The program schedule for the International Symposium on Forecasting (ISF) to be held in Hong Kong on June 21-24, 2009 is now available. The ISF provides the opportunity to interact with the world's leading forecasting researchers and practitioners.
The ISF 2009 chairman mr. Haiyan Song welcomes readers as follows:
Welcome to the 29th International Symposium on Forecasting (ISF) in Hong Kong! This year’s symposium is held at such a difficult time when the financial crisis and swine flu hit the world. We also heard the sad news that Professor Clive W. J. Granger, the 2003 Nobel Laureate in Economics, passed away on 27 May. Professor Granger very kindly accepted the Organizing Committee’s invitation to speak at ISF2009 and looked forward to sharing his latest insights in forecasting research at this year’s Symposium here in Hong Kong. Although Professor Granger cannot be with us today, his great contributions to econometrics and forecasting will continue to inspire us at the symposium and beyond. Our deepest sympathy is with Professor Granger’s family.
Despite these challenges, the symposium has attracted more than 200 participants from over 40 countries and regions who are determined to come to Hong Kong to share their latest research findings on forecasting. The Organizing Committee with the help of the IIF Board has been working very hard over the past year, and we are pleased to present an interesting program to all the participants, and hope you will actively participate in the debates and discussions of the various sessions at the symposium.
We are grateful to the Board of the International Institute of Forecasters for giving the opportunity of organizing this prestigious event to the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a leading institution that offers high quality tourism and hospitality education in the world. According to an article published in the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research in 2005, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University was ranked the 1st in Asia and 4th in the world in terms of its research publications in the leading academic journals in the areas of tourism and hospitality management. The school also has a very strong research team of scholars that leads the world in tourism demand modeling and forecasting research, and many of their research outputs have contributed significantly to the tourism demand forecasting literature with very high academic and practical impacts.
Hong Kong is Asia’s world city where the Chinese culture mixes with the Western tradition. No matter what your background is and where you are from, you will always find something that is of interest to you in Hong Kong. Please take the advantage of your stay in Hong Kong and enjoy the dynamic city life as well as the heritage of Chinese culture!
See the program schedule at www.forecasters.org/isf/schedule.html