The Strength of the Industry during the Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on the hospitality and tourism industry, but academic organizations and industry leaders have come up with innovative ways to assist others during this crisis. Universities, hotels, and convention centers have had unique resources utilized to ease issues realted to the pandemic, such as providing accommodations for health care professionals not able to return home or to provide free educational opportunities for newly laid off employees.

Sense or Sensibility? Different Approaches to Cope With the COVID-19 Pandemic

The paper qualitatively infers which factors allow public administrations to be quick when an emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, occurs. For this purpose we analyze the same type of intervention (i.e. conversion of convention centers into makeshift hospitals for coronavirus patients) in two different geographical settings (i.e. New York (USA) and Milan (Italy)) and we trace the two processes on the basis of a systematic analysis of national newspaper articles. The comparative analysis reveals that there is no one single best way to manage emergencies successfully, and it sheds light on which conditions might drive different modes of intervention from the public sector in emergencies and beyond.

A Study on the Complementary Direction of Guidelines for Developing Green Conventions in Korea: Using Comparative Analysis among Domestic and Overseas Cases

As interests in sustainability have been increasing and discussions of environmental issues are ongoing globally, the MICE industry (Meeting, Incentive Travel, Convention, and Exhibition), which is attracting attention as a high value-added industry, also became an important part of the sustainability domain. Consequently, there has been a rise in hosting ‘green conventions’, or ‘green MICE’ which are designed to minimize all the negative impacts on the environment such as energy and water consumption. At some point, a large number of studies had been conducted for the development of green conventions, but most of them mainly used empirical methods. Although the Ministry of Environment has presented guidelines and some domestic exhibition convention centers have implemented strategies, they are not enough compared to overseas countries. This study aims to examine the latest guidelines to supplement the guidelines of Korea’s green convention. In this regard, the study will use a comparative analysis method among the current guidelines of convention centers in Australia (Sydney), Canada (Vancouver), and the U.S.A (Detroit and San Francisco) and draw up complementary directions. As a result, we could draw out common items in the facility management and event planning and operation section. Some items were similar in all convention centers, but others were included in the guidelines of few centers only. This research is sure to be the academic background for developing related practices and standards for the future green convention in Korea. In addition, this study will have value in terms of investigating sustainable management in the convention industry as the importance of sustainability in the tourism industry emerges.

Research Roundup: Child Development Conference Has a Lot to Say

American Library Association conferences involve a lot of walking since sessions are presented in numerous venues in huge convention centers and surrounding hotels. Even the exhibits are massive! Because of this, librarians are often distinguished from local residents by the comfortable shoes they are wearing. At the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) conference earlier this year, however, attendees could also be recognized by the portable poster holders slung over their shoulders.