The 8th Philippine Research Conference on Tourism and Hospitality (PRCTH), with the theme “Tourism and Hospitality Towards Transformative Sustainability,” was held on 13-14 November 2025 at UP Tacloban College. The PRCTH is an annual conference organized by the UP Asian Institute of Tourism (AIT) and the UP Diliman Department of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management (DHRIM).

 

The keynote speakers at the two-day conference included Dr. Brent Lovelock of the University of Otago, who spoke about sustainable tourism growth; Dr. Honggang Xu of Sun Yat-sen University, who talked about collaborative tourism education; Dr. Priyanko Guchait of the University of Houston, who discussed AI-driven hospitality resource management; Dr. Bartolome Deya Tortella of the University of the Balearic Islands who talked about hotel water sustainability; and Dr. Benjamin W.L. Derhy of the CY Cergy Paris Universite who led the concluding panel discussion on transformative tourism.

 

During the parallel sessions, local and international scholars presented their research on a range of topics, including community development, cultural heritage, market strategy, specialized markets, and use of technology.

 

Around 130 faculty members and program administrators, tourism officers, industry practitioners, and graduate and undergraduate students attended the conference.