Dai Bin | Dear Tourism, Dear Young People——Speech in Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the School of Tourism, Sun Yat-sen University

On December 1, Dai Bin, President of the China Tourism Academy, was invited to attend the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the School of Tourism at Sun Yat-sen University and delivered a commemorative speech entitled "Tourism for Young People". The full text is shared as follows:

Professor Bao Jigang, Dean Xu Honggang,

Good morning, fellow academics, teachers, and students! Twenty years ago, Sun Yat-sen University established the School of Tourism. Sun Yat-sen University is a 985 university with a "university group". The dean is a leader in the contemporary tourism academic community. The team includes young talents such as Professor Xu Honggang, Professor Peng Qing, Professor Sun Jiuxia, and Professor Zhang Chaozhi. It has a doctoral, master's, and bachelor's training system, and soon set many historical records in the fields of tourism education and tourism research. It can be said that "debut is the C position". The college, team, and scholars have a world-renowned academic reputation and extensive social influence because of the highest undergraduate admission score, the most National Natural Science Foundation, the most papers published in highly cited journals at home and abroad, and the rural revitalization cases selected as the best tourist villages of the United Nations Tourism Organization. Today, whether it is scientific research, talent training, or peer evaluation rankings, Sun Yat-sen University School of Tourism has always been at the forefront and has become a bright business card for China's tourism higher education. Ten years ago, I was invited to the newly put into use Sun Yat-sen University Zhuhai Campus for academic exchanges. What I remember most vividly is not the modern campus, the famous teachers and the high-scoring students, but the travel photography course and student exhibition that Professor Bao opened for undergraduates. For this world-renowned university known for its scientific research and paper publication, it is really respectful to attach so much importance to undergraduate teaching and pay so much attention to the improvement of students' humanistic qualities. At that moment, I saw the figure of the tourism scholar "Traveling Through Three Continents", saw the owl of Minerva taking off in the twilight, and saw the muse singing softly under the banyan tree in the early morning. At that time, I once had the dream of becoming a university president, and because of this, I had a different feeling about the School of Tourism of Zhongda University. I hope that more tourism colleges will join the team, and teachers will devote more energy to the cultivation of students, give them professional knowledge to engage in scientific research, give them comprehensive ability to serve the society, and give them wisdom, insights and cultivation that will benefit them for a lifetime. A year ago, Professor Bao said that the School of Tourism and Tourism of Zhongda University had completed the generational change. Professor Xu Honggang took over as the dean, and young people born in the 1980s and even the 1990s began to become the backbone of the academic team. This is something worth celebrating. Each generation of scholars has its own mission. We who have been through hundreds of battles in reading, it is time to report to the organization: As a speaker, theorist and scholar, we were born in this great era. For the people's right to travel and for the country's tourism industry, we have devoted all our talents and efforts. Perhaps in the eyes of future generations, this is an era of "fighting between gods" where we can hear professors Du Jiang, Bao Jigang, Tian Weimin, Xie Yanjun, Zhang Lingyun, Zheng Xiangmin, Ma Bo, Zhou Lingqiang, Cheng Suiying and other experts and scholars teach at the same time. It is also an era that will eventually disappear into the historical starry sky and warm future generations. Just like the commemorative speech for the 30th anniversary of tourism education at Yunnan University last year, we who will eventually leave believe that you who have already stepped onto the center of the stage will definitely do better than us, and will definitely promote the practice of ideas with practical ideas and create your own glorious years. Teachers and students, the School of Tourism at Sun Yat-sen University has just turned 20 years old. Education is young and scientific research is young. Today, China has entered a new era of comprehensive development of mass tourism. The national strategy of accelerating the cultivation of a modern tourism system, building a tourism power, and promoting the steady and long-term development of the tourism industry has provided a broad space for tourism research and theoretical construction, and put forward new requirements for the cultivation of tourism talents and social services, and endowed a new mission. May the School of Tourism at Sun Yat-sen University and the national tourism academic community be like teenagers, always with warmth in their hearts and light in their eyes. When the words "a big river with wide waves, the wind blows the fragrance of rice flowers on both sides" sound in my ears, will there be endless love blooming in my heart like our fathers? When I see that the fathers and brothers in the countryside have never been to an A-level scenic spot in their lives except drinking, playing cards, and basking in the sun during the long winter, will they still have the responsibility to grow on their shoulders like your eldest brother? When you see the practitioners of traditional hotels, guesthouses, travel agencies, amusement parks, and farmhouses struggling to explore the road of modernization and transformation, and see the grassroots governments of counties, villages, and towns spit out food three times for one meal and tie up hair three times for one bath for tourism planning and talent introduction, will you still devote your talents and efforts like your mentor team? Yes, I believe you will. Because you are students of Sun Yat-sen University, and the descendants of tourism academic communities such as Nankai University, Yunnan University, Xiamen University, Fudan University, Henan University, Huaqiao University, and Northeast University of Finance and Economics. Scholars of different generations and different disciplinary backgrounds have their own historical missions. Only with awe and love from the heart can tourism scholars go steady and far. Just as Antaeus could not leave his mother Gaia, contemporary tourism scholars will also write more papers on the land of the motherland. May the School of Tourism of Sun Yat-sen University and the national tourism academic community, like teenagers, shoulder their responsibilities and fly high. Since the reform and opening up, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the times have been giving tourism scholars questions: How to build a strong tourism country? How to cultivate modern tourism? How to deeply integrate culture and tourism? Where are the breakthroughs and paths for the new productivity to promote high-quality development of the tourism industry? What role does tourism play in the national governance system? What role does it play? How to maximize the equalization of national tourism rights? And so on, these are all major topics that are in demand for national strategies, expected by the people, and waiting to be used by thousands of industry players. Only when and only when the theory derived from practice is closely combined with the practice guided by theory, can the tourism discipline system, academic system, and discourse system have the kinetic energy to upgrade, and tourism scholars have an inexhaustible source of wisdom. Of course, the construction of tourism disciplines will not only have one path of applied research, and the training of tourism talents cannot only have one direction of professional training. The first generation of tourism scholars undertook the introduction of knowledge and the initial construction of the education system in the inbound tourism stage, and the second generation of tourism scholars completed the discipline independence and knowledge pedigree reconstruction in the primary stage of mass tourism. Today, young scholars who have received systematic academic training have come to the center of the stage and are about to usher in your highlight moment. Such highlights come from breakthroughs in tourism basic theory, industry innovation theory and policy research. Are propositions such as "tourism is a long-lasting way of life for mankind and a basic right of the people", "tourism is a product of the market economy", "tourism originates from travel and is a self-contained social phenomenon" axioms or theorems? "Tourists define tourism", "near and far attract, hosts and guests share", "cultural leadership, technological empowerment and digital transformation" can guide the construction of a modern tourism system? "Use culture to shape tourism, use tourism to promote culture", "rule tourism by law, promote tourism by law", "rebuild national tourism promotion agencies", and the construction of world-class tourist attractions and resorts, world-class cities and rural destinations, world-class tourist routes, and world-class first-class tourism enterprises, how to effectively promote the construction of a tourism power? The day when these strategic breakthroughs are solved is the time of applause and brilliant lights. It should be pointed out that for this moment, you need to make far more arduous efforts than your predecessors. If the first generation of scholars can learn from Europe and the United States, and the second generation of scholars can learn from the theoretical system of mature disciplines, then today's tourism scholars may be entering a no-man's land, with no one to lead the way, and no light to illuminate the road. They may have to endure unprecedented loneliness or even confusion. However, the times will not give any opportunities to those who are self-pitying, nor will they stop because of pessimism, complaints or lying down. I hope that the School of Tourism of Sun Yat-sen University and the national tourism academic community will always maintain a sense of novelty about the world like teenagers. To engage in tourism scientific research and theoretical construction, of course, you need to apply for funds, publish papers, and be evaluated as a professor and a doctoral supervisor, but this does not mean that "green trees" and "green peppers" have to live a one-dimensional life of "no publication or death". In addition to applying for research projects, publishing papers, and evaluating professional titles, we still have a lot of things to do, such as protecting students' growth and cultivating happy students; such as walking with industry professionals and providing some help within our capacity; such as spending more time with family, spending weekends, taking a vacation, or Smell flower in a country park. This is what contemporary tourism scholars should look like. You will not forget the original intention and mission of engaging in tourism academic research, and you will also have a diverse and wonderful life. After all, generations of people continue to struggle and even pay the price of their lives, not to let their children continue their parents' lives, nor to let students cycle through their mentors' careers. Of course, some people will say that I also want to have a colorful life, but the system and environment do not allow it, so all the "involution", "lying flat" and "Buddhism" are attributed to necessity. But have you ever thought that even if you stand on the stage for a lifetime, you can't become a star, and what's more heartbreaking is that many people have suffered more and suffered more, and finally they don't even have the opportunity to get on the stage. What to do? We still have to return to life, just like this generation of scholars has done in the past 20 years, and let tourism return to the narrative system of a good life. It should be noted that the efforts of most people throughout their lives will not change the world or integrate into a certain circle, but in order not to be changed by the world, at least to stay away from a certain circle. In the 100 years since its establishment, Sun Yat-sen University has provided more than 800,000 talents of various types to the country, and has made positive contributions to serving the country's major strategies, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and international education exchanges and cooperation. The School of Tourism will play an important role and a unique role in promoting educational reform and development, scientific and technological innovation, and talent cultivation, and accelerating the construction of a world-class university with Chinese characteristics. At the age of 20, we are full of vigor and vitality. At the age of 20, we should be full of youth. Let us pay tribute to tourism and young people in the name of the academic community! Author | Dai Bin Editor | Liu Xin Source | China Tourism Academy (Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism) Please indicate the author and source when reprintingGood morning, fellow academics, teachers, and students! Twenty years ago, Sun Yat-sen University established the School of Tourism. Sun Yat-sen University is a 985 university with a "university group". The dean is a leader in the contemporary tourism academic community. The team includes young talents such as Professor Xu Honggang, Professor Peng Qing, Professor Sun Jiuxia, and Professor Zhang Chaozhi. It has a doctoral, master's, and bachelor's training system, and soon set many historical records in the fields of tourism education and tourism research. It can be said that "debut is the C position". The college, team, and scholars have a world-renowned academic reputation and extensive social influence because of the highest undergraduate admission score, the most National Natural Science Foundation, the most papers published in highly cited journals at home and abroad, and the rural revitalization cases selected as the best tourist villages of the United Nations Tourism Organization. Today, whether it is scientific research, talent training, or peer evaluation rankings, Sun Yat-sen University School of Tourism has always been at the forefront and has become a bright business card for China's tourism higher education. Ten years ago, I was invited to the newly put into use Sun Yat-sen University Zhuhai Campus for academic exchanges. What I remember most vividly is not the modern campus, the famous teachers and the high-scoring students, but the travel photography course and student exhibition that Professor Bao opened for undergraduates. For this world-renowned university known for its scientific research and paper publication, it is really respectful to attach so much importance to undergraduate teaching and pay so much attention to the improvement of students' humanistic qualities. At that moment, I saw the figure of the tourism scholar "Traveling Through Three Continents", saw the owl of Minerva taking off in the twilight, and saw the muse singing softly under the banyan tree in the early morning. At that time, I once had the dream of becoming a university president, and because of this, I had a different feeling about the School of Tourism of Zhongda University. I hope that more tourism colleges will join the team, and teachers will devote more energy to the cultivation of students, give them professional knowledge to engage in scientific research, give them comprehensive ability to serve the society, and give them wisdom, insights and cultivation that will benefit them for a lifetime. A year ago, Professor Bao said that the School of Tourism and Tourism of Zhongda University had completed the generational change. Professor Xu Honggang took over as the dean, and young people born in the 1980s and even the 1990s began to become the backbone of the academic team. This is something worth celebrating. Each generation of scholars has its own mission. We who have been through hundreds of battles in reading, it is time to report to the organization: As a speaker, theorist and scholar, we were born in this great era. For the people's right to travel and for the country's tourism industry, we have devoted all our talents and efforts. Perhaps in the eyes of future generations, this is an era of "fighting between gods" where we can hear professors Du Jiang, Bao Jigang, Tian Weimin, Xie Yanjun, Zhang Lingyun, Zheng Xiangmin, Ma Bo, Zhou Lingqiang, Cheng Suiying and other experts and scholars teach at the same time. It is also an era that will eventually disappear into the historical starry sky and warm future generations. Just like the commemorative speech for the 30th anniversary of tourism education at Yunnan University last year, we who will eventually leave believe that you who have already stepped onto the center of the stage will definitely do better than us, and will definitely promote the practice of ideas with practical ideas and create your own glorious years. Teachers and students, the School of Tourism at Sun Yat-sen University has just turned 20 years old. Education is young and scientific research is young. Today, China has entered a new era of comprehensive development of mass tourism. The national strategy of accelerating the cultivation of a modern tourism system, building a tourism power, and promoting the steady and long-term development of the tourism industry has provided a broad space for tourism research and theoretical construction, and put forward new requirements for the cultivation of tourism talents and social services, and endowed a new mission. May the School of Tourism at Sun Yat-sen University and the national tourism academic community be like teenagers, always with warmth in their hearts and light in their eyes. When the words "a big river with wide waves, the wind blows the fragrance of rice flowers on both sides" sound in my ears, will there be endless love blooming in my heart like our fathers? When I see that the fathers and brothers in the countryside have never been to an A-level scenic spot in their lives except drinking, playing cards, and basking in the sun during the long winter, will they still have the responsibility to grow on their shoulders like your eldest brother? When you see the practitioners of traditional hotels, guesthouses, travel agencies, amusement parks, and farmhouses struggling to explore the road of modernization and transformation, and see the grassroots governments of counties, villages, and towns spit out food three times for one meal and tie up hair three times for one bath for tourism planning and talent introduction, will you still devote your talents and efforts like your mentor team? Yes, I believe you will. Because you are students of Sun Yat-sen University, and the descendants of tourism academic communities such as Nankai University, Yunnan University, Xiamen University, Fudan University, Henan University, Huaqiao University, and Northeast University of Finance and Economics. Scholars of different generations and different disciplinary backgrounds have their own historical missions. Only with awe and love from the heart can tourism scholars go steady and far. Just as Antaeus could not leave his mother Gaia, contemporary tourism scholars will also write more papers on the land of the motherland. May the School of Tourism of Sun Yat-sen University and the national tourism academic community, like teenagers, shoulder their responsibilities and fly high. Since the reform and opening up, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the times have been giving tourism scholars questions: How to build a strong tourism country? How to cultivate modern tourism? How to deeply integrate culture and tourism? Where are the breakthroughs and paths for the new productivity to promote high-quality development of the tourism industry? What role does tourism play in the national governance system? What role does it play? How to maximize the equalization of national tourism rights? And so on, these are all major topics that are in demand for national strategies, expected by the people, and waiting to be used by thousands of industry players. Only when and only when the theory derived from practice is closely combined with the practice guided by theory, can the tourism discipline system, academic system, and discourse system have the kinetic energy to upgrade, and tourism scholars have an inexhaustible source of wisdom. Of course, the construction of tourism disciplines will not only have one path of applied research, and the training of tourism talents cannot only have one direction of professional training. The first generation of tourism scholars undertook the introduction of knowledge and the initial construction of the education system in the inbound tourism stage, and the second generation of tourism scholars completed the discipline independence and knowledge pedigree reconstruction in the primary stage of mass tourism. Today, young scholars who have received systematic academic training have come to the center of the stage and are about to usher in your highlight moment. Such highlights come from breakthroughs in tourism basic theory, industry innovation theory and policy research. Are propositions such as "tourism is a long-lasting way of life for mankind and a basic right of the people", "tourism is a product of the market economy", "tourism originates from travel and is a self-contained social phenomenon" axioms or theorems? "Tourists define tourism", "near and far attract, hosts and guests share", "cultural leadership, technological empowerment and digital transformation" can guide the construction of a modern tourism system? "Use culture to shape tourism, use tourism to promote culture", "rule tourism by law, promote tourism by law", "rebuild national tourism promotion agencies", and the construction of world-class tourist attractions and resorts, world-class cities and rural destinations, world-class tourist routes, and world-class first-class tourism enterprises, how to effectively promote the construction of a tourism power? The day when these strategic breakthroughs are solved is the time of applause and brilliant lights. It should be pointed out that for this moment, you need to make far more arduous efforts than your predecessors. If the first generation of scholars can learn from Europe and the United States, and the second generation of scholars can learn from the theoretical system of mature disciplines, then today's tourism scholars may be entering a no-man's land, with no one to lead the way, and no light to illuminate the road. They may have to endure unprecedented loneliness or even confusion. However, the times will not give any opportunities to those who are self-pitying, nor will they stop because of pessimism, complaints or lying down. I hope that the School of Tourism of Sun Yat-sen University and the national tourism academic community will always maintain a sense of novelty about the world like teenagers. To engage in tourism scientific research and theoretical construction, of course, you need to apply for funds, publish papers, and be evaluated as a professor and a doctoral supervisor, but this does not mean that "green trees" and "green peppers" have to live a one-dimensional life of "no publication or death". In addition to applying for research projects, publishing papers, and evaluating professional titles, we still have a lot of things to do, such as protecting students' growth and cultivating happy students; such as walking with industry professionals and providing some help within our capacity; such as spending more time with family, spending weekends, taking a vacation, or Smell flower in a country park. This is what contemporary tourism scholars should look like. You will not forget the original intention and mission of engaging in tourism academic research, and you will also have a diverse and wonderful life. After all, generations of people continue to struggle and even pay the price of their lives, not to let their children continue their parents' lives, nor to let students cycle through their mentors' careers. Of course, some people will say that I also want to have a colorful life, but the system and environment do not allow it, so all the "involution", "lying flat" and "Buddhism" are attributed to necessity. But have you ever thought that even if you stand on the stage for a lifetime, you can't become a star, and what's more heartbreaking is that many people have suffered more and suffered more, and finally they don't even have the opportunity to get on the stage. What to do? We still have to return to life, just like this generation of scholars has done in the past 20 years, and let tourism return to the narrative system of a good life. It should be noted that the efforts of most people throughout their lives will not change the world or integrate into a certain circle, but in order not to be changed by the world, at least to stay away from a certain circle. In the 100 years since its establishment, Sun Yat-sen University has provided more than 800,000 talents of various types to the country, and has made positive contributions to serving the country's major strategies, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and international education exchanges and cooperation. The School of Tourism will play an important role and a unique role in promoting educational reform and development, scientific and technological innovation, and talent cultivation, and accelerating the construction of a world-class university with Chinese characteristics. At the age of 20, we are full of vigor and vitality. At the age of 20, we should be full of youth. Let us pay tribute to tourism and young people in the name of the academic community! Author | Dai Bin Editor | Liu Xin Source | China Tourism Academy (Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism) Please indicate the author and source when reprinting