LTHIC 2020 ANNUAL CONFERENCE SUCCESSFULLY HELD THROUGH WEBEX

Langkawi International Tourism and Hospitality (LITH) Research Centre, which is a Centre of Excellence (CoE) of the School of Tourism Hospitality and Event Management (STHEM) has successfully organized its first ever annual conference Langkawi Tourism and Hospitality International Conference (LTHIC) 2020, recently. Led by Prof. Dr. Azilah Kasim who is also LITH’s Director, along with the support from Event Management Research Unit (EMRU) and other lecturers as well as administrative staff members of STHEM, the virtual conference with the theme ‘Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)’, has drawn participation from around the world including renown keynote and plenary speakers from Malaysia, Spain, United Kingdom, New Zealand and India.

After the opening ceremony by the honourable Dato’ Mohmed Razip Haji Hasan, Director of General Islamic Tourism Centre, the keynote session began with a speech on ‘Sustainability of Tourism Destinations: When Under Tourism Strikes’ by Prof. Dr. Badaruddin Mohamed from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

This is followed by keynote address II by Prof. Dr. Kashif Hussein from Taylor’s University, Malaysia. He shared his wisdom on ‘Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Agenda. ‘

The keynote session ended with an important message from Dr. Jonathan Gomez Punzon, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in his speech titled ‘Sustainable Tourism as the new normal: Implications and strategies for responsible recovery in South-East Asia’.

The second day of the conference was equally enlightening, with plenary speakers Dr. Angus Carpenter from Nottingham Trent University, England; Dr. Masoud Karami from University of Otago, New Zealand and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sandeep Walia from Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar, Punjab, India. Dr. Carpenter spoke on the Environmental Pillar of Sustainability while Dr. Karami and Dr. Walia each focused on the Economic and Social Pillar of Sustainability.

The conference ended with an award presentation announcement and a closing speech by the Dean of STHEM, Dr. Johan Afendi. Many participants have expressed satisfaction on the smooth running of the conference, which Prof. Dr. Azilah Kasim believes is owing to not only the teamwork of the organizing committee, but also to the smooth internet and technological support that UUM has provided throughout the conference.

 

By Prof. Dr. Azilah Kasim
Pictures by STHEM
Source: UUM Corporate Comm.