From June 30 to July 2, the 19th Asia-Pacific Forum for Graduate Research in Tourism (APF) was held by the DTU Hospitality & Tourism Institute (HTi) and Hong Kong Polytechnic University at DTU. Dr. Kaye Chon, Dean of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Hotel & Tourism Management; DTU Provost Le Nguyen Bao; scholars and hospitality graduates from universities worldwide; DTU lecturers and students attended.
Networking to promote the development of pollution free industry
The Asia-Pacific Forum is recognized as one of the most successful forums in the region, where graduate students and others interested in hospitality and tourism can meet and network with each other. Dr. Kaye Chon, Dean of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Hotel and Tourism Management, thanked DTU for co-hosting the forum and recognized the high level of education at the university.
Dr. Kaye Chon from PolyU at left, with DTU HTi Provost Min
Dr. Kaye said: “I am delighted that this forum is taking place at DTU. We know that DTU is a young university which was founded only 29 years ago, but has now earned the reputation of being one of Vietnam’s most prestigious universities, ranked highly around the world. Several years ago, the PolyU School of Hotel & Tourism Management and DTU signed an agreement to implement the 2+2 Bachelor’s and 4+1 programs, which enable graduates to receive joint degrees from both universities and opens up many new career opportunities.
We hope that our two guest speakers, Mr. David Lau and Professor Han Hee Sup, will inspire you. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all the delegates from many countries worldwide for their participation, and express my appreciation to DTU for organizing the forum.”
Ocean Sky Hotel Management CEO, Mr. David Lau; the Four Seasons Nam Hai Hoi An Resort Director of People and Culture, Ms. Tran Thi Canh; and Assistant General Manager of Felix Club at the Novotel Danang, Mr. Pham Dai Duong, followed with presentations on ways of starting a hospitality company.
The discussion
The discussion focused on the development of the hotel and tourism sector, with human factors playing a crucial role. It is essential that staff are trained to understand the company culture and brand and then successfully convey it to the hotel customers. The speakers also mentioned the importance of employees sharing information about their hotels on social media, including the quality of the accommodation and the cuisine.
The three speakers shared their personal experiences about starting their own hotel and tourism companies and offered valuable tips to those who plan to work in that sector. This included being prepared in advance for everything, even for failure, and being ready for unanticipated changes when choosing the life of an entrepreneur. They also recommended the students to comprehensively broaden their skills to become highly competitive in the current international workplace.
Sharing practical experience in hotel and tourism
The 19th Asia-Pacific Forum allowed attendees a place to share their ideas and research activities in hotel and tourism and their insights related to new opportunities, challenges, and trends in the field.
Attendees give feedback at the forum
Overall, sixty diverse and practical presentations were given at the forum by speakers from several local countries, including South Korea, Hong Kong, China, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Laos and Vietnam.
Attendees were asked for feedback on topics ranging from exploring the influence of digital technology and media on tourism; travel service quality and customer satisfaction changes after the Covid-19 pandemic; adventure travel; religious tourism; community tourism; pet travel trends, and visual tourism promotion.
The DTU Board of Directors, lecturers, students and attendees
The resulting ideas, practical experience and in-depth knowledge shared at the forum will contribute significantly to the dynamic development of tourism in ASEAN, especially promoting pollution free activities in each country separately and in the Asia-Pacific as a whole.
“I’d like to welcome the researchers and distinguished guests to the 19th Asia-Pacific Forum,” said DTU HTi Provost Professor Mo Chul Min. “In particular, I’d like to express my special gratitude to the faculty members of the PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management, who have traveled from Hong Kong to co-host this event. Thank you for coming. I would also like to express my special thanks for the support of our sponsors. This forum marks the first gathering of researchers and graduate students in the field of Hotel and Tourism since the COVID-19 pandemic and we hope that you will gain some valuable insights about Hotel and Tourism startups, in addition to learning about ways to conducting research in this field.”
(Media Center)