Welcome Message from Dean Kaye Chon

Professor Kaye Chon
Dean and Chair Professor
Walter Kwok Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management
School of Hotel and Tourism Management
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
and
Conference Co-Chair
International Conference on Wine Market and Cultures of Consumption

I am delighted that the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is hosting the inaugural International Conference on Wine Market and Cultures of Consumption, in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair at the University of Burgundy, on 2-5 June 2019 in Hong Kong at Hotel ICON, our one-of-kind teaching and research hotel.

Since 2008, Hong Kong has become one of the main hubs of the world’s wine markets when the wine import tax was eliminated. The Chinese mainland, currently the essential focal point of an exponential development of fine wine transactions and purchases, has become the essential place for the continent’s premium wine trade and consumption. Consequently, Hong Kong is an appropriate place to devote an in-depth academic reflection on wine markets and consumption within Asia in general and China in particular.

This international conference aims to provide a platform for wine industry practitioners, critics and journalists, policy makers, academics and students to exchange views and discuss current issues in the wine trade, with a particular focus on the sales and marketing of wine and the culture of wine consumption, especially in Asia, where the largest wine importers reside. We are committed to providing an exceptional platform for delegates to consolidate research efforts and industry experiences in the field.

Organising a conference in this scale takes collective team efforts by many people. We would like to thank our partners, the distinguished speakers and everyone involved for their staunch support in making this conference possible.

The year 2019 is a special year for all of us at the SHTM as it marks the 40th anniversary of our School. I look forward to welcoming you all to our School on this happy occasion at what promises to be a most stimulating and fruitful event!

Welcome Message from Jocelyne Pérard

Professor Jocelyne Pérard
Head of UNESCO Chair “Culture and Wine Traditions”
University of Burgundy

The UNESCO Chair "Culture and Traditions of Wine" of the University of Burgundy, the only UNESCO Chair in the world, working on the themes of vine and wine, has a main objective to develop, to value and to communicate worldwide about the knowledge on vine and wine from all disciplines. In partnership with members of its international network coming from 65 universities, more than 700 researchers, interprofessional organizations, or museum structures all around the world, it organizes international events to promote and evaluate this knowledge on the vitivinisphere.

As such, I am very pleased that the UNESCO Chair will organize in Hong Kong the international symposium "Wine Market & Cultures of Consumption” on June 2-5, 2019, in collaboration with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and its School of Hotel and Tourism Management.

In my opinion, this conference topic is capital, when wine becomes a highly demanded cultural product, and where "new vineyards" take increasing market share. This event will contribute, I am sure, to the genesis of fruitful exchanges between researchers, prescribers, professionals and oenophiles from countries of different cultures and traditions.

I sincerely hope that this conference will take place under the auspices of a pluridisciplinarity. This pluridisciplinarity is essential to the real crossing of related studies. Whether historical, geographical, economic, legal, or technical, the contributions that will shape this event can therefore bring up issues of commercial regulations and their evolution, over a long period of time and from very different angles. Those issues may affect the diversity and the role of wine prescribers in the markets, or help to understand the role of consumer practices around the world, highlighting in particular the importance and heterogeneity of food and wine associations in Asia and elsewhere.