RCdTT Scholar Debates Research Evolution at TTRA, Delivers Forecasting Keynote in Montreal

GREENVILLE, USA / MONTREAL, Canada – Prof Haiyan Song, Mr and Mrs Chan Chak Fu Professor in International Tourism and Director of the Research Centre for Digital Transformation of Tourism (RCdTT) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, took centre stage at two major international conferences in late June 2026.

At the 56th Annual Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) International Conference in Greenville, South Carolina (24–26 June), Prof Song served as a plenary speaker in the "Great Academic Debate". He presented his position on the evolution of tourism research, debating against Prof Sara Dolnicar's perspective on tourism research in crisis.

Immediately following the TTRA conference, Prof Song delivered a keynote for the practitioners' track at the 46th International Symposium on Forecasting (ISF) in Montreal, Canada (28 June – 1 July). His talk, titled "Asia Pacific Tourism Demand Forecasting," introduced his team's advanced forecasting work developed for the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). The research provides three-year quarterly travel demand forecasts for 39 Asia Pacific destinations.

Prof Song was among an elite group of Forecasting in Practice Track speakers at ISF 2026.