海角社区

I had a chance to attend and present at The Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education Conference (CAUTHE) 2023 which represents hospitality, tourism, and event educators and researchers in Australia and New Zealand. The Conference鈥檚 theme was 鈥淲est, East, South, North: Redirecting Research in Tourism, Hospitality, and Events”, and was held at the Esplanade Hotel Fremantle in Perth.

海角社区 190 scholars, professors, PhD students, and industry professionals attended the conference (CAUTHE membership is currently around 200). There were a few fantastic keynotes/panel discussions in the areas of workforce development and Perth as a tourism destination. Furthermore, here are a few themes from emerging research in the hospitality, tourism, and event fields from presentations I attended:

• Stakeholder development/impact of tourism and events on local communities
• Incorporating into branding and tourist experiences
• Artificial intelligence/eye tracking in examining tourist experiences
• Several journal editors鈥� sessions highlighted the importance of expanding research methods from association studies (e.g., self-reporting survey instruments) to causality studies (e.g., surveys)

This was my first time attending a conference in Australia, and it鈥檚 always enjoyable to see best practices in how event planners embrace the local culture in a meeting/event. For example:

• Conference planners effectively communicated their commitment to sustainability to event attendees by not printing any printing materials, encouraging attendees to utilize public transportation, and providing a list of local establishments to seek out. These guidelines were also on the conference website and were sent out to attendees in advance.
• Conference planners also set expectations regarding dress. For example, attendees were encouraged to abide by the dress code: (no thongs and no beach wear)
• A scheduled morning walk/swim was scheduled every morning of the conference, taking advantage of the adjacent beach and ocean. How cool is that?
• A 鈥淲elcome to the Country鈥� from Alton Walley, Aboriginal Productions, was presented, recognizing the historical and cultural context of the sacred lands the conference occurred.
• Lastly, CAUTHE has a tradition for the last session of every conference to be a 鈥淭he Great Debate鈥� where 2 teams of scholars 鈥渄ebate鈥� a major theme in a comical, 鈥渞oasting鈥� of fellow peers in a comical, intriguing way 鈥� you have to attend to see it in action.

I had minimal expectations of Perth as a destination; however, the city exceeded my expectations. It is a remote city (most major cities, such as Sydney and Singapore are about a 5-hour flight and 3 time zones away), but the 2 million people that live here make it a very livable city. Downtown is vibrant, the city is a festival city (I was there during ), there is a great light rail system, and it is located on the ocean with incredible beaches. It鈥檚 possible that I Googled, 鈥淗ow do I move to Perth鈥� while watching the sunset on a beach with a local beer from What a great city!

The conference was held in , about 20-30 minutes southeast of downtown Perth. Fremantle is a port city that became Australia鈥檚 main destination for convict arrival. Today, the city is a fantastic tourism destination that features well-preserved architecture from the Edwardian era and gold rush-era, a robust arts and culture, and a vibrant downtown filled with cafes, breweries (New Belgium Beer is on tap 鈥� from Colorado!), and great coffee.

Next year鈥檚 conference will be hosted by the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Tasmania (I am already checking flight schedules).