Day 3: 7 July
Find out what is happening on day 3 of the Surrey 2023 Conference.
Friday 7 July
The programme can be viewed below.
Agenda day 3: technology
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
8am – 5pm | Registration |
8:30am – 9am | Mindfulness Meditation OR Campus Wellbeing Walk |
9:30am – 10:15am | Keynote speech: Toju Duke, Responsible AI Programme Manager at Google Moderator: Dr Erin Ling |
| 10:15am – 11am | Panel discussion: Ethics and Morality of Technology
|
| 11am – 1pm | Morning poster presentation |
11am – 11:30am | Networking break Sponsored by the Savoy Educational Trust |
11:30am – 1pm | Panel Discussion (parallel) Digital Capacities Gap Chair: Sylvia Ganbert
|
| 11:30am - 2:30pm | SURREY2023 Ministerial Roundtable Discussion (hybrid: Zoom and 32MS01)
|
1pm – 2pm | Networking lunch |
| 1pm – 2pm | Tourism Management Editorial Board meeting (Editorial Board members only) |
| 2pm – 4pm | Afternoon poster presentation |
2pm – 3:15pm | |
3:30pm – 4:30pm | The Surrey Good Bucket List - Consensus on technology
|
4:30pm – 5pm | Closing and awards
|
| 5pm – 6pm | Drinks reception sponsored by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University |
Parallel session 5
Friday, 7 July, 11:30am - 1pm, 8 parallel sessions.
| Digital Futures 4 | Human Rights & Major Events 2 | Human Flourishing 7 | Digital Futures 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Room: AP1; Moderator, Dr Brigitte Stangl | Room: 34AP01; Moderator, Dr James Kennell | Room: 33MS01; Moderator, Dr Sumeetra Ramkrishnan | Room: 34MS01; Moderator, Dr Erin Ling |
How virtual assistants and immersive technologies affect the customer experience in hotel choice: integrating neurophysiological and explicit measures Enrique Bigne and Luisa Andreu | The state of event-tourism research through the lens of the UN sustainable development goals Shinyong Jung, Jason Draper, Kristin Malek, Thomas Padron and Eric Olson | Transformation for talent? Talent management as future task for destination management organisations shaping regional working and living spaces Markus Pillmayer and Alicia Storch | A looker or A buyer？Consumer purchasing behaviour of travel product in livestreaming shopping Chun Liu, Qi Zhao and Hong Zhen |
Crisis, resilience, and digital innovation in Community Tourism. Evidence from favela tourism operators in Rio de Janeiro Fabian Frenzel, Juliana Mainard Sardon, Isabella Rega and Camila Moraes | What does an individual get from attending an event? The intrinsic value of events at an individual level Nanyi Nicole Yu, Judith Mair, Andy Lee and Faith Ong | Contextualising Sexual Harassment in Hospitality Work: A Nordic Perspective Eleonora Rossi, Tara Duncan, Maria Thulemark, Tone Therese Linge, Olga Gjerald, Åse Helene Bakkevig Dagsland, Kai Victor Myrnes-Hansen, Trude Furunes, Magnfríður Júlíusdóttir and Eyrún Jenný Bjarnadóttir | AI-based services in destination marketing: assessing the end-user’s continuous usage using the S-O-R Framework Aurkene Alzua-Sorzaba, Basagaitz Guereño-Omil and Giuseppe Aliperti |
The dark side of digital-free tourism: a mental health perspective Wenjie Cai | How can color imagery affect visitors' emotions in a nostalgic display space? A Case Study of Wenheyou Superb in Changsha, China Shaofeng Wu and Chuming Liu | Flourishing through hospitality encounters in the Great Outdoors: The female voices Maria Gebbels and Jelena Farkić | Customer experience with smart hotels: a systematic literature review Jiaolong Cheng, Hongbo Liu and Iis Tussyadiah |
How do hotel robot aesthetics affect guests' acceptance intentions? A TAM model perspective Mostafa Marghany, Nirmeen Elmohandes, Mahmoud Saleh, Mohamed Helal, Nabila Elshawarbi and Khaled Ghazy | Conceptualising Events as Intangible Cultural Heritage Charles Arcodia | How much does social media inspire African diaspora restauranteurs to stay in Ghana for business? Caroline Nik Shoh Chama | Scripting accountability for responsible behaviour in online marketplaces Aurimas Pumputis |
“Dear Mrs. Palace…” The anthropomorphic appeals and parasocial interaction in cultural heritage tourism marketing Junyi Wang, Xueting Zhai and Qiuju Luo | The ethics of artificial intelligence in events Judith Mair and Jason Brown | Why pro-customer does not always do the trick? An investigation of pro-customer deviance Jiajing Hu, Hongxia Lin and Xiuli Ma |
|
Parallel session 5: 11:30am - 1pm - continued
| Competitiveness 6 | Business & Policy 5 | Competitiveness & Business 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Room: 66MS03; Moderator, Dr Gang Li | Room: 23AP02; Moderator, Prof Nigel Morgan | Room: 80MS02; Moderator, Dr Nadine Itani |
An analysis of regional economic vulnerability through the lens of tourism dependence: The case of Spain Bienvenido Ortega, Fernando Almeida, Manuel Alector Ribeiro and Jesús Sanjuán | Consumer responses to cause-related campaigns: the interaction between cause scope and resource scarcity reminders Tian Ye and Anna Mattila | Hainan sport tourism development: a perspective from industry Erwei Dong, Xinyi Shen, Zhaoxin Dong, Ning Zhao and Yining Wei |
Changes in tourist types over time - a fuzzy clustering approach Elisabeth Bartl, Maximilian Weigert, Jürgen Schmude and Marion Karl | How Measuring Coastal Tourism Destination Image? Development and Validation of a Universal Multidimensional Scale Melise De Lima Pereira, Francisco Antonio Dos Anjos, Sara Joana Gadotti dos Anjos, Edar Da Silva Añaña and Christian Weismayer | Turning the Heavily Polluted Suzhou River into A Hotspot for Tourists in Shanghai: Case Study on Management of Environmental Externalities in THE Operations Xiangchong Pan and Wei Zhong |
The Risk of Policy Success to Destination Competitiveness Dr Marie-Louise Mangion | The (in)ability of sustainable tourism indicator schemes to facilitate policy and sustainability change Gloria Crabolu | Country image, travel motivation and travel intention post-pandemic: differences between first-time and repeat visitors in bi-lateral tourism Andrea Saayman |
Experiencing conflict during holiday: A social exchange perspective Ying Wang and Anna Kwek | Evaluating the impact of short-let accommodation regulation on the London housing market Jihwan Yeon and Yoo Ri Kim | The relationship between Tourism Governance and Competitiveness of the Destinations: The Structural Model Validation in Brazil Melise De Lima Pereira, Thayele Oliveira, Francisco Antonio dos Anjos and Thays Domareski Ruiz |
Hotel rooms with breakfast included or without? The role of salience Oriol Anguera-Torrell and Juan Luis Nicolau | The economic impact of second home tourists: An empirical analysis for the case of Punta del Este – Uruguay Maria José Alonsoperez Chiossi, Gabriel Brida, Fernando Brito and Leonardo Moreno | Digital integration within national tourism policy: The case for Malaysia Husna Zainal Abidin and Marini Othman |
Parallel session 6
Friday 7 July, 2pm - 3:30pm, 7 parallel sessions.
| Digital Futures 6 | Digital Futures 7 | Human Flourishing 8 | Competitiveness 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Room: AP1; Moderator, Prof Caroline Scarles | Room: 33MS01; Moderator, Dr Brigitte Stangl | Room: 34MS01; Moderator, Dr Tracy Xu | Room: 66MS03; Moderator, Dr Marion Karl |
Tourists’ emotional reactions to service robots in a role-playing experiment Yingying Du, Iis Tussyadiah and Ye Chen | Social media empowerment on tourism participation of destination residents: case study of a Tibetan emerging tourism village Chuanlong Wu and Qiuju Luo | How do young service leaders work to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace? Olga Gjerald and Julie Micaelsen | Examining the Regenerative Tourism Practices through a Community Play Project in Southern Ontario, Canada Karla Boluk, Peggy Vacalopoulos and Mahshad Akhoundoghli |
Playing from the Edge: Music festivals and broadcasting practices in the West Cork region of Ireland Enya Moore and Brian Vaughan | A Performative Account of Technosocially Mediated Agencies Accountability: What are the implications for Tourism? Mahshad Akhoundoghli and Karla Boluk | VFR Tourism Mobilities as a Politics of Sympathy Michael Humbracht, Anna De Jong, Scott Cohen and Allan Williams | Color and Naturalness: How and Why Color Saturation Can Shape Tourists’ Perception of Naturalness and Their Travel Intention Ke Zhang, Yuansi Hou and Gang Li |
Value Co-creation in Online Social Shopping Travel Platforms Xiaoyi Xu, Lorna Wang and Bora Kim | Human-environment interaction and imagination in the combination of virtual and physical tourism space A case study of the Shenzhen Digital Exhibition of the Forbidden City Chunhui Zheng, Yunbo Wen and Yi Wang | Hot or cold? How and when hospitality leaders react to customer mistreatment Pei Liu, Xin Li and Xiaowei Lu | Could Noise Become Beneficial? The Impact of Ambient Noise on Enhancing Virtual Museum Experience amid COVID-19 Pandemic Yuansi Hou, Jason Li Chen, Zhenni Wu, Gang Li and Caroline Scarles |
Putting AI in the Group: Designing Human-AI Teams that Work Iis Tussyadiah, Bernadett Koles, Aarni Tuomi, Moritz Jörling and Hisashi Masuda | I love Travelling-in-Metaverse – Exploring the Characteristics of Destination Attachment in Metaverse Dr Vikas Arya, Bouchra Oukhayi and Dr Dahlia El-Manstrly | The Influence of Self-Congruity on Tourist Happiness: Mediating Role of Positive Emotions and Meaning Fatima Zehra Yilmaz, Dr Ibrahim Abosag and Prof Sameer Hosany | Has COVID-19 changed tourists’ behaviour? A critical evaluation of published studies Haiyan Song |
Online Travel Agencies in the U.S. hotel sector: An empirical investigation of their financial contribution Peter O'Connor | Recusing imperfect service robots: Effects of service robots’ personalized features on consumers’ continuance intention Mengying Zhang and Hongbo Liu | Examining the role of career anxiety on the cultivation of future talents Danni Wang and Dr Catherine Cheung |
|
Parallel session 6: 2pm - 3:30pm - continued
| Competitiveness & Business Policy 2 | Human Rights & Major Events 3 | Business & Policy 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Room: 39MS02; Moderator, Dr Frankie O’Connell | Room: 23AP02; Moderator, Dr James Kennell | Room: 80MS02; Moderator, Dr Yanning Li |
Tourism for the Common Good – a theoretical debate Anke Winchenbach and Markus Pillmayer | A Carnival of Fest: the -isation of society in an era of deglobalisation Jonathan Skinner | Tourism Transitions in Peripheral Regions Anna Kralj and Brent Moyle |
Do customer feedbacks affect the innovative behaviour of hotel staff? Weizheng Zhang and Bowen Yi | Memorable major sporting event experiences in a resource-scarce context: The case of Cameroon and the Africa Cup of Nations Siyabulela Nyikana and Tembi Tichaawa | Green Marketing on Social Media: How Attribute-Based vs Benefit-Based Framings Impact Young Consumers' Perceived Value of Eco-Friendly Restaurants Chompoonut Suttikun, Patcharaporn Mahasuweerachai and William Hamilton Bicksler |
The relationship between Tourism Governance and Competitiveness of the Destinations: The Structural Model Validation in Brazil Melise De Lima Pereira, Thayele Oliveira, Francisco Antonio dos Anjos and Thays Domareski Ruiz | Narrow body long haul aircraft; an interim solution or a permanent one? Pavlos Arvanitis and Alberto Amore | Hotel Service: the road along the SDGs Kyriaki Glyptou and Nikolaos Pappas |
Competitiveness of Medical Tourism Sustainable Supply Chain Dorsa Nouri Khajavi, Azizolah Jafari and Zahra Nadalipour |
| The value of making your neighbour angry: Evidence from a destination branding campaign Xiang Lin, Eva Hagsten and Martin Falk |
|
| Regenerative Tourism in a Post-Industrial Scotland: Policy and Research Sandro Carnicelli and Gayle McPherson |
Morning poster presentation
Early morning to before lunch.
| Title | Authors | Manuscript ID |
|---|---|---|
| Developing 360-degree stimuli for tourism VR research: a six-step procedure | Minh Nhan, Biqiang Liu, Anna Kralj, Brent Moyle | 7583 |
| Restaurants: to appear or not to appear in TV competition shows | Oriol Anguera-Torrell, Josep Maria Raya and Giovanni Giusti | 7584 |
| The perception of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by Tourism Higher Education students in a pandemic era | Maria del Pilar Leal Londono | 7619 |
| Is my city a competitive tourism destination? A residents’ perspective assessment | Rui Augusto da Costa and Adriana Fumi Chim-Miki | 8011 |
| Tourism and SDG 5: reflections on the nexus between gender and disability in the hospitality industry | Ngoni Courage Shereni | 8020 |
| Structural impact of reciprocal relations on international tourist flows in East Asia and Pacific: a complex network perspective | Chen Zhang and Bing Zuo | 8458 |
| PhD Student wellbeing and resilience in a post-pandemic era | Gabby Walters, Pierre Benckendorff and Antje Martins | 8085 |
| Whose sustainable events: reflections on Milano Cortina 2026 from the perspective of neighbourhoods and communities | Alberto Amore and Valeria Pecorelli | 8180 |
| Antecedents for pro-environmental behaviour spillover: promoting the potential use of chatbot for nudging | Gilang Maulana Majid, Iis Tussyadiah and Yoo Ri Kim | 8328 |
| The user experience and interaction in the tourism signage as key factors in the Smart Destinations | Ainhoa Carballido-Risco and Daniel Imbert-Bouchard | 9011 |
Afternoon poster presentation
After lunch before consensus session.
| Title | Authors | Manuscript ID |
|---|---|---|
| Exploring the antecedents and consequences of team customer-oriented perspective taking | Yun Dong and Alice Hon | 9108 |
| Sustainable aviation in the Caribbean: an assessment and future research direction | Dennis Mc Call Jr, Stephen Ison and Lucy Budd | 9120 |
| Adopting a gender-aware discourse to study social entrepreneurship in tourism: does it really empower women? | Suchi Smita Mahato, Dani Blasco and Lluis Prats | 9541 |
| The rise of destination stewardship | Jonathon Day | 9550 |
| Your view of working with 'Internet of Things' technologies | Virginia Emmanouil, Tracy Xu and Mark Ashton | 9580 |
| Tourism perceived image of linear cultural heritage – a case study on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in China | Yifan Huang and Li Tao | 9581 |
| Finding a tourism vocation through public policies: the development of tourism in Itajaí, a Brazilian coastal city, from 2000 to 2020 | Guilherme O. M. S. Flores, Francisco A. Anjos, Ricardo S. Vieira and Luiz C. S. Flores | 9642 |
| Tourism places going green: analysis of low-emission zones in Spanish urban destinations | Aitziber Pousa-Unanue, Francisco Femenia-Serra, Miren Aurkene Alzua-Sorzabal and Carlos Romero-Dexeus | 9875 |
SURREY2023 Ministerial Roundtable Discussion
The ministerial roundtable discussion will provide an opportunity for governments to share their perspectives, experiences, and best practices on how to promote inclusivity, resilience, and sustainability in the tourism industry. It will also serve as a platform for countries to showcase the innovative programs and initiatives they have implemented to address these issues. This is a unique opportunity to learn from one another and gather inspiration for new ideas and solutions to improve the global tourism industry.
Register to attend online here: SURREY2023 Ministerial Roundtable
Agenda (time in BST)
11:30. Setting the Context: Grand Challenges. Iis Tussyadiah, University of Surrey
11:45. Key Learnings from the Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI). Maksim Soshkin, World Economic Forum (WEF)
12:00. Introduction to Workstreams:
- Supporting people: flourishing talent and labour market
- Supporting the environment: climate actions and Net Zero target
- Supporting digital transformation: digital readiness and dexterity
Speakers:
- Eduardo Santander, European Travel Commission
- Susanne Kraus-Winkler, State Secretary for Tourism, Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy, Austria
- Ms Salinah Salleh, Acting Director of Tourism Development, Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, Brunei Darussalam
- Nia Niscaya, Deputy Minister for Strategic Policy, Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy, Indonesia
- Liisa Kokkarinen, Head of Sustainable Development, Visit Finland
13:00. Workstream channels open for discussion in online chat, in-person participants break for lunch.
14:00. The Surrey Good Bucket List: Global Agenda for Resilient Travel & Tourism. Professor Graham Miller, University of Surrey
14:30. Closing
Ministerial Roundtable: Speakers
Maksim Soshkin
Research and Analysis Specialist, Travel & Tourism, World Economic Forum
Biography
Maksim Soshkin is a Research and Analysis Specialist with the World Economic Forum, focusing on travel and tourism development. His current responsibilities include the Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index (https://lnkd.in/enWkjYZS), which measures the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable and resilient development of the Travel and Tourism sector. Maksim is also the co-author of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019 and related publications.
Prior to joining the Forum, he worked as a Lead for research firm IBISWorld, where he was responsible for the Canada and Global Industry Research Team. Before that, he held various analyst positions specializing in aerospace and defense as well as transportation sector research. Maksim holds a BBA in Finance from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, City University of New York.
Eduardo Santander
Executive Director of the European Travel Commission
Biography
Eduardo Santander is the Executive Director of the European Travel Commission, an association of NTOs created in 1948 to promote Europe as a tourism destination. In this role, Mr Santander steers ETC’s activities aimed at building the value of tourism for the countries of Europe through cooperation in sharing best practices, market intelligence and promotion. Mr Santander has over 18 years of experience in tourism-marketing, brand-development, business-consulting, advocacy and public affairs. He is a passionate advocate of freedom to travel, smart connectivity and sustainability in tourism and beyond.
State Secretary Susanne Kraus-Winkler
State Secretary for Tourism, Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy, Austria
Biography
Susanne Kraus-Winkler is a longstanding entrepreneur and industry representative in the Hospitality Industry with 40 years of practical experience in the hotel and restaurant business as well as in tourism consulting and academic lecturing. She is a founding partner of the LOISIUM Wine & Spa Resort Hotel Group, with the LOISIUM Wine World in one of Austrian’s leading wine regions, 2 wine & design hotels in Austria and 2 wine hotel projects in Champagne and Alsace / France. In addition she is a shareholder of several hotel management and tourism consulting companies such as Harry’s Home Hotel group and was Advisory board member of MRP-Hotels, a European Tourism consulting company in Europe.
Susanne Kraus-Winkler, has been a Member of HOTREC Executive Committee since 2004, Vice-President since 2010 and was President from 2015 to 2018 representing the European Hospitality industry at EU level. She held several further positions in the management board of tourism representations in Austria and at EU level and was member of the Austrian chapter of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, as well as President of the Austrian Professional Hotel Association within the Austrian Chamber of Commerce representing 16.000 hotels in Austria.
Salinah Salleh
ACTING DIRECTOR, TOURISM DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Biography
Salinah Salleh is the current Acting Director of the Tourism Development Department, Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism in Brunei Darussalam. With unwavering dedication and passion in promoting Brunei as a top tourist destination, Salinah has played a pivotal role in showcasing Brunei's rich cultural heritage, captivating natural landscapes, and warm hospitality to travellers from around the world.
She graduated with BSc (Hons) in International Hospitality and Tourism Management from the University of Surrey where soon after she embarked on her journey to make a significant impact in the hospitality and tourism industry.
Salinah's career in Hospitality and Tourism began in the United Kingdom, where she had completed an internship in 2001 as Sales Administrator at the Mayfair Intercontinental, London. There she quickly established herself as a dedicated professional with a keen eye for detail, organizing large conferences and acquiring new corporate accounts from major international companies that contributed to main revenue for the hotel. Later on, after graduating she was employed by the hotel and was promoted to Sales Executive at Crowne Plaza, Blackfrairs, London in 2003.
She later returned to Brunei Darussalam in 2006 and began her career as a Marketing Officer at the Tourism Development Department, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (now Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism). Throughout her career, she has held several leadership positions in the fields of communications, major events, media relations, marketing and capability development as well as representing Brunei Darussalam in meetings and conferences internationally.
Salinah has also led a strategic positioning to ensure that the destination continued its growth trajectory for arrivals, with Brunei Darussalam achieving its highest ever total air visitor arrivals in 2019 of 334,000 visitors. Through strategic collaborations with international travel agencies, media outlets, and industry stakeholders, she has successfully positioned Brunei as a must-visit destination for travellers seeking an authentic cultural experience and natural tranquility. She has been instrumental in bringing in a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) project to operate an ecolodge into Brunei Darussalam which is due to open in 2024.
For her outstanding service to the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, Salinah has been conferred a state decoration and an honorary medal; amongst them were The Most Blessed Order of Setia Negara Brunei 4th Class (P.S.B) in 2022 and Excellence Service Medal (‘Pingat Indah Kerja Baik’, P.I.K.B) IN 2018.
Beyond her professional achievements, Salinah is known for her warm and welcoming demeanor. She enjoys exploring local coffee shops, cooking, eating, and learning about other cultures.
Nia Niscaya
Deputy Minister for Strategic Policy, Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy, Indonesia
Biography
Nia Niscaya has been in civil service for 31 years at The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency, Republic of Indonesia. On March 7, 2022, she was officially inaugurated as Deputy for Strategic Policy in charge of strategic policy formulation, strategic management, and regulation of the tourism and creative economy.
Previously, Nia Niscaya was the Deputy for Marketing who played a role in activating marketing programs and promoting the tourism and creative economy in the country (domestic) and abroad (overseas).
She plays an important role in the formulation of integrated marketing programs, digitalization of marketing, conversion to expansion of the tourism and creative economy market.
After completing her degree in law at University of Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia, she went to pursue her Master Degree in University of England, New South Wales, Australia and earned an MBA in 1996.
In the international forums, among others, she held the position of The UNWTO Regional Chairman for East Asia and Pacific in 2018, and Vice president of General Assembly from East Asia and Pacific in The 23rd Session of the UNWTO General Assembly in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation in 2019. In 2019, she represented Indonesia to deliver Indonesian Tourism Update and Innovation in G20 Tourism Ministerial Meeting - Senior Official Meeting in Hakkaido, Japan.
Liisa Kokkarinen
Head of Sustainable Development, Visit Finland
Biography
Liisa Kokkarinen is Visit Finland's leading expert in sustainable development, and she is passionate about using tourism as a catalyst for better. Experienced and educated in Arctic matters and sustainable development, Liisa is always seeking solutions to decarbonise, reduce inequalities and ways to leave places better. Liisa firmly believes, that investing in climate action and sustainable tourism secures the long-term viability of the entire industry, creates profoundly positive impact, and ensures the continued happiness for everyone - now and in the future.
Professor Iis Tussyadiah
Dean of Surrey Business School
Biography
Iis Tussyadiah is Professor of Intelligent Systems in Service, Dean of Surrey Business School, and Fellow of the Surrey Institute for People-Centred Artificial Intelligence at University of Surrey.
Iis conducts research on digital transformation in the services sector, focusing on human-computer interaction, consumer behaviour, and management. She investigates the applications and implications of artificial intelligence and is an advocate of utilising technology to forge new pathways to a better future. Her current work covers human-AI teaming and the future of work, digital nudging, and the development of sociotechnical systems for sustainability transitions. She has received research funding from research councils, charity (e.g., Leverhulme Trust), and the industry. She was the Surrey PI for a 4-year £1.4M research project on data privacy in travel sector in 2018-2022 funded by EPSRC (PriVELT). She is a recipient of Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher in the field of Social Sciences in 2021 and 2022. Iis was awarded Honorary Doctorate in Business Studies by University of Eastern Finland in 2024.
Iis is a strong proponent of the transformative approach to education and research. This is reflected in the Surrey Business School's culture, Incubating Vibrant Futures 2024-2030, and previously the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM)'s Global Leadership Strategy 2021-2024. In 2022, SHTM rose to #2 in the world on the Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) 2022 for Hospitality & Tourism Management, and claimed its #1 position in the UK on the Complete University Guide Subject League Table 2023, 2024, and 2025 for Tourism, Transport, Travel and Heritage Studies.
Iis served as President (2018-2020) after previously being Vice President (2014-2017) of the International Federation for Information Technologies and Travel & Tourism (IFITT) and is a founding member of the Alliance for Innovators and Researchers in Tourism and Hospitality (AIRTH). Iis also served as a member of Advisory Group for World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2024 and TTDI 2021, a member of Advisory Group for Tourism Innovation Index 2024 with the Horizon Group and Saudi Tourism Authority (STA), part of the working group for World Travel & Tourism Council's Women Empowerment Initiative (2021), and a Non-Executive Director of Visit Surrey (2022-2024).
Prior to joining Surrey, Iis was Clinical Associate Professor in the School of Hospitality Business Management, Carson College of Business, Washington State University, USA. From 2008 to 2012, she was Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the National Laboratory for Tourism and eCommerce (NLTeC) at Temple University, USA. She obtained her PhD in Information Sciences from Tohoku University, one of the first imperial universities and among the few with 'Designated National University' status in Japan, where she received the GSIS Dean's Award for Excellent Achievements in Doctoral Studies in 2007.
Panellists
Richard has a background in hospitality, conference, events and retail catering that has spanned over 27 years and has held roles with many well-known and respected companies such as Corus Hotels, Hayley Conference Centres, First Venues and Allied Domecq.
He is currently the Managing Director of No Ordinary Hospitality Management, operators of Coombe Abbey Hotel and St Mary’s Guildhall to name a few. Prior to his appointment in 2018, Richard was Head of Hotels and Conference Centres at Warwick Conferences, based at the University of Warwick and oversaw four conference and hotel venues that welcomed over 100,000 business visitors a year.
During his time at Warwick Conferences, Richard led several multi-million-pound projects creating innovative spaces and services for business and events and gained a graduate diploma in applied management from Warwick Business School. He currently sits on the Destination Coventry Board and chairs the Visitor experience working group and has previously sat on the Council for the Meetings Industry Association (MIA). He has served as a board member of Venues of Excellence for seven years including a two-year term as Chair. In addition, Richard has undertaken work for the University of Limerick as part of a quality review of their retail and hospitality services and was a member of the International Association of Conference Centres (IACC) Global Education Project group.
Professor Peter A Jones has enjoyed a varied professional career, in a range of army, industry and higher education appointments.
He is a published academic and edited a number of academic and professional journals. He has chaired and been a member of professional and government bodies in the UK, Australia and Lithuania. His professional projects have included as the Project Director for the development of the Edge Hotel School, University of Essex.
He is currently Chair of the Professional Review Panel of the Institute of Hospitality, Chair of Gate College Academic Council (Nepal), Board Advisor of the International Association of Hotel Schools (EUHOFA), Academic Director of eHotelier, and a Trustee of the Savoy Educational Trust.
Professor Jones also Chairs Crumbs, a disability charity that provides hospitality education and training for adults with learning and mental health disabilities.
He was made Member of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to the hospitality industry
Dr Mike Katell is an Ethics Fellow in The Alan Turing Institute’s Public Policy Programme and a Visiting Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London. Dr Katell is an AI ethicist and technology policy expert who advises public sector organisations on their approach to data science and AI.
Naeema is a leading expert in future of work skills and transitions – including impact of AI, Diversity and Hybrid working. As Director of Future of Work, Diversity, and Careers in Henley Business School, University of Reading she set up the World of Work Institute where led The Equity Effect research project on Race Equity in UK businesses. Her wider research and consulting also include tech adoption and changing workplaces, GenZ and Four-Day Week. Naeema has written and spoken extensively for publications such as BBC Worklife, Forbes and People Management Magazine on transformations in workplaces. She has co-authored the book Futureproof Your Career: How to Lead and Succeed in a Changing World addressing these key issues; diversity, technologies and societal impacts, including the impact of the pandemic. She was named as one of the Ifpc-online Top 50 Worldwide Influencers on AI Ethics in and placed 11th in the Global Top Thinkers list by HR Magazine. She is also Principal Practitioner with the Association of Business Psychologists. Naeema is now an independent consultant working also as Director of AI at MKAI – an AI Consulting firm, with leaders in meeting these challenges ahead more effectively.
Gareth Winterton is CEO of a software company called Hospitality Digital Services or HDS as they are known. Based in the UK, HDS specialises in appless SaaS services for the hospitality industry. Gareth started HDS in 2019 after a career spanning 24 years in software development.
Gareth's company HDS launched the first appless mobile ordering platform. During Covid, HDS supported business across the UK. Allowing hotels, bars, and restaurants to trade using table service. This growth extended the core functionality to EPOS, compliance, and host of other hospitality-based services that forms the unique platform.
HDS specialises in providing their services into corporate business, private education, universities, and hotels. It operates across 7 countries and supports over 5000 users of their software.
Gareth also acts as a consultant to help organisations with their digital strategies and delivering their digital transformation plans.