International Conference on Hospitality and Tourism Management in November

• Over 150 industry leaders, educators, researchers from over 25 countries to attend ICOHT 2021 Conference 

Tourism when considered as an industry was one of the most vibrant industries that had a rise in a major portion of the countries across the globe. 

Moving from an industry that was predominantly for leisure to business and beyond, travel and tourism has today become part and parcel of life and equally a material figure in a nation’s GDP accounting to 10.4% of the total GDP worldwide in the year 2019 (statista, 2021). Tourism in its definition generates revenue to economies to thrive and prosper, it creates employment opportunities, develops the infrastructure of the country and also promotes cultural exchange between nations in good faith.

The magnitude of the COVID impact

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry has encountered greater challenges and a notable setback leaving behind services, occupations and the prosperity of nations at the verge of depletion. In this very same global village as a result of increasing globalisation, the existence of nations in isolation is a daunting task as the world is connected and interdependent. 

As for this matter of fact, it is extremely important to cease pondering over the pathetic situation that overtook the world by surprise and prepare to establish informed plans in the venture towards restoration of the industry to normalcy, and the only way to do so is to be a part of a platform that is exclusively designed to express and shed light to the information backed by adequate research together with the composition of a network to share useful information.

It is equally vital to ensure that each individual take precautionary measures as per advised by authorities to ensure that one’s negligence would not cost the liberty and freedom of another and to be able to experience as desired in the best possible manner. It is of huge importance to ensure the information gained is from legit sources as in the time of unrest there is a huge possibility for information to be distorted, therefore attending a conference for information and recognition is certainly a decision one has to be very particularly concerned about.

What is the International Conference on Hospitality and Tourism Management (ICOHT)?

Since 2013, The International Conference on Hospitality and Tourism Management (ICOHT), was well-attended and hugely successful. This much sought-after, annual international scholarly conference is now ranked as a premier international forum for the presentation of new advances and research results in the fields of tourism and hospitality management. This year ICOHT 2021 will focus on learning from the best practices around the world in rebuilding, as since the beginning of the year 2020 the tourism and hospitality industry has been struggling in an unprecedented manner, facing the biggest global challenge in 100 years – the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Papers jointly written by industry leaders and academics are preferred for this conference, as industry-academia collaboration is powerful in finding practical and innovative solutions to the challenges. All conference papers will be published in the conference proceedings e-book and the ICOHT 2021 Book of Abstracts. In addition, a few outstanding conference papers will have the opportunity in being chosen for publishing in reputed peer-reviewed academic journals.

Why is ICOHT 2021 significant?

The eighth International Conference on Hospitality and Tourism Management (ICOHT 2021) is a CPD UK Certified Conference that has met the criteria for maintaining international standards set by the CPD Certification Service. The Conference is hosted by the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, Florida International University, USA along with academic and strategic partners representing Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia, Sabaragamuwa University, Sri Lanka, Tourism and Hospitality Educators and Researchers Association of Asia (THERAA), Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, Global Hospitality Forum and organised by The International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM) which is one of the leading conference organisers in Asia, who have organised more than 150+ academic conferences in nine different countries in the last seven years.

The conference will be co-chaired by Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena, International Ambassador and Past President of the Institute of Hospitality (HCIMA), UK and Prof. Dr. D.A.C. Suranga Silva, Secretary General, Tourism and Hospitality Educators and Researchers Association of Asia (THERAA). The keynote forum will be represented by Dr. Paul Willie, Past President of the Ontario Chapter of the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) Association and Chairperson of the Certification Advisory Council, HFTP Global together with Dr. Mihee Kang, Director of Asia-Pacific, and Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). 

The plenary forum will be represented by Dr. Yanki Hartijasti, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia and Dr. Sumith De Silva, Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd., Sri Lanka. The conference comprises of seven internationally peer reviewed journals indexed in major indexing sources such as Scopus and the conference also provides the avenue of publishing with the conference proceedings.

There will be a round table discussion consisting of 12 experts representing six industry leaders and six academics together discussing the future of hospitality and tourism post-pandemic. Further, industry targeted workshops covering areas such as event tourism, younger professionals and students’ career planning in the hotel industry will also take place as featured events of the conference. Most importantly this conference will be significant platform for locals to discuss future opportunities of port city projects related to hospitality and tourism industry bringing more foreign currency towards the country according to new strategies of academic and industry experts.

ICOHT 2021 is inviting academicians and policymakers from the field of tourism, hospitality and aviation to present your thoughts and findings in an International Arena. ICOHT 2021 will be held on 4-5 November. 

For more information on the conference, please visit https://tourismconference.co/.

You can contact the Conference Convener Isanka P. Gamage via [email protected].