international conferences and networking
Working with our extensive network of international partners, the Tourism Research Centre of UTM continues to build and co-organise conferences, meetings, and symposia of note. These conferences aren't just talking shops but are aimed to address specific and meaningful agenda.
Jointly organised with the School of Tourism of Bournemouth University, the bi-annual International Conference on Events underscores UTM’s commitment to advancing knowledge and research in the events sector, one of the pillars of Macao's tourism and heritage attractions. ICE also helps support and strengthen the development of the M.I.C.E. industry, an important economic sector for Macao and the UK.
Previously held in Bournemouth (UK), Sheffield (UK), Macao (China), Orlando (USA), Cape Town (South Africa) and Warsaw (Poland), we are excited to bring ICE back to Asia with the next edition in Beijing, China! ICE2025 will be hosted by the Beijing International Studies University (China) on 17-19 September 2025.
The International Conference on Events
ICE
IFT will be hosting the 3rd International Conference on Events (ICE2015), 7 to 9 September 2015, and is co-organized by ITRC-IFT and Bournemouth University (UK). Co-chaired by IFT events faculty member Ubaldino Couto and BU faculty member Julie Whitfield, ICE2015 will feature leading thinkers, practitioners, and scholars on events, events management, and events research.
IFT was the co-organiser of Making Waves - International Conference on Events (ICE 2013) which was successfully held in Bournemouth University, U.K. during 3 to 5 July 2013.
The International Conference on Events, with IFT as co-organiser, will be held during 3 to 5 July in Bournemouth University, U.K..
The first GBA Forum was held at IFTM in 2019, jointly organised by the School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat-Sen University (SYSU), and the School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU).
The second GBA Forum was held by SYSU on 31 October - 1 November 2019 in Guangzhou, China http://itrc.ift.edu.mo/gba-research-collaborations
The fourth GBA Forum will be hosted by IFTM on 5 November 2021. For more details, please visit here.
Greater Bay Area Forum
International Tourism and Retail Service Management Conference
TRMC
The first International Tourism and Retail Service Management Conference (TRMC) was held at IFTM in 2018, jointly organised by IFTM, the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management of the University of South Carolina, in the United States, and Nankai University’s College of Tourism and Service Management, based in Tianjin, Mainland China.
TRMC has now grown bigger with more consortium members and continues to build on the success of previous conferences in Tianjin (2019) hosted by Nankai University (College of Tourism and Service Management), in Kuala Lumpur (2021) hosted by Sunway University (School of Hospitality and Service Management) and, most recently, Columbia, South Carolina (2022), hosted by College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, University of South Carolina.
The 5th TRMC was successfully hosted and organised in Macao at IFTM on 19-20 October 2023. Please visit here to revisit the conference moments.
TRMC2024 will be hosted in Breda, the Netherlands - in hybrid mode - on 9-11 October 2024.
Destination Branding and Marketing Conference
dbm
The bi-annual International Conference on Destination Branding and Marketing (DBM) began in 2005 and just concluded its 10th year, with ITRC hosting DBM-V in its Mong-Ha campus in December 2014.
The DBM Conference Series is organized with our international partners: School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management (SHRTM), University of South Carolina, The Welsh Centre for Tourism Research (WCTR), Cardiff Metropolitan University, and the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM), University of Surrey (SHTM).
The 5th International Conference on Branding and Marketing (DBM-V) organized by Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao China (IFT) together with co-organizers including University of South Carolina, U.S.A, University of Surrey, U.K. and Welsh Centre for Tourism Research, Cardiff Metropolitan University, U.K. will be held at IFT, Macao China during 3-5 December 2014.
The 5th International Conference on Branding and Marketing (DBM-V) organized by Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao China (IFT) together with co-organizers including University of South Carolina, U.S.A, University of Surrey, U.K. and Welsh Centre for Tourism Research, Cardiff Metropolitan University, U.K. will be held at IFT, Macao China during 3-5 December 2014.
DBM-IV Conference this December 5-7 draws closer, we feature the key partners and movers of the DBM Conference Series, of which ITRC-IFT is a founding member.
International Conference on Services Management
ICSM
ITRC co-organizes the International Conference on Services Management (ICSM)as part of a consortium comprising of Oxford School of Hospitality, Oxford Brookes University (OBU), the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech (HTM), and Vedatya Institute (formerly Institute for International Management & Technology (IIMT).
IFT will be organizing the 7th International Conference on Services Management (7th ICSM) on campus during 10-12 December 2014.
The IFT-BU E-Conference
In another long standing joint collaboration, ITRC has been co-organizing the annual E-Conference with the School of Tourism of Bournemouth University. Since its beginning in 2009, the IFT-BU E-Conference provides an annual forum for researchers of both universities to share and present their latest research findings on subjects that are mutually relevant to tourism and hospitality issues in the UK and Macao. The E-Conference is not just a showcase of research but a means by which researchers from both institutions learn from each other in research methodology, techniques, and analyses. And, because the E-Conference is done via video link - it is very environmentally friendly!
The fifth IFT-Bournemouth University E-Conference was held last 10 April 2014. This year's conference theme was on tourism and retail shopping.
The 5th annual e-conference jointly held by the IFT’s Tourism Research Centre (ITRC) and the School of Tourism, Bournemouth University, UK will be during 17:00-20:30 on Thursday, 10 April 2014 in Pousada Conference Room, IFT Main Campus.
The Fourth Video Conference of Bournemouth University, U.K. & IFT, with theme "Heritage and Tourism: An Unholy Alliance? " will be held on 21 March 2013.
The third e-conference of Bournemouth University, U.K. & IIFT with theme "Labour Issues in Tourism Economies" will take place on 20 March 2012.
The Second International Video Conference of Bournemouth University, U.K. & IFT with theme "Motorsports Research" will be held on 31 March 2011.
other conferences
We also support and co-organise other noteworthy conferences with international partners.
IFT is the co-organiser of the International Conference on Tourism Milestones - Preparing for tomorrow (ICTM@2014). ICTM@2014 will be held on 31st March - 2nd April 2014 in Skyline University College, University City of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE.
Dr. Baudouin C. Neirynck and Dr. Mark A. Gibson of Tourism College will present their joint paper "Quantifying the organoleptic triangle: Inputs, outputs and user experience" at the ‘Food, Drink and Hospitality: Space, Materiality, Practice’ in London.