Recently, the fourth UASR 2021 academic seminar was held online. The webinar was co-organized by UASR Tourism Sub-Alliance and its executive member, National University of Kazakhstan, with the theme of “Sustainable Development of Society Through Social Tourism”. Participants included Xi’an Jiaotong University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, National University of Kazakhstan, Belgorod Research University and other universities.

The seminar was held at 3 pm on April 15, with Aliya Aktymbayeva from the National University of Kazakhstan hosting the webinar. She introduced the theme, content, and speakers of the webinar. During the presentation session, five experts and scholars in the field of tourism management from Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Russia, and Hungary, shared their insights on this topic. First, Daniel Serzhanuly, who graduated from the National University of Kazakhstan and is currently the head of the Tourism Products Department of the Kazakh National Tourism Company, introduced the general situation and experience of Kazakhstan's social tourism industry. Then, Professor Honggen Xiao from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University introduced the idea of tourism as a force in sustaining sociocultural integrity of origin and destination societies. Professor Svetlana G. Stenyushkina from Belorod State National Research University shed light on the development trends and laws of the Russian social tourism industry, as well as the state's management plan for the industry. Next speaker, Professor Habil from Hungary introduced the content of tourism ecology, including the goals, obstacles, and roles of tourism ecology. Finally, Professor Assipova Zhanna from the National University of Kazakhstan shared an overview and insights on social tourism from the perspective of the definition and history of social tourism.

The entire webinar lasted for one and a half hours, and a total of 35 teachers and students from member universities participated. The webinar offered the perspective of professional scholars and incorporated elements of industrial exploration to promote a multidimensional understanding of the development significance of social tourism and its integration with social development, which has gained unanimous compliments from foreign and domestic participants.