On the afternoon of April 11, 2025, Associate Professor Lisa C. Wan, Co-Director of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Business School of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), was invited by the Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management Programme of the School of Culture and Creativity. She delivered a special seminar titled " Sustainable Tourism: Promoting Green Practices Among Tourists and Hospitality Businesses " in Classroom CC302.

Starting from the definition of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Professor Lisa C. Wan, in combination with the research findings of her team, deeply analyzed the challenges and opportunities of sustainable tourism. She pointed out that the psychological distance between tourists and local residents is a key factor leading to behaviors such as food waste and excessive water consumption. In addition, she emphasized that consumers with high "face concern" (a strong concern for social image) are more inclined to choose green hotels.

In response to the pain points of the industry, Professor Lisa C. Wan proposed multi-dimensional solutions. She emphasized enhancing the psychological closeness between tourists and local residents to promote tourists' environmental protection behaviors. At the same time, the tourism industry should step up behavior guidance and publicize the impacts of improper behavior. As for hotels and tourism enterprises, the Hotel Sustainability Index should be introduced. In addition, Prof. Wan also shared a HK$3 million government project on sustainable village tourism. She stressed that academic research needs to be combined with industrial practice. Moreover, she called on students to integrate their personal interests into academic exploration and career planning, so as to contribute to the future development of the industry.

Towards the end of the seminar, Professor Lisa C. Wan elaborated on CUHK's one-year full-time Master of Science in Real Estate (MRE) program. The content covered key information such as program overview, admission criteria, real estate industry status, and post-graduation career paths. Application timelines and relevant channels were also shared, offering valuable information for students considering further studies.

This seminar integrated academic depth with practical insights, providing new ideas for the tourism industry's green transformation. Professor Wan's extensive research findings and vivid case studies made the complex topic of sustainable tourism accessible and compelling. Students listened attentively and participated actively in a lively Q&A session.

Professor Lisa C. Wan is currently an Associate Professor at the Business School of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Co-Director of the Center for Hospitality and Real Estate Research. Her research areas cover sustainable tourism, service marketing, consumer behavior, etc. Her research achievements have been published in top-tier journals such as the Journal of Consumer Research and Tourism Management. She also serves as an Associate Editor of the Annals of Tourism Research and editorial member of Tourism Management.

Text: Weilu Wang

Photos: Hairui Wang, Weilu Wang