2009 China Tourism Science Annual Conference (First Session) Held in Beijing

The 2009 Annual Conference of China Tourism Science (the first session) was held in Beijing The 2009 China Tourism Science Annual Conference, hosted by Dai Bin, Vice President of the China Tourism Research Institute, was held on April 26, 2009 at the Beijing International Convention Center. Du Jiang, Deputy Director of the National Tourism Administration and President of the China Tourism Research Institute, attended the annual meeting and delivered a speech. Deputy Director Du Jiang pointed out that the year 2008 that just passed was an extraordinary year, and it was also a year worth celebrating for the Chinese tourism academic community. The National Tourism Administration attaches great importance to tourism research work and has witnessed many landmark events. One is the establishment of the Tourism Education Branch of the China Tourism Association, which has become an important carrier for the broad unity and cohesion of tourism education and research forces; Secondly, under the central government's tightening of administrative and public institution staffing, and with the warm care of the leadership of the State Council, the National Tourism Administration has finally established the China Tourism Research Institute after years of hard work; Thirdly, the National Tourism Administration has initiated provincial-level scientific research projects and awards, and the project initiation work has already begun. Next year, the provincial-level awards work for the tourism system will be launched, and the tourism system finally has its own main channel for provincial-level scientific research projects and awards. Everyone has been looking forward to this for 30 years. In 2009, we will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, which is also the 30th anniversary of China's tourism higher education and tourism research. It is also a year when China's tourism industry will regain its glory from the shadow of the financial crisis. As tourism scholars, we will shoulder greater responsibilities and missions. It is in this context that the first China Tourism Science Annual Conference is held, hoping to use this as an opportunity to bring together Chinese tourism scholars to contribute ideas and suggestions for the leading recovery and sustainable development of China's tourism industry, as well as for the innovative development of China's tourism research. Held once a year, the annual conference aims to become a high-end platform for Chinese tourism scholars to exchange research experience, collide academic ideas, and showcase scientific research achievements. It will become an important link closely connecting the tourism academic community and also serve as a platform for releasing research projects and awards from the National Tourism Administration every year. Mr. Shen Baojia, a famous Chinese tourism scholar and academic consultant of the China Tourism Research Institute, Mr. Li Wenhua, an academician of the CAE Member and a famous ecologist, and Mr. Cheng Wendong, former deputy director of the National Tourism Administration and honorary vice president of the China Tourism Association, attended the meeting. Officials from relevant departments of the National Tourism Administration, representatives from the Natural Science Foundation of China, China Tourism Association, China Tourism News, China Tourism Publishing House, Tourism Journal and other institutions attended the meeting. Mr. Fan Min, President of Ctrip, the sponsor of the annual meeting, delivered a speech. Mr. Zhang Jianzhong, Director of the Policy and Regulations Department of the National Tourism Administration, announced the results of scientific research projects and award information on behalf of the National Tourism Administration. Sohu Travel Channel, Letu Travel Network and other media conducted on-site recording and broadcasting. 180 experts from nationally representative tourism education and research institutions attended the conference, and most of the well-known experts in related fields attended and prepared relevant papers. The attending experts widely believed that the annual conference has a high level, large scale, strong representativeness, and distinct themes, making it a high-end communication platform for tourists and an academic home for tourism scholars to emotionally belong to. Academician Li Wenhua of the Chinese Academy of Engineering gave a special speech on "Ecology and Ecotourism Research", proposing many insightful ideas from the perspective of ecological civilization and ecotourism science, which have important reference significance for promoting the theme year of ecotourism. The speech system is rich, starting from the origin of ecology, with the integration of ecological science and tourism science as the main line, covering new hotspots such as ecological tourism concepts, ecological tourism certification, ecological tourism impact, ecological tourism development strategies, ecological tourism community participation, and ecological tourism education. Professor Shen Baojia, an academic advisor and renowned tourism scholar at the China Tourism Research Institute, is already 86 years old. With over half a century of academic accumulation and more than 30 years of tourism research exploration by senior scholars, he has deeply elaborated on the issues that should be paid attention to in tourism research and education based on his personal experience. Mr. Shen pointed out that tourism, as a discipline, needs to be established in universities, which requires the support of multiple conditions such as a basic theoretical system, disciplinary system, qualified research and teaching personnel, literature review materials, etc. Therefore, tourism should strengthen basic research, attach importance to methods and methodologies, and strengthen empirical research. In the process of education, tourism educators should focus on imparting knowledge based on their own understanding, and provide guidance and clarification to tourism learners. The China Tourism Research Institute has released the research results of "30 Years of China Tourism Research", which systematically summarizes the main achievements, stage characteristics, basic laws and experiences, future challenges, development directions, trends, and related suggestions of China's tourism research in the past 30 years. Professor Wei Xiao'an, Director of the Academic Committee of the China Tourism Research Institute, gave a keynote speech on "Focusing on Frontiers and Frontier Attention". Professor Bao Jigang, Assistant to the President of Sun Yat sen University and Dean of the School of Tourism, gave a keynote speech on "Institutional Opportunistic Behavior in Tourism Investment Promotion". Professor Song Haiyan, Vice Dean of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, gave a keynote speech on "Western Tourism Research". In the afternoon, two groups had a thematic discussion. The first group conducted in-depth discussions on the construction of tourism disciplines, with experts such as Politi Corrado, Xie Yanjun, Zhang Guangrui, Zhang Hui, Zou Tongqian, Ma Yong, Liu Deqian, Li Tianyuan, Luo Zibai, Xu Hong, Yang Weiwu, Zhang Shangzheng, Zhang Jie, and Huang Fucai giving keynote speeches. The second group conducted in-depth discussions on current tourism hotspots, with keynote speeches by Zhang Lingyun, Dai Xuefeng, Ma Bo, Zheng Xiangmin, Tian Li, Li Fengsheng, He Jianmin, Gu Huimin, Gao Jun, and others.