School of Tourism and Exhibition of Hefei University has a long history to offer the program of Tourism since 1985 when it was the first to have offered the program in Anhui Province. In 1993, Department of Tourism was approved to be set by Anhui Provincial Education Commission, and in 2019, School of Tourism and Exhibition was established. In the long-term development of Anhui tourism, Hefei University has been identified as one of the four higher education institutions in Anhui province to cultivate tourism professionals. At present, it is a member of the Tourism Education Branch of China Tourism Association and a vice chairman unit of Anhui Provincial Tourism Colleges Cooperation Alliance.
The School currently offers three undergraduate programs: Tourism Management, Hotel Management, and Exhibition Economy and Management. Tourism Management has been listed among Anhui Provincial Programs with Distinctive Features as well as Provincial First-class Undergraduate Programs. Among the 34 faculty members, 26 are full-time teachers and 17 are professors or associate professors, 7 holding a Doctoral degree. 1 teacher has been entitled “Anhui Provincial Outstanding Teacher”, 1 “Young Expert on Tourism” approved by National Tourism Administration and 4 “Young Expert on Tourism” approved by Anhui Tourism Administration. Besides, there are more than 10 foreign visiting professors.
Over the years, the School has achieved considerably in teaching and scientific research: 2 first prizes for National Teaching Achievement Award, 1 second prize for Excellent Tourism Academic Achievement approved by National Tourism Administration, 1 third prize for Anhui Teaching Achievement Award, 1 third prize for Anhui Social Science Achievement Award, 3 second prizes and 2 third prizes for Hefei Social Science Achievement Award. Besides, it has set up such first-class undergraduate courses at the university level as “Catering Service Management”, “Strategic Management of Tourism Enterprises”, “Urban Ecology”, “Fundamentals of Economics”, and “Financial Management of Tourism Enterprises”. What’s more, the School has also established over 20 lab and practice platforms. The faculty members have undertaken more than 70 research projects at various levels, including over 30 at the provincial or national level, published 7 academic works and textbooks as well as more than 180 papers, 9 of which are included in SCI or EI.
In the past five years, students in the School have achieved much in discipline competitions and scientific and technological innovation with more than 90 awards at the provincial or national level. Students’ qualified academic foundation and comprehensive quality and strong adaptability have witnessed the employment rate of more than 97% and the undergraduates are especially engaged in such fields as tourism management, hotel management, planning and design, consulting and training, education and teaching, government agencies, who are well received by their employers.