The Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) hosted “The 5th International Tourism and Retail Service Management Conference (TRMC2023)” on 19-20 October 2023. The conference, themed “Strengthening the synergies between tourism and retail in an uncertain era” aimed to bring together scholars and industry professionals from around the world to discuss and explore the forward-thinking ideas, challenges and opportunities that the future may hold for these industries, especially after the pandemic.
IFTM hosted the inaugural conference in 2018. The 2021 and 2022 events had been online-only. The TRMC Consortium now includes several prestigious global institutions at the leading edge of research and knowledge, focusing on the nexus of tourism and retail services. This year, the conference is being organised in partnership with five other higher education institutions. They are: the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management at the University of South Carolina, in the United States; Breda University of Applied Science, in the Netherlands; Nankai University, in Mainland China; Sunway University, in Malaysia; and Hangzhou City University, in Mainland China. The conference is being held in hybrid format – with in-person presentations and ones streamed online, and it marks the first face-to-face conference that IFTM hosted after the pandemic.
Keynote speakers included Prof. Hanqin Qiu, Dean and Distinguished Professor from Hangzhou City University, China; Prof. Rich Harrill, Research Professor and Director of International Tourism Research Institute at College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, University of South Carolina, USA; and Prof. Lisa Wan, Associate Professor and Acting Director from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. A number of influential industry speakers were invited to speak at TRMC2023, including Ms. Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Director of Macao Government Tourism Office; Mr. James Guntrip, Vice President of Store Operations in Macao for luxury retailer DFS; Mr. Edison Chen, Vice President of Destination Marketing and Strategic Alliances at Shanghai-based multinational travel service conglomerate Trip.com Group; and Dr. Esra Calvert, President of Esra Calvert Consulting, a U.S.-based tourism consultancy.
The conference attracted more than 90 participants. About a quarter were online attendees, and more than 50 research papers were presented at TRMC2023.
The 2024 edition of the TRMC series is to take place at Breda University of Applied Science in the Netherlands.
Check out the amazing moments from the unforgettable TRMC2023
