Taylor’s University

Dr. Paolo Mura, who is originally from Italy, is one of the senior academics in the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts (HTCA) at Taylor's University. He was recently invited to be the International Keynote Speaker at the 1st International Forum in Leisure Education hosted by Xi'an Eurasia University at QuJiang International Convention Centre in Xi’an (China). Dr. Paolo’s presentation was on "Virtual Tourism, Authenticity and Sustainability" and focused on tourists’ perceptions of virtual tourism in relation to sustainability and authenticity.

The main theme of the conference was on Human Resources Development in Leisure and Hospitality Education, and the aim was to provide a platform to promote the international exchange of ideas from researchers and academics in this field. The sub-themes of the conference included (1) Trends in Leisure, Tourism, Hotel and Catering industry today; (2) Development of Managerial and Leadership Talents in Leisure industries; and (3) Development of Managerial and Leadership Talents in Foodservice industries. Other speakers at the conference included Prof. Higari, from Seibi University (Japan); Dr. Liu Cong Ren, from the Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism (Taiwan); and Mdm. Chen Xue Fen, from Marriott International (China). He attended the conference with his colleague Ms. Karen Ho. Dr. Paolo said that visiting Xi'an and seeing the terracotta soldiers had been a lifelong goal, adding that from a tourism perspective it was "my European ancestors from Italy who opened up communication between East and West some 700 years ago when the explorer Marco Polo first followed the Silk Road to Xi'an back in 1271". Dr. Paolo Mura was also the recent recipient of the Taylor's University Excellence in Research & Innovation Award. For more about the research in the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts click here.