Macao University of Tourism Partners with Tencent Smart Tourism to Explore New AI Driven Opportunities for the Hospitality and Tourism Industry

MACAU, April 22 - On April 15, the Macao University of Tourism (UTM) and Tencent Smart Tourism co‑hosted the Hospitality and Tourism Industry AI Seminar at Tencent’s Binhai Building in Shenzhen.  The event brought together faculty members of UTM, representatives from Macao’s integrated resorts, and technology experts of Tencent for in‑depth discussions on the latest trends and best practices of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the hotel and tourism sectors, exploring new pathways for the development of Macao’s hospitality and tourism industry.

In his welcome remarks, Mr. Fang Tai, Business General Manager of Tencent Smart Tourism, noted that rapid technological advancement is profoundly reshaping the landscape of the culture and tourism industry. He expressed his hope that the seminar would serve as a platform for Tencent, UTM, and industry partners to jointly explore the vast potential of AI in empowering the hospitality and tourism industry.

The seminar focused on emerging trends in AI development.  Tencent Academy Expert Instructor, Mr. Fu Haobo, delivered a keynote presentation titled The Wave of LLMs: Progress and Trends in Generative AI and Its Application, showing the evolution of large language model technologies and their future applications across different industries, while sharing the latest developments in generative AI.

This was followed by presentations from Mr. Yang Haichuan, Vertical Solution Head of Tencent Smart Tourism, and Mr. Gilbert Ling, Senior Technical Architect of Tencent Smart Tourism, who provided a comprehensive overview of Tencent’s AI strategic plans in hotel and tourism scenarios.  Through case studies, they illustrated how smart hospitality and tourism solutions can help industry players enhance quality and efficiency across multiple application areas, including intelligent customer service, personalised recommendations, and operational management optimisation.

The event concluded with breakout discussions and a Q&A session, enabling participants to engage directly with Tencent’s technical teams.  Participants exchanged views and explored practical, actionable solutions tailored to the specific challenges and needs they face in their respective digital and intelligent transformation journeys.

As a higher education institution dedicated to cultivating professional talent in tourism and hotel management, UTM has long been committed to promoting industry–academia–research collaboration. The successful hosting of this seminar introduces cutting‑edge AI concepts and practical experience into Macao’s hospitality and tourism sector, contributing to the city’s vision of becoming a world‑class tourism and leisure centre.