Jointly organised by the Hospitality and Tourism Research Centre (HTRC) of the SHTM and STR, and run by a group of talented SHTM undergraduate students from the Special Events Class, the inaugural IMPACT 2020 Conference took place on 30 October at Hotel ICON in both online and offline modes.
Themed "Crisis Management and Recovery Strategies", the Conference was a timely opportunity to bring industry executives, government officials and academics together to discuss crisis management and recovery strategies to counter the negative impacts of the geopolitical and socio-economic uncertainties, global health emergency and crises on world tourism.
IMPACT2020 was kicked off by Professor Jin-Guang Teng, PolyU President, and Ms Elizabeth Winkle, Chief
Strategy Officer, STR, who delivered their welcome addresses. In the following Opening General Session, Dr Jennifer Cronin, President, Wharf Hotels Management Limited, spoke on the topic "Crisis Management: Lessons We Have Learned"; Mr Steve Hood, Senior Vice President, Research and Founding Director, STR SHARE Center, gave us his perspectives on "Hotel Industry Outlook for Asia Pacific"; Prof Andreas Papatheodorou, Professor, University of the Aegean, delivered a speech on "The Future of the
Aviation Industry"; Dr Mario Hardy, Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Asia Travel Association, delivered a presentation entitled "Tourism Recovery Strategies: PATA's Perspectives" and Professor Haiyan Song, SHTM Associate Dean, Chair Professor, Mr and Mrs Chan Chak Fu Professor in International Tourism, shared his insights on "Tourism Arrival Forecasting for Asia Pacific". In the next session, Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, Professor in Marketing, Strategy and Innovation, Bournemouth University,
gave a presentation on "The Future of Hospitality and Tourism Technology after COVID-19".
The Panel Discussion, moderated by Professor Haiyan Song, featured renowned industry leaders and prominent scholars. Mr Richard Hatter, General Manager, Hotel ICON, spoke on the topic "Managing in Turbulent Times"; Dr Zinan Liu Managing Director, China and Asia, Royal Caribbean International, discussed "The Future of the Cruise Line Industry"; Dr James Mabey Managing Director, Asia & Middle East
and Chief International Business Officer, Standard International, LLC, shared his views on "Hotel Development after COVID-19"; Mr Martin Donovan, Editorial Director, MIX Meetings, enlightened delegates on "The Future of MICE Business"; and Dr Sangwon Park, SHTM Associate Professor, gave his perspective on "Digital Transformation of Services due to COVID-19".
The IMPACT Presentations were preceded by a presentation from Mr Dane Cheng, Executive Director, Hong Kong Tourism Board, who shared the Board's "Tourism Promotion Plans after COVID-19".
IMPACT Presentation 1 provided an opportunity for SHTM scholars to present their research papers and recent studies on COVID-19's impact on the industry. Chaired by Professor Basak Denizci Guillet, SHTM Professor, this session was joined by Dr Faye Hao, SHTM Postdoctoral Fellow, who spoke on the topic "COVID-19 and Mainland China's Hospitality Industry: Disaster Management and Post-Epidemic Business Model"; Dr Jinah Park, SHTM Research Assistant Professor, who gave a
presentation on "Assessing the Social Costs of Tourism during a Public Health Pandemic"; Dr Catherine Cheung, SHTM Associate Dean and Associate Professor, who delivered a speech entitled "The Psychological Needs of Travellers Affected by COVID-19 Outbreak from the Perspective of the Existence, Relatedness and Growth (ERG) Theory"; and Prof Denizci Guillet herself, who shared her insights on "Managing Hotel Revenue amid the COVID-19 Crisis".
IMPACT Presentation 2, chaired by SHTM
Professor Cathy Hsu, featured Dr Daniel Leung, SHTM Assistant Professor, who spoke on "Crisis Communication Strategies by Leading Tourism Firms"; Dr Maxime Wang, SHTM Assistant Professor who shared his perspective on "The Strategy of Leader Communication in the Time of Coronavirus Crisis: The Impacts on Employees' Emotions, Job Attitudes, and Behavioural Intentions"; SHTM Professor Rob Law, who gave a presentation on "Research on Human-Robot Interactions in Tourism and Hospitality Experience";
and Professor Hsu, who shared "Insights into Sentiment of Hong Kong Residents towards Mainland Chinese Tourists".
The SHTM is very proud to have staged IMPACT2020, a unique platform for discussing the future of the global hospitality and tourism industry. The School will continue its efforts to support the recovery of the industry and drive its future development.
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