It gives me great pleasure to welcome all delegates attending the 18th Asia Pacific Forum (APF) for Graduate Students Research in Tourism, jointly organised by the School of Hotel and Tour-ism Management (SHTM) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Woosong University.

Since its inception in 2002, APF has over the years developed into an important research and networking forum for graduate students and faculty in hospitality and tourism in the Asia Pacific region. I am delighted that the forum this year is held in Daejeon, South Korea, on 21-23 June.

While we are witnessing rapid development in hospitality and tourism in the Asia Pacific region, it is important to examine a variety of contemporary issues facing the entire industry in the region and, indeed, the world. With an aim of exploring the many opportunities emerging and potential challenges arising from this rapid development, we strive to provide our delegates with a unique platform for graduate students, faculty, educators, researchers and industry professionals to re-flect upon issues, changes and impacts brought about by the growing importance of the hospitali-ty and tourism industry in the global economy, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.

Organizing a forum of this scale takes collective team efforts by many people and I wish to thank every one of you who are involved. As the Founding Chairman of APF, I look forward to the role APF will continue to play in promoting academic and research exchange in the region and the world.

May I wish you all a successful and rewarding forum.

Professor Kaye Chon
Dean and Chair Professor
Walter Kwok Foundation Professor in International Hospitality Management
School of Hotel and Tourism Management
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

And

Founding Chairman
Asia Pacific Forum for Graduate Students Research in Tourism