The UP Asian Center co-hosted the inaugural International Symposium on Cultural Tourism and Heritage Studies (ISCTHS) on March 6-10, 2024, at The Evitel Resort Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. This symposium is in collaboration with the University of the Philippines Manila - Museum of a History of Ideas, Springer, The Faura Project, and the Bunga Artslink Multimedia Production.

Organized for scholars, practitioners, and stakeholders, ISCTHS sought to explore the dynamics of culture, heritage, and tourism. A total of nineteen (19) research papers and case studies were presented under six (6) different panels on cultural heritage encompassing tourism experiences in Southeast Asia.

The symposium was graced by the presence of Maria Belen S. Acosta, the  Secretary of the Mindanao Development Authority and the current Philippine Signing Minister of the Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), who delivered the keynote speech on the first day of the plenary sessions. Secretary Acosta presented the mandate of the Mindanao Development Authority as well as the programs of the BIMP-EAGA towards sustainable tourism development. Through her keynote speech, Secretary Acosta sparked the discourse on the Mindanao peace and development agenda that can open up opportunities through partnerships with the private sector and local communities.

As culmination to the plenary sessions, Ms. Leijh Hanne Y. Alianza and Dr. Cathe Desiree S. Nadal were recognized as the winners of the Springer Book Prize for Best Paper for their study, “In Recto-spect: Investigating the Present Landscape Character and Public Perception of the Recto-Avenida-Carriedo Strip.” 

In their study, Alianza and Nadal used Landscape Character Assessment tools such as the Environmental Sensitivity and Preference (ESP) and Landscape Preference and Perception Surveys (LPPS) to identify preferences and highlight the historical, cultural, commercial, and transportation significance of the subject areas. Ultimately, their research produced a virtual memoryscape toolkit called Calsada, a mobile application which uses augmented reality to highlight the intersection of landscape planning, digital heritage interpretation, and the past and present landscape character of the sites. The winning authors received 200 EUR worth of book vouchers from Springer. 

To further enrich the experience of plenary speakers and participants, the plenary sessions were followed by study tours in known culture and heritage spots in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia such as the Batuan temple, Tegalalang rice terraces, coffee plantations, sterling silver and batik workshops, and art village and galleries, among others. The study tours were a key component of the symposium as this activity allowed participants to learn more about the tourism plan in Bali, Indonesia and appreciate better the involvement and contribution of locals in the tourism industry.

The Book Prize for Best Paper is sponsored by Springer. The Best Paper was selected based on the following criteria: (a) innovation and contribution to the advancement of the field; (b) clarity and appropriateness of research design, data collection techniques, and analysis methods; (c) Relevance within the existing literature and applicability in the ongoing discourse in cultural tourism and heritage studies; and (d) overall coherence and style of the manuscript. 

The conference was organized by the Asian Center Museum of UP Diliman, Museum of a History of Ideas of the UP Manila, Springer, The Faura Project, and Bunga Artslink Media Production.

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PLENARY SESSIONS

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The Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The UP Asian Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. It also offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. As an area studies institution, the Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website. For other news and upcoming events at the Asian Center, click here.