Higher Education Students’ Perceptions towards Future Tourism in Hong Kong

Tourism is one of the four pillar industries in Hong Kong. Due to COVID-19, the consumption pattern of travel, especially for young generations, has been changed. COVID-19 has transformed the future development of tourism (e.g. sustainable tourism, AI in tourism, smart tourism, etc). In order to better understand the young generations’ perceptions towards future tourism, this study aims to gain an in-depth understanding regarding the trend, and future development of tourism in Hong Kong from higher education students’ perspectives using a qualitative approach. Four focus groups (from the higher education sector) were conducted. Students attended a 1-hour lecture on the topic of “future tourism towards sustainability” and then being invited to join the focus group. Themes were emerged from the focus groups in terms of (1) digital technology (2) AI in smart tourism, (3) eco-tourism and (4) culinary tourism. A conceptual framework and a questionnaire were developed based on the focus group findings. The developed questionnaire from the findings will be prepared for collecting data in a cross-sectional study. This study will assist the educator sector of developing or modifying its existing tourism curriculum for higher education students.