PolyU to host the first China Tourism Forum

The School of Hotel and Tourism Management (HTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) will host the First China Tourism Forum on campus on 25 September 2004 as one of the celebratory programmes for the School’s 25th anniversary. 

With the theme “Latest Developments in China’s Tourism”, the Forum will bring together renowned academics and senior industry executives from the Mainland and abroad to share their views on issues related to China’s tourism development such as tourism policy, inbound and outbound tourism, investment opportunities, global hotel trends and their implications in China, to name a few. 

The one-day forum will be opened by PolyU President Prof. Poon Chung-kwong, followed by an opening address by Prof. Kaye Chon, Chair Professor and Head of HTM and a keynote speech by Prof. Du Jiang, President of Beijing International Studies University, who will speak on the “Transformation of Functions and Policies of China’s Tourism Industry.” Other prominent speakers include Prof. Stephen Witt of the University of Surrey of the UK, Dr. Tim Gao, Chief Executive Officer of Teda Hotels Management Ltd. in China and Prof. Song Haiyan from PolyU. 

A new bilingual journal named China Tourism Research will also be launched at the Forum. The new journal is edited and published by leading tourism and hospitality academics at PolyU to provide regular updates on China’s tourism development.

China’s tourism industry has registered spectacular growth since 1978 when the Government strategically introduced a series of economic reforms. The travel and tourism industry in China has been recognized as one of the main drivers of the economy and has contributed significantly to the country’s wealth and employment opportunities.

 The World Tourism Organization also predicts that China will become the largest tourism receiving country and the third largest generating country by 2020.