Professor Haiyan Song is Mr and Mrs Chan Chak Fu Professor in International Tourism and Director of the Research Centre for Digital Transformation of Tourism in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Professor Haiyan Song has a strong background in Economics. His research focuses on tourism economics with a particular focus on tourism demand modeling and forecasting, tourism supply chain management, tourist satisfaction, and wine economics. Over the years, Professor Song has played significant roles in a number of international consultancy and collaborative projects, covering tourist satisfaction and service quality indices, Asia Pacific visitor forecasts, web-based tourism demand forecasting system, which have considerable impacts on destination management. Professor Song has written extensively on tourism economics, Chinese economy in transition, digital transformation of tourism and tourism demand forecasting methodologies. Many of his work has appeared in such academic journals as Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Management, Journal of Travel Research, Journal of Development Economics, International Journal of Forecasting and Economic Modelling.

Professor Song is an elected Fellow of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism (IAST), International Association for China Tourism Studies (IACTS) and the Chinese Economic Association in the UK/Europe (CEA UK/Europe). The honors he received include the John Wiley & Sons Lifetime Research Achievement Award and Lifetime Research Achievement Award by the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (ICHRIE) in 2010 and 2023, respectively, He is also a recipient of the Michael D. Olsen Research Achievement Award by University of Delaware in 2014.

Professor Hyun-kyu Lee is a Professor in the Department of Business Administration at Pukyong National University, Republic of Korea. He received his PhD in Business Administration from Yonsei University. His professional experience includes working with the eBC Team at Arthur Andersen and serving on the Public Institution Innovation Consulting Group.

His main research interests include management information systems strategy, big data analysis and utilisation, and digital finance. He teaches Information Systems Strategy, Technology Management, and Business Communication. In February 2024, Professor Lee was appointed the inaugural President of the Korea Digital Finance Promotion Agency, a private organisation dedicated to advancing the digital finance industry and supporting its sustainable development.

Professor Chulmo Koo is a distinguished scholar at the College of Hotel and Tourism Management, Kyung Hee University, specializing in the field of smart tourism. His research covers a wide range of cutting-edge topics including virtual and augmented reality applications in tourism, metaverse-based experiences, ICT-driven service innovation, online review analytics, and the socio-spatial implications of smart tourism cities. Professor Koo has published extensively in leading international journals (SSCI/SCOPUS indexed), contributing valuable insights that bridge academic theory with industry practice.

Beyond his scholarly achievements, Professor Koo serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Smart Tourism (JST), a premier international journal dedicated to advancing knowledge in smart technologies and their applications in tourism. Through this role, he plays a pivotal part in shaping the global research agenda and fostering scholarly exchange in the rapidly evolving domain of smart tourism. His leadership in both academia and editorial stewardship highlights his commitment to advancing innovation, interdisciplinary dialogue, and the sustainable development of the tourism industry.

Namho Chung is a Professor in the Smart Tourism Education Platform and the Director of the Smart Tourism Research Center at Kyung Hee University, South Korea. He has led BK21 FOUR and national smart tourism research projects for over a decade and was inducted into Kyung Hee University’s Hall of Fame in recognition of his academic achievements. In 2025, he was selected as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (HCR), acknowledging his significant and sustained impact in the field of tourism and hospitality research.

Professor Kee-heon Kim is a Professor in the Department of Tourism and Convention at Youngsan University, Republic of Korea. He has more than 36 years of experience with the Korea Tourism Organization, where he served as Head of the Gyeongsang Province Headquarters, Head of the MICE Bureau, Head of the Overseas Marketing Office, Head of the Tourism Information Office, Head of the Tourism Business Office, and Head of the Malaysia Branch. He also served as the inaugural Director of the Busan Tourism Business Support Centre and as a Director at the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Professor Kim currently serves on the Busan City Local Currency Policy Committee and the Busan MICE Small and Medium Business Consulting Committee. He is also an Advisory Committee Member for MICE and Wellness Tourism at the Korea Tourism Organization, Vice-President of the Tourism MICE Society, and a tourism adviser to Busanjin-gu and Yeongdo-gu in Busan. His professional interests include tourism policy, MICE, destination marketing, tourism venture development, and sustainable regional tourism. He is a recipient of a Presidential Commendation and a Commendation from the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Jong Hwa Lee is an Associate Professor in the Department of e-Business, College of Commerce and Economics, at Dong-eui University in Busan, South Korea, where he also serves as Director of the Data Future Value Research Institute. He earned his Ph.D. in Business Administration with a specialization in Management Information Systems (MIS) from Pukyong National University. His research focuses on the application of artificial intelligence and deep learning to management and service domains, the use of generative AI (ChatGPT/GPT), text mining, topic modeling, and network analysis, and data-driven decision-making.

His recent work actively integrates generative AI with data analytics, including deep learning–based floating-population analysis, an explainable GPT-based stock investment analysis system, and the automation of topic modeling through prompt engineering. He has also authored a book on generative AI prompt engineering and topic modeling, helping translate his research into educational and practical settings.

Dr. Lee serves as an editorial board member and standing director of the Korea Association of Information Systems (KAIS) and the Korea Internet e-Commerce Association, and is a lifetime member of several leading academic societies, including the Korea Society of Industrial Information Systems, the Korea Society of Management Information Systems, the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration, the Knowledge Management Society of Korea, and the Korean Society of Management Consulting. He also chairs the Junior Scholars network for the Busan–Gyeongnam–Ulsan region, contributing to the vitalization of regional research networks and the development of next-generation scholars.