The 21st International Hospitality and Tourism Research Conference Switzerland was held over a two-day period on 15th and 16th November 2018. Following the ongoing trends in the hospitality and tourism industry is essential, therefore, the 21st HTMi International Conference addressed the contemporary topics occurring with the purpose of raising awareness of the current developments in hospitality and tourism industry.
Over the course of two days, the conference welcomed leading researchers and industry professionals from all over Europe, HTMi faculty and HTMi students to discuss contemporaneous affairs in hospitality and tourism industry. Participants from more than 30 nationalities contributed to the successful completion of the 21st International Hospitality and Tourism Research Conference Switzerland 2018.
On the first day, five presentations were delivered by invited keynote speakers and guest presenters. The 21st International Research Conference began with Mark N.K. Saunders, a Professor of Business Research Methods and Director of PhD Programmes at the Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. Professor Mark N.K. Saunders awarded us with a presentation on “Why sampling matters and how many are enough”. Professor Mark N.K. Saunders research interests include research methods, more specifically, participants’ selection and methods for understanding organisational relationships; human resource aspects of the management of change and small and medium sized enterprise (SME) success.
Second presentation was delivered by Dr Susann Power, lecturer in Hospitality Management Department of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Ulster University Business School. Dr Susann Power has introduced her work on “Examining the Nature of Ethical Entrepreneurship in Tourism”. Dr Susann interest lies in the nature and evolution of best practice in tourism, with a specific focal point aimed at entrepreneurial and supply-side values as well as behaviour types for sustainable tourism.
The remainder of the morning session was dedicated to HTMi MSC poster presentations exploring hospitality and tourism topics such as socio- cultural impacts on tourism, the relationship between psychological contracts and staff turnover, visitor management in countries around the world and many more.
The afternoon session was opened by Heller Rompa, director of Mapstell International and Dmitri Tops, Senior Trainer Q-Staff. The invited speakers conducted a workshop titled “Putting behaviour on the map: Discover your place in the World of Difference.” Prior to the start of 21 st International Conference students filled out an online questionnaire related to their personal behavioural characteristics which in turn provided them with a personal map. By putting the behavioural style of individuals and gatherings literally on the map, MapsTell makes the distinctions in human conduct visible. This particular insight enables individuals to get the most out of themselves and each other.
In the latter part of the first day, Ms. Theodora G. Kalogerakou, Health Care and Ageing-Well Specialist, has shared with us her view on contemporary nutrition in her work titled as “Eating according to the circadian rhythm: How to eat and exercise according to your biological clock.”
The second day of the conference was opened by invited speakers Maria Trofimova, former Master student of HTMi Switzerland currently working with IQ Protocol team that consists of experienced professionals in protocol and organisational support of high-profile events, as well as, Alexandra Moiseyeva, Moscow State University of Foreign Affairs Graduate currently employed by Executive Office of the President of the Russian Federation – Protocol Department. Both speakers awarded us with a presentation on “Protocol support during major sports events organisation”.
As a closure of our second day morning session Professor Mark N.K. Saunders also carried out a workshop on Methodology which was in favour of our current students completing their research papers.
The rest of the second day was devoted to HTMi student presentations covering a broad range of contemporary topics such as impacts of acculturation processes, destination image and decision factors involved in travelling, leadership styles effects on employee satisfaction, factors influencing recruitment in worldwide hospitality organisations and many more. These papers reflected an ongoing quality and diversity of hospitality, change management, leadership, tourism and educational research which HTMi sponsors to assist the industry.
Overall, the 21st International Research Conference was an exciting and thought-provoking event and provided many opportunities for discussion and networking amongst invited guests, HTMi faculty and students.
