Following the success of previous Asia Tourism Forums held in Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Korea and France, the 9th Biennial Conference on the Tourism and Hospitality Industry in Asia was held in Hualien, Taiwan from 7 to 9 May 2010.

Co-hosted by the Taiwan Hospitality and Tourism College, the De Lin Institute of Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Asia-Pacific Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education, and co-organised by Université d'Angers and Siam University, the Forum provided an excellent platform for tourism policy makers, industry experts, academics, researchers and postgraduate students to exchange views and research outcomes related to various issues in the development of the tourism and hospitality industry in the Asia-Pacific region.

Taking the theme "Tourism: Development, Marketing and Sustainability", the Forum featured three keynote sessions by distinguished scholars in the field. Professor Chris Ryan, Editor-in-Chief of Tourism Management and Professor of Tourism at the Waikato Management School at the University of Waikato in New Zealand, delivered a speech on "Mega-Trends: Tourism Development, Marketing and Issues of Future Sustainability"; Professor David Simmons, Director of Research, Sustainable Tourism CRC, Australia and Professor of Tourism at Lincoln University, spoke on "Pathways to Sustainability"; and Professor Geoffrey Crouch, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Tourism Analysis and Professor of Marketing at the School of Management at La Trobe University, gave a keynote speech on "Tourism Consumer Choice Modelling: Theory, Design and a Space Illustration".

The Forum also featured a panel discussion session on the "Issues of Sustainable Tourism" moderated by Professor Kaye Chon, Chair Professor and Director of the SHTM, and a series of research presentation sessions.

The SHTM is very pleased that its faculty members and student were awarded two of the three Best Paper Awards at the Forum. Professor Haiyan Song and Dr Robert van der Veen received the Best Paper Award for their paper entitled "Celebrity Endorsement Effectiveness for Print Destination Advertising", whilst Dr Ada Lo and Ms Corrine Keying Wu received an award for their paper "Service Quality and Consumption Emotion in Resort and Hotel Spa Experience".

Asia has become the global centre of excellence in the hospitality and tourism business. Together with the growing importance of the region in world economy, it is paramount that the entire tourism industry structures itself to involve the Asian market. The SHTM is delighted to be able to play its unique role in facilitating dialogue and shaping change in the global tourism industry.