HTMi Switzerland saw the closure of its 25th International Hospitality and Tourism Research Conference that took place took on place 21st and 22nd April 2021 at our campus in beautiful Sörenberg.

Day one of the conference saw HTMi Switzerland’s Bachelor of Science (Hons.) students present their research topics in the form of poster presentations to an audience of faculty and fellow students. From all the poster presentations, three BSc students were selected based on the judging to go forward to the final presentations during day two of the conference.

On the first day, we had the privilege of listening to two international guest speakers present online to our global audience through our Cisco Webex platform. The first speaker was Dr. Thomas Sladko, Managing Director, ISPD Protocol & Diplomacy, Oman who discussed the “The Basics of International Protocol for the Hospitality Sector. Soft Diplomacy in the “New Normal” and gave a delightful talk on the importance of protocol, etiquette and diplomacy at international events. This was followed by Mr. Fabrice Tessier, VP School Relations and Partnerships Talent & Culture, Accor, Paris, France who spoke on “Accor’s Vision for the Hospitality Industry in a post-Covid19 World”, which was very insightful for our students to hear about Accor’s global strategy in terms of growth and jobs.

On the second day, we had a further two international guests. Ms. Kylie Thuyen, Human Resources Manager, The Grace Hotel, Sydney, Australia who shared her insights into “Career Opportunities and Growth in Hospitality”. Kylie, herself is a graduate of HTMi Switzerland having graduated in 2008 with a first-class BSc (Hons.) Degree from Ulster University, where She gave much valuable advice to students on the possibilities and scope of the job market in the industry. This was followed by Mr. John Lohr, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation Hosco, Spain who discussed “2021 – Hosco’s Big Bets for the Recovery”. This was of great interest to all students as Hosco is one of the world’s Leading Hospitality Networks for jobs.

The afternoon session saw our three BSc finalists present their research. Ms. Le Thu Thuy from Vietnam presented “The impact of internship experiences on career expectations and career orientations in hospitality and tourism industry: a case of Vietnamese students in Switzerland.”, Ms. Paula Maria Toma from Romania talked about “Medieval Tourism Between Middle Ages as a Modern Tourism Trend and Niche Tourism. Development and Awareness on Transylvania’s Seven Fortresses”, and Mr. Lorant Tamas from Hungary discussed “To Investigate the Recruitability of Disabled Employees in the Hospitality Industry:  Case Study of Front Office Departments in 5-Star Hotels in St. Moritz”.

We thank all our HTMi Switzerland students and international guest speakers for making this 25th conference a true success.

Anthony Lack, HTMi Head of Events Education and Planning, April 2021