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Dr. Zhao Weibing in Interview for Southern Finance Omnimedia Corporation to Share His Views on Expediting Development of the Tourism Industry through Regional Cooperation

中文摘要 / Summary in Chinese

It is such an honour to announce that Dr. Zhao Weibing, Max, Director of School of Tourism Management of IFTM was invited by the Southern Finance Omnimedia Corporation for an in-depth interview to share his perspectives on expediting development of the tourism industry through regional cooperation.

With the relaxation of Covid-19 travel rules and cross-border restrictions, Macao has seen encouraging growth in visitor arrivals recently. Macao’s economy is likely to rebound and is gradually recovering. In that sense, Macao needs to promote high-quality, yet low-carbon tourism. ‘IFTM has been striving to nurture talents in interdisciplinary fields, with an aim to introduce more and better cultural tourism projects and further strengthen Macao’s position as a world centre of tourism and leisure,’ Dr. Zhao mentioned. ‘The tourism industry is the most dynamic and has the greatest development potential in the society. The industry has a broad coverage with a strong bond with other economies, contributing countless commercial and career development opportunities.’

During the interview, Dr. Zhao firstly discussed ‘Tourism-plus’, which is definitely the trend for world tourism development. The purpose is to enhance the interactions and cooperations of tourism with other sectors, resulting in the multiplication of benefits. In this regard, Macao has great potential for promoting Tourism-plus-Education, Tourism-plus-Sports and Tourism-plus-Health. IFTM does offer degrees and professional programmes in a wide range of tourism-related areas such as cultural, heritage and tourism event management. This helps to equip students with required professional knowledge and technical competence in preparation of their future leadership responsibilities in the industry.                                                   

In response to the direction given by the Macao Government SAR on higher education development, Dr. Zhao stated that the Institute has done revisions to the existing programmes, and meanwhile keeps adding more diversified programmes on emerging industries for local and international students to enroll. In recent years, IFTM also provides master’s and PhD programmes which not only enable students to gain broader choices in career, but also cultivate elites for industry in a fresh bid to correspond with the high demands for talented individuals. He emphasised that internationalisation, focusing on practice as well as adherence to small classes teaching are common characteristics that all IFTM programmes share.

Facing the changes in development of industry at an accelerating pace, the Institute has optimised and reformed its programme content and facilities. The “iRetail Lab” was launched in 2021 to facilitate students’ learning in e-commerce and digital marketing. And it follows by the establishment of the “Ideation Lab” in 2022, which emphasises innovation in entrepreneurial activities and the convergence of technology and tourism. ‘Both labs give support to stimulate the scientific and technological mindset in “Tourism-plus” of students, as well as, the general public,’ Dr. Zhao proposed.

In addition, IFTM’s degree curriculums are structured with a balance of both theoretical and practical components, thus giving students a competitive edge upon their graduation by offering entrepreneurial programmes, curricular internship and other pre-employment training opportunities, in-house and departmental work experience and project work. He mentioned the importance of a diversified and real learning environment for students to put book knowledge into practice which can increase their engagements in learning.

To cope with the country’s vision of creating a talent highland in the Greater Bay Area, the Institute bridges with the local industry, inviting management experts from different integrated resorts to Bay Area cities to share their experience. It aims to enhance the industry competitiveness among the Bay Area and to align with the international tourism and hotel industry service level. This sharing approach is beneficial for tourism businesses to develop and provide personalised tourism products which enhance tourists’ travel experiences. ‘With regional cooperation in the cultural and tourism industry, we will enhance the cultivation of talents, join forces to build a talent community for the country, and  contribute to the industry diversification and sustainable development’ Dr. Zhao concluded.