On 31 October 2026, a faculty-student delegation from the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management (FHTM) at Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) attended the 2026 Academic Annual Meeting of the Culture and Tourism Technical Economics Branch of the Chinese Society for Technical Economics (CSTE), held at Ocean University of China in Qingdao, Shandong. Dr. Jose Weng Chou Wong, Assistant Dean and Professor of FHTM, was invited to serve as Convener of Parallel Panel I and led the delegation’s academic exchange at the conference.
Faculty-student delegation of FHTM
With the theme “Digital-Intelligent Culture and Tourism and Building a Tourism Powerhouse Towards the 15th Five-Year Plan Period,” the annual meeting was guided by CSTE and hosted by its Culture and Tourism Technical Economics Branch, with the School of Management at Ocean University of China, the Ocean Tourism Research Base of the China Tourism Academy, and the National Culture and Tourism Research Base at Ocean University of China serving as co-organisers. The conference brought together representatives from more than 100 cultural and tourism institutions, research organisations, and industry enterprises from home and abroad, drawing over 200 experts and scholars to discuss high-quality development pathways for culture and tourism during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Topics included digital-intelligent technologies and tourism powerhouse development, industry-education integration and talent cultivation in digital cultural tourism, and land-sea coordination and digital-intelligent marine cultural tourism.
Group photo of the annual meeting
Parallel Panel I, themed “Mechanisms and Pathways for Digital Technology Empowering Culture and Tourism Integration,” was jointly convened by Professor Ganghua Chen, Head of the Department of Tourism Management and Planning at the School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat-sen University; Dr. Jose Weng Chou Wong, Assistant Dean and Professor of FHTM; and Dr. Yanrong Shi, Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat-sen University. Organised as a combination of thematic discussions and paper presentations, the panel focused on how digital media, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality are embedded in the production of tourism experiences and destination development, as well as the deeper effects of digital platforms and AI on the organisation of the cultural tourism industry and tourist participation. Discussions also addressed frontier issues including cultural authenticity, algorithmic governance, and the digital divide.
Participants of Parallel Panel I
The delegation’s participation strengthened academic ties between FHTM and mainland universities and research institutions in the field of digital-intelligent cultural tourism. It also provided a new platform for the Faculty to further advance research on digital cultural tourism and expand interdisciplinary collaboration in the context of building a tourism powerhouse during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Moving forward, FHTM will continue to leverage high-level academic conferences to encourage faculty and students to engage with frontier research topics, injecting sustained momentum into knowledge innovation in tourism studies and the cultivation of high-calibre talent.
