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About

8TH IHTC & ICCFBT 2026

Reimagining Hospitality, Tourism and Creative Lifestyle Industries for the Next Decade: Innovation, Culture and Sustainable Value Creation

Conference Overview

 

IHTC 2026 & ICCFBT 2026 are joint conferences designed to bring together academics, researchers, industry practitioners, policymakers, and postgraduate students to share cutting-edge research, industry innovations, and emerging global trends across the hospitality, tourism, culinary, fashion, beauty, and creative lifestyle sectors. The conferences will be held in a hybrid format on 8th - 9th October 2026, allowing both in-person and virtual participation to enhance global accessibility, knowledge exchange, and international collaboration. They aim to foster interdisciplinary collaboration while promoting sustainable development, cultural preservation, digital transformation, and inclusive community empowerment within both ASEAN and global contexts.

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Conference Objectives

  • Provide an international platform for knowledge sharing and research dissemination.

  • Strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration between hospitality and creative industries.

  • Promote sustainable and culturally responsible tourism development.

  • Encourage industry innovation through people, technology and experience value.

  • Expand global accessibility through hybrid conference engagement.
    Strengthen ASEAN and global research networking.

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Who Should Participate

  • Academics and Researchers

  • Industry Practitioners

  • Tourism and Creative Industry Professionals

  • Policymakers and Government Agencies

  • Postgraduate Students

*Participants may choose either Physical Presentation or Virtual Presentation

----> Click here to visit Call for Papers Page

Call for Papers

Academicians, researchers, post-graduate students, as well as practitioners are invited to present their research under the conference tracks below, as well as other relevant disciplines, where its applications are relevant to the area of hospitality, tourism, events and other tourism-related sub-sectors. 

Conference Tracks

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Track 1: Hospitality, Tourism and Experience Management

  • Hospitality and tourism strategic management

  • Destination competitiveness and tourism development

  • Service quality, innovation and performance management

  • MICE, events and sport tourism

  • Tourism marketing and branding

  • Experience economy and customer experience design

  • Crisis and risk management
     

Track 2: Sustainable, Heritage and Community-Based Tourism Development

  • Sustainable and responsible tourism practices

  • Cultural and heritage tourism preservation

  • Community-based and inclusive tourism development

  • Indigenous tourism and social entrepreneurship

  • Regenerative tourism

  • Corporate social responsibility
     

Track 3: Gastronomy, Culinary Heritage, Fashion, Beauty and Creative Lifestyle Industries

  • Gastronomy tourism and food experience innovation

  • Culinary heritage and food culture preservation

  • Sustainable food systems and food innovation

  • Fashion tourism and cultural identity

  • Beauty, wellness and medical tourism

  • Creative lifestyle industries and tourism integration

  • Cultural and lifestyle consumer behaviour
     

Track 4: Digital Transformation, Smart Tourism and Innovation Technologies

  • Artificial intelligence and automation in tourism

  • Smart tourism and smart destination development

  • Big data analytics and business intelligence

  • Digital marketing and social media influence

  • Virtual and immersive tourism technologies

  • E-tourism and digital customer engagement
     

Track 5: Education, Workforce Development, Policy and Industry Transformation

  • Hospitality and tourism education innovation

  • Experiential learning and digital pedagogy

  • Workforce transformation and future-ready competencies

  • Industry-academia collaboration

  • Tourism policy, governance and planning

  • Tourism economics and business analytics

Leadership and talent sustainability

Submission Categories

We invite submissions in the following categories:

  • Full Research Papers

  • Conceptual Papers

  • Case Studies

  • Industry Practice Papers

  • Postgraduate Research Papers

Publication

All accepted papers will be published in journals indexed in DOAJ, MyCite, or ERA. Outstanding papers will be considered for publication in a Scopus-indexed journal, subject to an additional publication fee and proofreading fees (if applicable). 

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Conference Highlights

  • Prominent Keynote Speakers

  • Hybrid Parallel Research Presentation Sessions

  • Global Networking Opportunities

  • Best Paper & Best Presenter Awards

  • Cultural and Heritage Experience Programme

Venue

Universitas Negeri Padang

Address: Jl. Prof. Dr. Hamka, Air Tawar Bar., Kec. Padang Utara, Kota Padang, Sumatera Barat 25171, Indonesia.

Phone: +62 751 7053902

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The conference welcomes interdisciplinary research that bridges hospitality, tourism, culinary arts, fashion, beauty, wellness and creative lifestyle industries. Contributions aligned with the conference theme are strongly encouraged.

Click here to view our past conferences​

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