(Correspondent Wang Shan) In order to commemorate the 40th anniversary of tourism education in Nankai University and open a new chapter of tourism education development in the new era, the launching ceremony of the 40-year series of activities of Nankai Tourism Education and the founding meeting of Nankai Tourism Education Development Industry Advisory Committee will be held in the College of Tourism and Service Management on May 29, 2021.

Li Yidan, deputy secretary of the Party committee and secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the university, Professor Bao Jigang, president of the Education Branch of China Tourism Association, Duan Dongdong, executive president of China Cultural Tourism Group Limited and President of China Cultural Tourism Investment Group Co., Ltd., Zuo Jian, chairman and Party secretary of Tianjin Tourism (Holding) Co., Ltd., Zhu Mingsheng, vice president of New Century Hotels & Resorts, Wu Jian, CEO and co-founder of Tongcheng Holdings Co., Ltd., Wang Chunfeng, vice president of UTour Group Co., Ltd., Zu Guojian, deputy general manager of Beijing North Star Times Events Co.,Ltd., Li Guang, director of legal department of China CYTS Tours Holding Co.,Ltd., and Wu Kai, administrative assistant general manager of Tianjin OCT Urban Construction Development Co., Ltd., attended the ceremony.

At the meeting, Li Yidan, secretary of the university, expressed his gratitude on behalf of the university for the support of tourism-related industries and experts to Nankai University, especially to Nankai tourism education, and introduced the path and purpose of Nankai University for 100 years, reviewed the development of tourism and Nankai tourism discipline. He pointed out that he expected the College of Tourism and Services Management to continue to build on the strengths of Nankai University's disciplines, follow the international trends in tourism research and practice, establish the disciplinary characteristics of multi-disciplinary development, disciplinary synergy, industrial collaboration, internationalization, informationization and digitalization, focus on the national rural revitalization strategy, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cooperative development strategy and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area strategy, and achieve high-quality and leap-forward development from a new starting point.

At the meeting, Li Yidan pointed out that, as the first weighty work to start the 40-year commemoration of Nankai tourism, it is very meaningful to set up Nankai Tourism Education Development Industry Advisory Committee. In the new period, Nankai tourism education is at a new development intersection, therefore needs to stand at the height of nurturing people for the party, nurture talents for the country and national tourism strategic development, plan the goal, positioning, ways and methods of tourism education development in the new era, and systematically promote the high-quality and connotative development of Nankai tourism education in the new period with higher standards. To this end, the College of Tourism and Services Management decided to set up an industry advisory committee, hoping that with the power of senior experts, scholars and leaders in tourism-related industries, the College will make suggestions for the new development stage, build up a more scientific and effective development idea, form a consensus on cultivating higher quality talents for the development of national tourism disciplines and tourism industry, and climb the peak of discipline development and talent training again.

At the meeting, the party and government officials of the College of Tourism and Services Management introduced the preparations for the establishment of Nankai Tourism Education Development Industry Advisory Committee and the work plan arrangement of Nankai Tourism Education 40 years series activities.

The first batch of a total of 22 industry senior experts and scholars from industry authorities, research institutes, domestic and international association organizations, tourism and related enterprises accepted the appointment of the College of Tourism and Services Management. At the meeting, secretary Li Yidan and the person in charge of the College of Tourism and Services Management jointly issued the appointment letters for the members of the Committee.

In the first meeting of Nankai Tourism Education Development Industry Advisory Committee held afterwards, members of the party and government leadership team of the College of Tourism and Service Management, leaders of undergraduate, graduate and MTA education programs and members of the Industry Advisory Committee carried out in-depth communication and discussion around "high-quality development of tourism education in Nankai in the new era".

Nankai Tourism Education was founded in 1981, and is the first university to provide tourism higher education among the comprehensive institutions of higher education directly under the Ministry of Education, commissioned and funded by the former National Tourism Administration of China, and the first batch of units to confer Master and Doctoral degrees of tourism management major in China, as well as the secretariat of the National Steering Committee of Master of Tourism Administration (MTA) Education. On May 14, 2010, according to the strategic cooperation agreement between China National Tourism Administration and Nankai University, China Tourism Management Cadre College was transferred to Nankai University to establish the College of Tourism and Service Management. At present, the college has two national first-class undergraduate major construction points in Tourism Management and Convention and Exhibition Economy and Management, Provincial and Ministerial Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Tourism Development, China Tourism Market and Destination Marketing Research Center, Tourism Interdisciplinary Research Center, Cultural Tourism Rural Revitalization Research Center, Institute of Territorial Tourism, National Red Tourism Innovation Development Research Base and several important research platforms. This year, for the first time, the tourism management discipline of the college entered the Soft Science World Class Discipline Ranking, ranking in the 51-75 range among more than 300 universities worldwide in the tourism and leisure management discipline, and ranking among the top five universities in China.