20:20 addressed with the help of a few individuals best placed to share their thoughts, insights, and ideas on the matter.