It is my great pleasure to extend a warm welcome to all delegates to the 23rd APacCHRIE Conference and the 16th APacCHRIE Youth Conference, proudly co-hosted by Chiang Mai University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. These conferences serve as an excellent platform for fruitful discussions, exchange of innovative research and meaningful collaboration, empowering us to collectively shape the future of our industry.

Under the overarching theme of “Transforming to The Future: Innovation, AI and Regenerative Tourism and Hospitality”, we are excited to present a diverse array of research papers with a focus on rapidly evolving industry trends. These concurrent conferences provide a dynamic forum for educators, scholars, researchers, industry professionals and government policy makers from around the globe, fostering insightful dialogue and valuable exchange. Together, we have a unique opportunity to explore topics related to the future transformation of hospitality and tourism.

A successful international conference with published proceedings would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors, the unwavering dedication of our organising committee and the exceptional hospitality of Chiang Mai University as our main host. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all involved for their invaluable contributions in making these remarkable events possible.

Since its inception in 2002, APacCHRIE has been playing a pivotal role in fostering academic and research exchange within the Asia Pacific region. Today, the APacCHRIE conference stands as one of the major events in our field, both in Asia and globally. As the Founding Chairman and Former President of APacCHRIE, I am eager to see how our organisation continues to contribute to the advancement of hospitality and tourism.

I look forward to your active participation in these conferences.