ASIA TOURISM FORUM 2012

Last week, I attended the Asia Tourism Forum 2012 in West Java, Indonesia, where I delivered a paper titled "The new political framework for tourism in Europe - A Lesson for Ireland". Organised by the Bandung Institute of Tourism, the conference brought together researchers, tourism industry practitioners and policy makers with the objective of assisting the development, marketing and mangement of Asia's tourism industry.

The quality of speakers was extremely high and I was particularly impressed with the contributions from Professor Kaye Chon, Director of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Professor Geoff Wall from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Kaye Chon identified leadership as the key ingredient for a successful tourism industry. He went on to describe Hotel Icon in Hong Kong, the world's first teaching hotel with full integration of teaching and learning in a full-service hotel environment. It only opened a year ago and today, it is number two on Trip Advisor's guide to Hong Kong hotels. This is some achievement for a university owned and managed hotel, in a city where all the leading luxury hotel brands are represented.
Geoff Wall on the other hand, discussed the concept of 'sustainable development', something which invariably is highlighted in any disucssion on tourism planning today.  He pointed out that it is, in fact, an oxymorom, posing questions such as what is to be sustained and what is development? Ultimately, he argued that the concept of 'sustainable livelihoods' is perhaps a much better organising framework.
It was my first time to Indonesia and I was really struck by the hospitality of the people, the warmth of their welcome and the quality of service I received. It was top class.  

Congratulations to Noviendi Makalam, Director of the Bandung Institute of Tourism, his staff and students for being superb hosts. I am very much looking forward to returning in the near future.