Collaboration

The APacCHRIE Tokyo Symposium 2026 concluded successfully at Tokyo Midtown Yaesu (Japan) in January 2026. It was an important academic forum on the future of tourism & hospitality education as artificial intelligence (AI) and the digital transformation completely reshape the global service industry. The series of events was organized by APacCHRIE (Asia–Pacific Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education) and hosted by Ritsumeikan University, one of Japan’s leading higher education institutions.

DTU Provost Dr Le Nguyen Bao spoke on the role of technology and AI in reshaping

tourism and education at the specialized session “The Future of Tourism and Education”

Dr Le Nguyen Bao, DTU Provost, participated as a speaker and regional academic-leader member. He presented strategic analyses of trends in tourism & hospitality education in the AI era and shared practical experience in innovation in education-with-AI in Vietnam.

AI, digital transformation, and the restructuring of tourism & hospitality education

The symposium opened with a keynote address by Prof. Kaye Chon, founder of APacCHRIE and Dean of the School of Hotel & Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University - one of the world’s top-ranked institutions in tourism & hospitality education. Prof. Chon emphasized the pivotal role of education in guiding the tourism & hospitality sector through technological and societal challenges in the era of AI ahead.

In the session on “The Future of Tourism & Hospitality Education,” Dr Le Nguyen Bao and the members of the APacCHRIE executive board examined the multidimensional impacts of AI on the industry, including:

    personalization of guest experiences,
    tourism-behavior data analytics,
    intelligent service-recommendation systems,
    service robots,
    applications of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in training and tourism experiences.

DTU Provost Dr Le Nguyen Bao (far right) and DTU Graduate School Prefect Dr Nguyen Cong Minh

with Prof. Kaye Chon, founder of APacCHRIE and Dean of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University School of Hotel & Tourism Management

According to Dr Bao, AI is becoming a competency platform for the modern tourism & hospitality industry. However, it cannot fully replace the human element, which remains central to perceived service quality. Education in this field must therefore be restructured toward deep integration of technology, practice, and sustainable-development thinking, such that

    AI laboratories,
    service robots, and
    digital simulations

would play central roles in training.

Strengthening DTU’s role in the regional academic tourism network

On January 24, 2026, the APacCHRIE executive board meeting held in Tokyo acknowledged the outstanding contributions of its members in expanding the organization’s academic and social impact. The meeting also gave an update on preparations for the APacCHRIE 2026 conference in Osaka, now under comprehensive development with a focus on service innovation, AI applications, and sustainable development.

The symposium was an important academic forum on the future of tourism & hospitality

education as AI and the digital transformation completely reshape the global service industry

In APacCHRIE’s long-term roadmap, DTU has been selected to host the APacCHRIE 2028 conference in Danang, demonstrating the international academic community’s confidence in the university’s organizational capacity, training quality, and strategic vision.

APacCHRIE, platform for global academic connectivity

Established in 2002 as a regional branch of ICHRIE, APacCHRIE is now the largest tourism & hospitality education network in the Asia–Pacific region. It represents more than 75 universities across over 18 countries and is closely connected with CHRIE federations worldwide.

Through APacCHRIE, member institutions participate in an international academic ecosystem that promotes research collaboration, curriculum innovation, and knowledge transfer between academia and industry. In Vietnam, Dr Nguyen Cong Minh, Prefect of the DTU Graduate School, has served as Vietnam’s representative to APacCHRIE since late 2024.

The active participation of Dr Bao and Dr Minh at the APacCHRIE Tokyo Symposium 2026, along with DTU’s selection as APacCHRIE 2028, host affirms the increasingly prominent role of Vietnamese higher education in shaping the future of regional tourism & hospitality education. It also reflects DTU’s commitment to international integration, digital transformation, and educational development driven by technology and AI.

DTU’s major in Tourism & Entertainment Management is now ranked in the range 51–100 worldwide in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025. This is the highest per-subject ranking across all international ranking systems.

(Media Center)