Press Release: International Scientific Workshop “The Link Between Mobility and Tourism: Creating Social Sustainability”

Tourism is an economic sector with profound social implications. Previously, tourism was considered a "golden goose" or a "smokeless industry" due to its rapid growth and significant contribution to the economy, especially in developing countries. However, its economic contribution is not limited to job creation; its role in job creation, poverty reduction, social stability, enhanced integration, cultural exchange, intellectual development, and peace consolidation is also considerable. Recognizing the importance of tourism, Vietnam has identified the rapid and sustainable development of tourism as a "key economic sector" in the country's industrialization and modernization process, demonstrating the Party and Government's determination to focus resources on domestic tourism.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the importance of tourism is further enhanced as the region's tourism industry is booming, becoming one of the world's most vibrant tourism hubs. By 2015, the total number of international visitors to the region reached 279 million, generating direct revenue of US$418 billion. The number of international visitors to the region has increased more than 12 times compared to 1980, and more than 3 times compared to 1995, currently ranking only behind Europe, more than 1.4 times higher than the Americas, and 5 times higher than Africa and the Middle East. The growth rate consistently ranks among the highest in the world (UNWTO, 2016).

Against the backdrop of regional integration, particularly the ratification of the TPP and common regional policies in the Asia-Pacific, research to reposition regional tourism in general, and to re-evaluate the role of Vietnamese tourism in particular, is an urgent need. Based on the aforementioned theoretical and practical requirements, foreign partners, including Bournemouth University (UK), proposed to collaborate with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities to organize the workshop "The Link Between Mobility and Tourism: Creating Social SustainabilityThe workshop aims to create a forum for scholars and tourism researchers from both within and outside the country to exchange experiences, share knowledge, results, and research methods related to the current tourism development situation in the region; the role and influence of tourism activities in some major countries in the region; and to position Vietnam's tourism in the region in the context of integration.

The conference will be attended by approximately 30 scholars from various countries (including the UK, Germany, Italy, the USA, Japan, Canada, Belgium, South Korea, Macao, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brazil, etc.) with 5 leading world-renowned speakers in the field of tourism. In addition, the conference will also feature the launch of a book on travel mobility by Professor Sabine Marschall from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Representing Vietnam are delegates from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the Institute for Tourism Development Research, the Board of Directors of the National University, tourism training institutions in Vietnam, and domestic researchers.

• Details about the workshop:Nexus of Migration and Tourism: Creating Social Sustainability Syposium(The link between mobility and tourism: Creating social sustainability)

Time: 09:00 – 18:00 on September 20-21, 2018.

Location: Room 304, Building E, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 336 Nguyen Trai Street, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi.

Language: English.

• For detailed information about the workshop, please contact:

Ms. Bui Nhat Quynh: 0888088808

Email: buinhatquynh1512@gmail.com

Faculty of Tourism Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

Room 509, Building B, 336 Nguyen Trai Street, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi.