UST College of Architecture faculty member Asst. Prof. Ar. Felicisimo A. Tejuco, Jr., recently presented his paper on platforms to promote tourism during the 8th International Conference on Hospitality & Tourism Management 2021 held in Sri Lanka.
Themed “Post-Pandemic Tourism and Hospitality,” The International Institute of Knowledge Management (TIIKM) hosted the online international research event with six sub-themes highlighting the sustainability and response of tourism against the coronavirus 19 disease (COVID-19).
Under the sub-theme” Innovations for Sustainable Tourism Development and Hospitality Management,” Tejuco shared the opportunities and challenges of promoting heritage structures through a digital gaming platform. In his paper titled “Documenting the Spirit of the Place of the UST Arch of the Centuries through its Tangible and Intangible Features in the Digital Platform of Minecraft,” Tejuco presented that gaming applications can be developed as “alternative” platforms to promote tourism.
For heritage sites like the UST Arch of the Centuries, he highlighted the importance of capturing the “spirit of place,” or the iconic design of the Arch; and the “sense of place” or the various symbolism of the Arch as entry and exit portal. He also presented an initial walk-through of the University, including the four heritage sites found in UST.
The study was inspired by the Minecraft version of the UST campus, which was developed by College of Information and Computing Sciences student Charles Nobleza, who is also president of the Thomasian Gaming Society. The digital translation of UST allowed freshman students to experience the traditional Freshmen walk, albeit online. The paper was co-authored by Tejuco and University of the Philippines College of Architecture Dean Ar. Grace Ramos, his doctorate program adviser.
Tejuco, a fellow of the UST Research Center for Culture Arts and Humanities, was also recognized as one of the four best presenters of the two-day conference. The other best presenters were from Malaysia, South Africa, and Italy.
The TIIKM is a research establishment that envisions revolutionizing the Asian Research Culture. Since its establishment in 2012, TIIKM has facilitated the purpose of knowledge transfer by constructing the career of the research fraternity, empowering decision-making in the corporate sector, and promoting quality decisions for policymakers through academic conferences.
