Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Forum on Study Tour Innovation and Collaborative Development Held at City University of Macau

The "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Forum on Study Tour Innovation and Collaborative Development," jointly organized by the International Training and Testing Center of City University of Macau and the Macao Research Study Tour and Exchange Association, was recently held at the Ho Yin Conference Center on the Taipa campus of City University of Macau. The forum aimed to bring together experts, scholars, and industry representatives from the study tour sectors of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao to explore how to strengthen regional collaboration and resource sharing, promoting innovation and development in study tours across the Greater Bay Area.

Head of Organizational Planning and Development Department of MGTO, Sarah Ma pointed out that the beginner-level Study Tour Instructor course launched jointly by CityU Macau’s International Training and Testing Center, the Macao Research Study Tour and Exchange Association, and the Guangdong Study Travel Association has laid a solid foundation for the coordinated development of study tour education in Macao and the Greater Bay Area. In recent years, the Tourism Office has promoted the use of Macao’s resources in the study tour sector through systematic research, forums, product innovation competitions, and cross-departmental and regional collaboration, fostering the integration of "tourism + education." It is hoped that future efforts will continue to promote study tours and Macao’s economic diversification, creating more possibilities.

Vice Rector Kui Peng IP of City University of Macau stated that as a comprehensive university, CityU actively expands collaborative study tour education in the Greater Bay Area by leveraging its rich academic resources and interdisciplinary strengths. Against this backdrop, the International Training and Testing Center collaborates with study tour institutions and associations in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao to integrate resources and develop distinctive study tour programs. The first Study Tour Instructor course in Macao, jointly organized with the Macao Research Study Tour and Exchange Association, and the Guangdong Study Travel Association, aims to promote professional talent cultivation and curriculum innovation. It is hoped that the forum will further drive innovation in study tour education, deepen educational collaboration in the Greater Bay Area, and gradually build a study tour education ecosystem across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao.

The forum focused on "collaborative cooperation in study tours in the Greater Bay Area, sharing successful experiences and innovative models, and building an efficient study tour ecosystem." Through keynote speeches and thematic sharing, a platform for sharing study tour resources was established. In the keynote speech session, Executive Associate Dean Xi  LI spoke on "Study Tour Resources and the Diversified Development of Study Tour Tourism," highlighting how to explore Macau’s study tour tourism resources from different perspectives, establish a resource database, and develop strategies and pathways for building a Macau study tour tourism center. Assocaite Professor Tang, representative of the Guangdong Study Travel Association, delivered a speech titled "From Travel to Tourism: The Changes and Constants of Study Tours," discussing the differences between study travel and study tourism, the empowerment of digital technology, the deep integration of "study" and "learning," and the sustainable development of study tours.

During the thematic sharing session, guest speakers discussed the development strategies and future directions of study tours in the Greater Bay Area from multiple dimensions, including resource integration, digital technology application, industry-academia-research integration, innovative practices, and cross-border cooperation.

List of Guest Speakers:

• Mr. ZhenPeng WANG

• Ms. Doris WU

• Mr. Kwok Chu LEUNG

• Dr. Ting MENG, Student YuTao YAN & Pei YAN

• Mr. Man Chong SIT

Finally, Associate Professor Iok Teng KOU, Program Director of Faculty of International Tourism and Managementat City University of Macau, summarized the forum’s core topics. She emphasized the importance and future direction of study tour cooperation in the Greater Bay Area, noting that deepening regional collaboration and resource sharing, combined with innovative technologies and diverse cultural resources, can effectively promote the sustainable development of study tours and build a more influential study tour brand.

At the same event, the first cohort of CityU’s Study Tour Instructor (Beginner Level) certification ceremony was held. Chairman of the Macao Research anf Study Tour Exchange Association, Mr. Wan presented certificates to representatives of the students. The participants noted that the course innovatively adopted a blended teaching model of "online theory + field practice," systematically constructing a training system of "knowledge transmission – experience transformation – cross-domain assessment." This approach not only strengthened professional foundations but also promoted the integration of Greater Bay Area study tour standards, laying a solid professional foundation for study tour instructors.

Chairman of the Macao Research anf Study Tour Exchange Association, Mr. Wan representing the organizers, stated that the jointly launched "Professional Certification Course for Study Tour Instructors"  not only opens new career development pathways of "professional certification + employment and entrepreneurship" for local youth but also aims to cultivate study tour industry professionals with international perspectives.