Vol 11 Issue 2, September 2011 - School of Hotel & Tourism ...

APacCHRIE11papers led to a major revision of the venue and programme plan”. A total of382 papers were received, with 223 presented during the conference, which alsoboasted 120 poster presentations. With regard to control, students had to find away of “optimising the publicity of the event with limited finances”, which alsorequired them to think on their feet and come up with creative solutions.The success of the project was also dependent upon choosing the right students.Prospective organisers underwent pre-semester interviews to ensure they hadthe right skill sets and level of commitment needed to see the project through.Teamwork, time management and communication proved essential skills.Third-year Tourism Management student Ms Catherine Wong, who was incharge of publicity, said the workload for her team was particularly heavy. Theyhad to produce real products throughout, the most challenging of which wasthe design and creation of the 4 x 8-metre conference backdrop. “Working onthe project stimulated my interest in event planning, marketing and designwork”, said Ms Wong, who has now graduated and hopes to make such workher career.The organising team comprised students from different years of study and arange of majors, including Hotel Management, Tourism Management, andConvention and Exhibition Management, with all praising the project forequipping them with career-related skills. “We got insights into reality”, saidGigi Wong of the registration team. “We had to deal with a real client, realsuppliers and real guests. It was a valuable experience”.In his keynote address, Dean Chon emphasised the need to “co-create value withour stakeholders”: the industry, students and faculty. Having students organiseprestigious conferences such as APacCHRIE is certainly one way of doing sowhile providing “an important learning experience: a lesson in creativity”.Keynote Speaker Mr Stanley Yen surely had such educational innovation inmind when he called on tourism and hospitality educators to equip studentsnot only with book learning but also with practical experience and a passionfor sharing.ConferenceKey FactsThe Event• 9th APacCHRIE Conference• 2nd APacCHRIE YouthConference• 1st time held in Hotel ICONTiming and Highlights• 4-day conference• 44 conference hours• 3 major social functionsOrganisers• 30 Organising CommitteeMembers• 112 volunteersDelegates• Delegates from 37 countries• Over 500 delegates fromaround the worldPapers• 382 papers received• 223 papers presented• 120 poster presentationsThis, he said, would allow them to fulfil the “true purpose of tourism”, whichis “to make friends with the world” for “your company, for your country andcertainly for yourself”.School of Hotel and Tourism Management