CONFERENCE REPORT: THE SECOND TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE (THIC 2014) (Holiday Villa Beach Resort and Spa Langkawi, 5 May 2014)

In the morning of 5 May 2014, over sixty people took their seats in the cosy conference hall of the Holiday Villa Beach Resort and Spa Langkawi, to witness the opening ceremony of the THIC 2014 on the theme: Dimensions of Sustainability in the Planning, Development and Management of Tourism and Hospitality Industry. The Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, Rashidi Hasbullah, officiated at the ceremony and joined the conference Chair Dr. Shaharuddin Tahir in welcoming participants from over a dozen countries, mostly Malaysians, Indonesians and Thais, who were also collaborators in organising the meeting. As a display of regional fraternity, the Thai and Malaysian contingents took turns to entertain attendees with a repertoire of traditional dances. This social warm up was to be continued in the evening when UUM Dean of Tourism and Hospitality, Dr. Basri Rashid, played host at a dinner given by the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA).