The Asia Pacific Business and Economics Research Society (APBERS) held its conference at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Beppu, Oita, on February 6 and 7, 2024. The theme was ‘Multi-stakeholder approach to advancing business and economics research: Post-pandemic lessons and emerging frameworks in the Asia Pacific’.
Established in 2013, APBERS, revives its annual meeting of young graduate business and economics researchers in an era of recovery and rebirth. Approximately 60 participants from Asia Pacific and African countries attended the two-day conference, which had 23 presentations.
On February 7, 2024, Dr. John Paolo R. Rivera (conference co-chair), president and chief economist of Oikonomia Advisory & Research, Inc. and concurrent executive director of the Asian Institute of Management’s Dr. Andrew L. Tan Center for Tourism, hosted an advanced research methodologies workshop. He taught 25 conference attendees econometric approaches using STATA and environment, social, governance (ESG), and financial performance datasets generated using a Bloomberg terminal.
Hon. Nelia R. Arina, regional director of the Department of Tourism Philippines Region 12, delivered the keynote address at APBERS. She led discussions about the role of business and economics in achieving a sustainable and inclusive future. She spoke about the vast tourism potentials of SOCCSKSARGEN. Ms. Gillan Ray Lonzaga, Kidapawan City’s City Tourism Officer, also focused on investigating creative methods to wellness tourism and benchmarking them against Beppu’s best practices in natural resource management, community empowerment, and sustainable tourism practices.
The conference concluded with an immersion on Japanese culture in Beppu and Kitsuki.
