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人物專訪 PEOPLE

把遊歷變成頂尖科學
TURNING JOURNEYS INTO SCIENCE

人們愛旅遊，賴嘉偉教授也不例外， Professor Ivan Ka-Wai Lai’s office shelves tell a story: souvenirs
走進他的辦公室，首先吸引目光的， from across the globe, each carrying a scholarly memory. A 每趟旅程總能激
是一整櫃來自世界各地的旅遊紀念 poster from Kenya sparks reflections on sustainable tourism, 發研究題材
品，每件紀念品背後藏着一段學術 while a small figure of Macao’s mascot, “Mak Mak”, connects to
記憶——如肯亞的一幅海報訴說著 ideas about AI-driven cultural ambassadors. For most people, Travel is both
可持續發展的旅遊發展，澳門旅遊 travel brings memories; for Professor Lai, it brings research classroom and
吉祥物“麥麥”模型聯想至 AI 代言 questions. laboratory
人。常人的旅遊體驗於他而言，是
Over two decades in academia, Professor Lai has served at
洞悉學術研究深意的契機。
multiple universities and mentored countless young scholars
回顧二十年的學術旅程，賴教授在多 in tourism research. To him, travel is both classroom and
間高等院校從事教研工作，帶領無 laboratory. Each journey, near or far, becomes an opportunity
數年輕學者在旅遊研究的世界昇華。 to reflect, observe, and ask new questions that shape future
對賴教授來說，旅遊體驗是靈感的 studies. One such moment came during a trip to Guangdong,
泉源，每趟旅程總能激發研究題材， where Professor Lai noticed a growing trend: tourists travelling
從自身經歷出發，思考旅途上所遇 with pets. That simple observation evolved into a pioneering
到的現象為何會發生，變成研究方 study on “pet tourism economy”, influencing both academic
向。有一次到廣東旅遊，他發現越 discourse and industry practices.
來越多旅客帶寵物同行，便敏銳地
捕捉到“寵物旅遊經濟”的萌芽趨
勢，為學術界及業界帶來不少啟發。

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