Hong Kong's PolyU to host International Forum on China Hotel Brand Management

The School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the School of Business of the Sun Yat-sen University will co-organize the 2nd International Forum on China Hotel Brand Management in Guangzhou, China, from 9 to 10 May 2008.

In response to the fast expanding opportunities in the hotel and tourism market in China, the forum will provide a valuable platform for industry practitioners, academics and government officials to discuss the development and management of hotel branding.

Prof. Kaye Chon, Chair Professor and Director of SHTM, said, “I am pleased to note that, due to our location and history, our school is uniquely positioned to play a leading role in facilitating the development of China’s hospitality industry. I am certain that the forum will provide impetus to the further development and management of branding particularly for Chinese hotel chains.”

The Forum will be organized around, but not limited to, the following topics: 

- Hotel brand development and management: what we can learn from the other industries
- Brand development experience of famous international and domestic hotel companies
- Current issues and future prospects in hotel brand development 
- Managing the brand development process in China: system establishment and crisis management 
- Hotel brand development and management strategies: International, state-owned and privately-owned hotels 
- Brand development strategies of deluxe and budget hotel chains 

Experts in the hospitality industry will share their views in the Forum, including:

- Mr James Lu, Executive Director, Hong Kong Hotels Association, Hong Kong 
- Mr Calvin Mak, President & CEO, Rhombus International Hotels Group Inc., Hong Kong 
- Prof. Michael C. G. Davidson, Director, Centre for Tourism, Sport and Service Innovation Research, Griffith Business School, Griffith University Gold Coast Campus, Australia
- Dr Anna S. Mattila, Associate Professor of Hospitality Management and Professor-in-Charge of the Graduate Programme, School of Hospitality Management, The Pennsylvania State University 
- Dr John W. O’Neill, Associate Professor of Hospitality Management, School of Hospitality Management, The Pennsylvania State University

China has become one of the world’s most visited destinations, receiving over 120 million inbound travellers. It is also forecast by the UNWTO that China will become the largest tourism receiving country and the fourth largest source of outbound travel in the world with 100 million outbound travellers by 2020.

The First International Forum on China Hotel Brand Management was co-organized by SHTM and the Shenzhen Tourism College of Jinan University and China Tourist Hotels Association in 2007.

PolyU’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management is a leading provider of hospitality education in the Asia Pacific Region. It is ranked fourth among the world’s top hotel and tourism schools based on research and scholarship, according to a study published in the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research in 2005.

With 50 academic staff drawing from 18 countries, the School offers programmes at levels ranging from PhD to Higher Diploma. It was awarded the “2003 International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators Institutional Award” in recognition of its significant contribution to tourism education, and is the only training centre in the Education and Training Network in Asia recognized by the World Tourism Organization.

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