IFTM Instructor Ms. Amy Lo Sio Sin and IFTM academic Dr. Cora Wong Un In recently received a ‘Best Paper’ prize at the 3rd International Tourism Retail and Service Management Conference (TRMC 2021). Their paper – titled “What could be the perceived risks as impeding factors that could prevent retail from being shifted online completely? Perspectives from both users and suppliers” – was on the impact of digital shopping on bricks-and-mortar retail.
During the paper presentation, Ms. Lo said that, through their research, the authors had realised that although the popularity of online shopping was increasing, consumers still found it important to have physical shops for certain types of products, so they could verify the quality of the items. Their research concluded that shopping in physical shops is becoming something of a form of entertainment, but remains relevant despite the expansion of e-commerce.
IFTM was heavily represented at TRMC 2021, held on 12 and 13 October, with the theme on the development of sustainable tourism retailing. The conference brought together leading academics and researchers in the fields of tourism and retail services to exchange insights into aspects ranging from innovation to marketing, and the impact of COVID-19 on tourism retailing.
This year’s all-online conference was hosted by the School of Hospitality and Service Management at Malaysia’s Sunway University, in partnership with IFTM, Nankai University in the Mainland and the University of South Carolina in the United States.
IFTM enjoys close ties with the TRMC series: the Institute hosted the first conference, in 2018.
IFTM participation in TRMC 2021 took various forms. IFTM President Dr. Fanny Vong Chuk Kwan, along with Professor Dr. Eve Ren Lianping, were part of the consortium partners committee. Professor Dr. John Ap and Professor Dr. Leonardo Dioko were members of the TRMC 2021 scientific committee.
IFTM research in the spotlight
A dozen IFTM scholars had their work featured at TRMC 2021. Some academics at the Institute formed partnerships to produce research papers for the conference and others teamed up with their counterparts at institutions of higher education outside Macao. A few IFTM academics had more than one contribution presented.
Among the research papers presented was “I like your products, but can I use another payment method? Exploring visitors experience with payment methods in the Greater Bay Area”. The research was produced by a team of IFTM scholars: Assistant Professor Dr. Jenny Guan Jieqi, Dr. Ren, Lecturer Dr. Catherine Li Zhuo and Assistant Professor Dr. Yvonne Chen Yi Fan. The authors discussed the challenges shoppers face during the course of their travels when trying to use e-payment methods in the different jurisdictions in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Dr. Guan also joined hands with IFTM Assistant Professor Dr. Cindia Lam Ching Chi and, along with academics at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, wrote a paper called “The influence of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge on city’s visitors travel planning and patterns”. The researchers highlighted the role of the bridge in enhancing mobility and thus changing travel patterns in the region.
IFTM Assistant Professor Dr. Yang Jingjing contributed to a research paper called “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area regional cooperation and tourism retailing”, jointly produced with scholars at Beijing International Studies University and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
“Employee’s brand love: the role of internal branding”, and “Surviving COVID-19, what have the luxury travel retailers in Macao been doing?” were the titles of other research reports presented at TRMC 2021 that were produced by all-IFTM teams. The paper on internal branding was authored by Assistant Professor Dr. Virginia Lau Meng Chan and Ms. Chrystal Chen Hun, while Dr. Li and Dr. Ren wrote the paper on the impact of the pandemic on the retailing of luxury products to visitors to Macao.
Dr. Ren and Dr. Guan were each involved in producing 3 papers presented at the conference. They also contributed to one called “Developing health tourism in Macao, really? An analysis of a recent strategic proposal based on stakeholder perceptions”. This research was a joint effort with IFTM Assistant Professor Dr. Yang Hui Jun and Dr. Liu Ming, of the University of Macau.
Assistant Professor Dr. Henrique Ngan rounded off the participation of IFTM at TRMC 2021. He was one of the authors of a paper called “How much you can save depends on the color of the price tag”.
The fourth conference in the TRMC series is scheduled to take place next year. It will be hosted by the University of South Carolina.
