UTAR Faculty of Creative Industries (FCI) Head of Department of Mass Communication-cum-lecturer Kenneth Lee Tze Wui was invited to attend an International Fellowship Programme at Universitas Muhammadiyah Sidoarjo (UMSIDA), Indonesia on 5 July 2022.

Organised by the Faculty of Business, Law, and Social Science of UMSIDA, the main highlight of the fellowship programme was an international seminar titled “The Role of Media and The Resurgence of Tourism After the Pandemic”.

Representing UTAR, Lee was one of the two international visiting fellows and speakers invited to the fellowship programme; the other speaker was Dr Anurat Anantanatorn from Burapha University of Thailand.

Also speaking at the seminar were Wisnu Panggah Setiyono, the Dean of the Faculty of Business, Law, and Social Science of UMSIDA, as well as Ahmad Riyadh UB, a prominent and respected figure in Sidoarjo.  Ahmad is a lawyer, author, and lecturer at the Department of Public Administration of UMSIDA. The moderator was the Vice Dean of Faculty of Business, Law, and Social Science, Poppy Febriana.

Lee’s topic was titled “Role of Social Media in Tourism Marketing”. In his talk, he said, “The Internet and social media are closely related to the tourism sector. Traditionally, tourism has relied heavily on word-of-mouth marketing. With the growth of social media, word-of-mouth information has gone beyond small physical groups to the entire population online. Social media connects travellers to the experiences and suggestions or recommendations of millions of netizens.” He explained that social media has become one of the strongest elements of competition and tourism organisations have started utilising social media to implement their marketing and communication strategies.

Attended by about 450 participants, the international seminar was conducted in the hybrid mode for participants from Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. The fellowship programme also included a discussion on possible student exchange and collaborative research between UTAR, UMSIDA, and Burapha Universiti.

Lee is now working closely with UMSIDA towards signing a Memorandum of Understanding.