On November 15^th, the 8^th Beijing Tourism Research Forum and the Tourism Collaborative Innovation Development Forum in the Internet Plus Era was held in Beijing, which was sponsored by Beijing Tourism Academy (BTA) and CUEB and organized by CUEB School of Business Administration. The inauguration of Tourism Plus Internet Research Center was also held during the forum, which is the 15^th research center of BTA and it is located in CUEB School of Business Administration.

 

CUEB Party Secretary Ke Wenjin pointed out in his speech that this forum, as a response to the Internet plus policies of the State Council and to the tourism plus internet strategy of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), would facilitate the development of tourism in Beijing and the integrated development strategy of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

Song Yu, director of Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development stressed that while tourism had become a major source of consumption, there remained some problems, calling for structural adjustment, quality and efficiency improvement. He also mentioned that to increase sightseeing, recreation and holiday travel spending, we need to integrate internet with tourism, making it a bridge in tourism development.

The main forum in the morning was themed the integrated innovation of “internet plus” and tourism. Four sub-forums followed in the afternoon: collaborative innovation of smart travel, multi-perspectives of tourism integration and innovation, tourism operating model innovation, and innovation on internet plus and travel destinations, covering topics like smart tourism’s integrated development in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei and integrated innovation of internet plus with lodging industry, travel agencies, scenic spots, and tourism public services, as well as that of big data with tourism.

During the sub-forum multi-perspectives of tourism’s integration and innovation, Li Yunpeng, associate professor of School of Business Administration, introduced Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Smart Tourism Development Plan. Li Jia, associate professor of School of Business Administration, chaired the dialogue session, in which the forum guests went into an in-depth discussion on poverty-reduction tourism.