Based on the well-defined 17 SDGs that aim at confronting global sustainability challenges and acting for people, planet and prosperity, and the core focus of tourism development on people, the 2021 conference articulates the critical position of sustainable tourism and explore its role and potential in contributing to a world of diversity of populations and travellers. Following the agenda and vision set by the UNWTO, immediate effort must be exerted to “acknowledge that, behind every number, there is a person” (UNWTO, 2021, https://www.unwto.org/wtd2021). In the course of development, tourism must act and contribute crucially to ensure that “nobody is left behind as the world begins to open up again and look to the future” (ibid). Tourism must foster and increase the awareness of its environmental, social, cultural, political and economic value in the growth process for achieving SDGs. Being suffered from the pandemic, different actors in tourist destinations and industries should be the core focus of academic and policy attention. Nevertheless, tourism is an important area of human activities that facilitate to mitigate the socio-economic impact of COVID-19. The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated the need to strengthen the resilience and the inclusiveness of the tourism sector through unity and cooperation among tourism stakeholders across local, regional, national and international levels. This global crisis is an opportunity to rethink how tourism interacts with our societies, communities, economic sectors and our natural and cultural resources and ecosystems.
Tourism scholars and researchers are particularly indispensable in supplying knowledge that guides the response of the tourism sector towards a carbon-neutral, more resilient and inclusive tourism economy under a new normalcy of the pandemic, which ultimately draws theoretical and policy-relevant information for sustainable development. In the academia, the commitment to work together towards a sustainable recovery of tourism should cover a wide range of research areas. In response to the above need for academic contributions to a stronger knowledge base of sustainable tourism development and inclusivity, a number of questions should be considered and addressed:
The upcoming conference in May 2022 seeks to address these questions and beyond. It offers a platform to tourism scholars, researchers, practitioners and students to interact and debate issues relating to sustainable tourism and its role in enhancing inclusivity after a period of global crisis. The conference aims to promote the exchange of academic dialogues and support innovative research and practices in coping with the challenges and recovery of sustainable tourism in this critical time of our world.
The Conference Organizing Committee welcomes contributions to any topical areas in the field of tourism research, and is particularly seeking contributions to the following areas:
The Conference Organizing Committee welcomes contributions to any topical areas in the field of tourism research, and is particularly seeking contributions to the following areas:
Since 2012, the Department of Geography and Resource Management (GRMD) and the Master of Social Science in Sustainable Tourism (MSSST) programme of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have organized thematic international conferences on sustainable tourism annually. These conferences have attracted well-known and reputable international tourism academics as keynote speakers, invited speakers and presenters to share knowledge and exchange ideas. Apart from researchers and practitioners, students from international, regional and local institutes have also attended the conferences to widen their scope of learning and to gain global perspectives on the development of the tourism industry. All participants have brought together novel ideas and empirical evidence surrounding issues of sustainable tourism.
In the past years, we have successfully organized the following conferences:
