The International Society of Travel & Tourism Educators (ISTTE) is global organisation of educators in travel, tourism, hospitality and related fields representing all levels of educational institutions. Hosted by the SHTM, the 43rd ISTTE Annual Conference was held at Hotel ICON on 14-16 October 2024. Taking the theme "Changing Paradigms in Hospitality and Tourism Education and Research", the conference provided an exceptional platform for
educators in these fields to come together to share and exchange new knowledge that will help to develop future leaders in travel, tourism and hospitality.
On 15 October, the conference kicked off with opening remarks from Professor Nicholas Thomas, ISTTE President, and Professor and Programme Director of Abu Dhabi Hospitality – Les Roches. This opening session was immediately followed by the Keynote Session conducted by 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, who spoke on the topic of "Exploring the Potential of Large Language Models: DORIS – New Frontier in Generative AI for Education". Another highlight of the day was the "Past Presidents' Panel" chaired by Professor Nicholas Thomas with the participation of Professor Zongqing Zhou, Chairman of the Board, ISTTE; Professor Kaye Chon, SHTM Dean, Chair Professor and
Walter and Wendy Kwok Family Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management; and Professor Cathy Hsu, SHTM Chair Professor.
The second day of the conference opened with a SHARE Centre Featured Session entitled "STR Support of Hospitality and Tourism Education", conducted by Mr Steve Hood, Senior Vice President of Research of STR and Director of the SHARE Centre. This was followed by the "Journal Editor Panel" chaired by Professor Lianping Ren, Professor, Faculty of
Creative Tourism and Intelligent Technologies, Macao University of Tourism, with speeches by Professor Po-Ju Chen, Professor, Department of Hospitality, Hotel Management and Tourism, Texas A&M University; Professor Haiyan Song, SHTM Associate Dean, Chair Professor and Mr and Mrs Chan Chak Fu Professor in International Tourism; Professor Zongqing Zhou of ISTTE; Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, Professor of Bournemouth University Business School, Director of the eTourism Lab and Deputy Director of
the International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research; Prof Sara Dolnicar, Professor, School of Business, The University of Queensland; and Dr Ying Wang, SHTM Associate Professor.
The conference included six workshops featuring prominent scholars and educators from across the globe. On the first day, three workshops took place on the topics of "Coffee as Catalyst for Innovative Services Management: A Workshop of Three Service Experience Blueprint Techniques", "Rethinking Wine
Education, a Pedagogical Shift" and "Education for Sustainable Development in Hospitality and Tourism: Nurturing Future Professionals with Sustainability and GenAI Competencies". On the second day another three workshops took place with the titles of "ChatGPT as a Teaching Moment for Ethics in Hospitality and Tourism Education", "Collaborating on a Global Perspective of Sustainability and Stewardship: An Example of Teaching the UN Tourism Model" and "Best Practices in Hospitality and Tourism
Study Abroad Courses". The conference also featured a series of parallel presentation sessions in which scholars, researchers and educators from across the globe shared insights and exchanged views on a variety of topics addressing the conference theme.
The SHTM is proud to have hosted this important conference, which it considers vital for providing a timely platform on which educators in the field of travel, tourism and hospitality can convene to discuss, explore and share their
perspectives, insights and experiences with the aim of promoting further collaboration and advancing development in the higher education arena.
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