From April 20 to 22, 2019, PhD students Leong Sio Wa, Sam vai in and Lei Mao Wa of the 2018 Doctor of Philosophy in International Tourism Management (English) program of the Faculty of International Tourism and Management of CityU participated in the 2nd Global Congress of Special Interest Tourism & Hospitality held in Taipei, Taiwan. Liang Shaohua's paper was awarded the "Best Paper" prize at the conference.

The Global Congress of Special Interest Tourism & Hospitality aims to explore niche tourism and hospitality issues, exchange perspectives

and develop new ideas in the field of the contemporary tourism and hospitality within the globalized environment. So far, two sessions have

been organized for conference, with the first one held in Japan in 2017. The second conference was organized by the University of the

Sunshine Coast, Australia and held at Ming Chuan University in Taipei, Taiwan. A total of 82 paper were submitted to the conference, and

participants were from 25 countries and regions around the world. The conference has specifically set up the "Best Paper" award this year,

and the awarded paper will be recommended to excellent international journals and may get published, which has attracted many scholars.

CityU has implemented the academic activity funding program for graduate students this year, aiming to encourage graduate students to

actively participate in academic activities and promote academic exchanges, so as to cultivate more scientific and rigorous academic thinking, and build stronger academic capabilities. With the funding provided by the program, the three PhD students Leong Sio Wa, Sam vai in and Lei Mao Wa actively participated in academic activities under the guidance of Prof. Ivan Lai. They have respectively published the academic

thesis entitled "Investigating the Relationship between Destination Image and Designation of Origin Brand Image: A Case Study of Tea

Tourism Destination", "Souvenir Literature: A Review and Research Agenda (1983-2018)" and "Actual Self-image versus Ideal Self-image:

An Exploratory Study of Self-Congruity Effects on Gambling Tourism" at the conference.

After the heated competition, the academic paper of Leong Sio Wa from CityU was awarded the "Best Paper" prize. The paper takes the

destination image and origin brand image in tea tourism as the research objects, subtly explores the topic from the blank spot in current

researches, employs the empirical research method and experimental method, and adopts mathematical models and PLS analysis tools to

verity the positive impact of the destination brand image on destination image and destination visit intention, which has greatly contributed

to the theoretical research of destination and the practice of tea tourism. This paper will be recommended to Tourism Management

Perspectives (SSG-listed) for further revision and a chance of publication. The improvement in the scientific research capabilities of FITM PhD students of CityU reflects the effective outcome of FITM's doctoral programs, demonstrates the professional competence of the instructors,

and illustrates the outstanding academic level of paper instructors.

The academic standards of this year's conference were very high. Participants have put forward many new ideas, perspectives and methods in the field of tourism research. With a strong academic atmosphere and rich academic achievements, this year's conference has greatly

broadened the academic perspectives of CityU's graduate students, improved their academic standards, consolidated their knowledge in the professional field, and paved the way for their further academic achievements in the future.