Organised by the SHTM and the Research Centre for Digital Transformation of Tourism (RCdTT) in collaboration with STR SHARE Centre, the IMPACT2024 Conference was held on 11-13 October at Hotel ICON, Hong Kong. The conference was managed by a group of talented SHTM undergraduate students from the Practice of Special Events Class.
With the theme of "Tourism and Hospitality in the Age of Transformation," IMPACT2024 offered an excellent opportunity for stakeholders to meet and discuss transformative trends, exchange insights, share research findings and practices, explore creative pathways and envisage strategies to shape the future development of the hospitality and tourism industry.
IMPACT2024 opened on 12 October with remarks by Professor Kaye Chon, SHTM Dean, Chair Professor and Walter and Wendy Kwok Family Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management; and Mr Steve Hood, Senior Vice President of Research of STR and Director of the SHARE Centre.
A Featured Moderated Speaker Session followed, chaired by Professor Cathy Hsu, SHTM Chair Professor. Professor Bela Stantic, SHTM Visiting Professor, and Professor of the School of Information and Communication Technology and Director of the Big Data and Smart Analytics Lab at Griffith University, spoke on "Creating Harmony: Advancing AI and Its Impact on Tourism". Professor Bing Pan, Professor of Commercial Recreation and Tourism, Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management at the Pennsylvania State University, spoke on "Ethical and Moral Issues of AI in Tourism". Mr Yunpeng Xie, Vice President of Beijing Yunji Technology Co., Ltd., discussed "Embodied Intelligence: New Advantages for the Hotel Industry in the Digital Era". Mr Gary Cheng, DMO Lead of the Global Destination Partnership Team at KLOOK, shared his insights into how we might "Bring Joy to Travellers with AI".
Chaired by Mr Steve Hood and Dr Daniel Leung, SHTM Associate Professor, the first panel session entitled "Innovation and Technology-led Transformation of Hospitality" featured Dr Michael Anh, Chief Executive Officer of Rakkojae Corporation; Mrs Wimintra Raj, Managing Director of Hotelintel.co; Mr Ian Lee, General Manager of Hotel ICON; and Dr Arthur Wang, Managing Director of Inno Hospitality. The panellists shared invaluable insights into the effects of innovation and technology on the future of hospitality.
The conference gala dinner, an evening of elegance and celebration, was held at Hotel ICON. A highlight of the evening was the highly anticipated Best Paper Award Presentation. Winners of the Undergraduate Student Research Award were as follows:
- Excellence Award: Ms Shuwen Tan and her advisor Dr Ivanka Huang, SHTM Research Assistant Professor, for their paper "Leveraging Temporal Orientations to Reduce Moral Disengagement Barriers in Environmental Public Service Advertisements Targeting Tourists."
- First Merit Award: Ms Sicheng Liu and her advisors, Dr Xuerui Liu and Hongwen Sun, for their paper "The Effect of Collective Effervescence on Memorable Experiences and Subjective Well-being of Tourists Visiting Live Pop Concerts."
- Second Merit Award: Ms Mingming Tong and her advisor Dr Wai Tsz Serene Tse for their paper "Diversity for Better Interaction: the Interrelationships Amongst Ethnic Diversity, Intergroup Contacts and Resident Behaviors."
The Best Paper Award of the IMPACT2024 Conference went to:
- Best Paper Award: Dr Ivanka Huang for her paper entitled "AI Trust Divide: How Recruiter-Candidate Roles Shape Tourism Personnel Decision-Making."
- First Runner-Up: Prof Carlos Santos for his paper entitled "Critical Success Factors for Rural Tourism in Island Destinations and Its Contribution to Sustainable Regional and Local Development: A Case Study of Rural Tourism Activities in the Azores Archipelago."
- Second Runner-Up: Dr Xueting Zhai for her paper entitled "Eliciting Collaborative Positive Psychology in Social-Mediated Crisis Communication: The Role of Visual Framing."
The second day of the conference on 13 October began with the RCdTT Moderated Featured Speaker Session chaired by Professor Haiyan Song, SHTM Associate Dean, Mr and Mrs Chan Chak Fu Professor in International Tourism and RCdTT Director. Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, Professor at Bournemouth University Business School, Director of the eTourism Lab and Deputy Director of the International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research, shared his findings on "Smart Tourism in the Artificial Intelligence Era". Professor Zheng (Phil) Xiang, Professor and Department
Head of the Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, gave a speech on "Digital Transformation of Tourism: What Have We Learned So Far?". Mr George Cao, CEO of Dragon Trail International, discussed "Digital Transformation Continues in Destination Marketing".
The parallel session IV that followed focused on "ESG and Sustainability in Hospitality." Scholars and industry professionals from the University of Houston and the Consortium of Global Sustainability came together for thought-provoking discussions.
Entitled "Digital Transformation in Tourism: Past, Present and Future" and chaired by SHTM Associate Professors Dr Dan Wang and Dr Neil Li, the second panel session featured Mrs Nikkie Singh, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific and Middle East, Shiji Group; Mr Bowen Sun, Executive Secretary General, Trip.com Group; Professor Hui Li, Professor and Associate Dean, Nankai University College of Tourism and Service Management; Dr Yuzhou Huang, Founder and CEO, Wandian Trip; and Dr Dori Davari, SHTM Assistant Professor.
IMPACT2024 came to a successful close with inspirational speeches by Dean Kaye Chon and Mr Steve Hood. The SHTM is very proud to have organised IMPACT2024 and greatly honoured to connect academic and industry experts from all over the world on this exceptional platform advancing the sustainable development of the global hospitality and tourism industry.
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