Professor Bao Jigang requires little introduction to those interested in the development of tourism in China. He holds concurrent positions as a member of the Discipline Appraisal Group of the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council, a fellow of International Academy for the Study of Tourism, a member of the Expert Committee of World Tourism Organization, and Vice-Chairman of the Geographical Society of China. He is also a consultant for the Shaanxi & Qinghai Provincial Governments, Guest Professor (part-time) of Southeast University, Yunnan Normal University and South China Normal University. He remains Consulting Editor of Tourism Geographies, Chinese regional editor of Journal of China Tourism Research, holds an editorial board position on Journal of Sustainable Tourism, and is associate editor-in-chief of Humanistic Geography.

           His principal research interests are Tourism Geography and Tourism Planning. He is also a significant member of various planning groups undertaking destination planning in China. Thus he took charge of Western investment in tourism planning (southwest region) and the projects of creating Tourism Development Master Plans for Hubei Province, Guilin City, Suzhou City, Huangshan City, Shangri-La, Zhangjiajie, and many other locations. He brings to the conference a detailed knowledge of developments in China at the highest level.