The “2nd CRiT Summer School on Innovation and Technology in Tourism to Achieve SDGs" was organized by the Centre for Research and Innovation in Tourism (CRiT) from 23rd - 25th August 2022, in partnership with School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events (SHTE), Taylor’s University, Malaysia; Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J), Institut Supérieur du Tourisme, de l'Hôtellerie et de l'Alimentation (ISTHIA), France; University of Queensland, Australia; University of Oulu, Finland; University of Canterbury, New Zealand; ASEAN Tourism Research Association (ATRA); Centre d’Étude et de Recherche Travail Organisation Pouvoir (CERTOP) and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France.
The aim of this event was to promote and share knowledge on “Tourism & Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” which creates opportunities for researchers to collaborate with national and international organizations and networking with top scholars in Innovation and Technology in Tourism and SDGs.
The opening message was delivered by YB Dato’ Sri Hajah Nancy Shukri, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia, followed by a message from Prof. Dr. Neethiahnanthan Ari Ragavan, Executive Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences and Leisure Management, Taylor's University and President of ASEAN Tourism Research Association (ATRA); and Dr. Dirk Glaesser, Director of the Sustainable Development of Tourism, UNWTO.
Subsequently, Prof. Dr. Jean-Pierre Poulain, Co-Director of Taylor's Toulouse University Center (TTUC) & Chair of Food Studies: Food, Cultures and Health, followed by our partner universities were represented by Prof. Dr. Pentti Haddington, GenZ Project Leader, University of Oulu, Finland and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Karen Hughes, Tourism Discipline Leader, University of Queensland, Australia to share their views during the opening session. The concluding remarks was presented by the Director of CRiT, Assoc. Prof. Dr. S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh.
During the three days event, eleven sessions on various topics related to Innovation and Technology in Tourism and SDGs were discussed such as “Smart Tourism; Community/Indigenous Tourism; Fostering Innovation to Fight Climate Change; Sharing Economy; Green Innovation; Heritage Tourism; Innovation for Accessible Tourism” and other related topics.
The 2nd CRiT Summer School had invited 30 eminent speakers and other experts in the field who shared their research interests and addressed questions from the participants. Each session was moderated by academic from Taylor’s University, University of Queensland and University of Oulu. The Moderators were ably supported by students from SHTE’s PhD in Hospitality & Tourism programme.
Around 1500+ registrations from more than 85 countries were the postgraduate scholars, academicians and industry experts. Truly, global connections and future collaborations that were forged at the CRiT Summer School continue to this day.
As the organizers, CRiT is indeed proud to have contributed in some small way to global collaborations involving Tourism and SDGs.
