Professor Cathy Hsu gave a presentation at the Salon de Wyswert Conference hosted by Stenden University on 6 March in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. The title of her presentation was "Hospitality and Tourism Research: Past and Future".

Dr Qu Xiao attended the Inauguration Ceremony of the Alliance of China Hotel Owners, which was held at the Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel on 18 March. He also served as one of the speakers of a panel session entitled "Asset Management in China's Hotel Industry" during the First China Hotel Owners Forum held at the Sofitel Wanda Beijing Hotel on 19 March.

Dr Qu Xiao moderated the panel session "Region Assessment and Outlook: Pearl River and Southern China" at the 2009 China Hotel Development & Financing Conference, which was co-hosted by Horwath HTL and the China Tourist Hotels Association and held at the Shangri-la Beijing Hotel from 25-27 March.

Professor Cathy Hsu and Dr Tony Tse gave talks at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei on 27 March. Professor Hsu spoke to the faculty and the students on the topics "Progression of Hospitality and Tourism Research: How Can You Contribute?" and "Hotel and Tourism Brand Development", respectively. Dr Tse spoke on "Who Am I? A Seminar on Career Planning".

Dr Karin Weber attended a conference entitled "Traditions and Transformations: Tourism, Heritage and Cultural Change in the Middle East and North Africa [MENA] Region" in Amman, Jordan from 4-7 April. This conference, which was organised by Leeds Metropolitan University and the Council for British Research in the Levant, attracted more than 250 researchers from a wide range of disciplines who focus on tourism research related to the MENA region.

Dr Prakash Chathoth was invited to serve as an expert panellist at the Qatar Summit 2009, which was organised by the UNWTO and entitled "Addressing the Human Resource Challenge for Tourism: The Qatar Summit". Held on 21 and 22 April, this international summit for the Middle East and North Africa involved government representatives, industry leaders and educators.

At the 1st World Tourism Forum Lucerne held from 22-24 April in Switzerland, Professor Kaye Chon spoke on the "Future Prospects of Asia's Hotel Industry" in a panel on "Hotel Industry in 2009" and also on "Preparing Students for Future Challenges in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry" in a general session. This was the first forum of its kind to offer industry leaders a global platform from which to discuss the current economic crisis, climate change and the serious challenges that the tourism industry will no doubt face in future. Four SHTM students presented papers that won first, third, fourth and fifth place in an open competition, they were:

• 1st place – "The Impacts of Low-Cost Carriers' Entry on International Tourism Demand" by Mr Tuen Chun Tung, Henry
• 3rd place – "The Impact of the Airline Service Encounter on Customer Satisfaction and Customer Value" by Ms Wong Wa Chi
• 4th place – "Travel Motivation of Young Adults in Hong Kong on Cultural Tours to a Developing Country: Cambodia as a Case Study" by Ms Hui Po Chun, Jenny
• 5th place – "Time Pressure and Risk Reduction Strategies of Tourist Shoppers: A Case Study of Mainland Chinese Tourists in Hong Kong" by Ms Hung Wing Sze, Greta