Tourism education at Hebei University of Economics and Business began in 1989. The School of Tourism, established in 2004, is the only institution of higher learning in Hebei Province that offers the most comprehensive range of tourism management programs on the largest scale. It serves as the Executive Vice Chair Unit of the National Industry-Education Integration Community for Culture, Tourism, and Health and Wellness; Vice Chair Unit of the National Industry-Education Integration Community for Modern Accommodation Industry; Member Unit of the National Industry-Education Integration Community for Digital MICE; Vice Chair Unit of the National Industry-Education Integration Community for Embodied Intelligence; Member Unit of the Belt and Road Industrial College Alliance; Vice President Unit of Hebei Provincial Culture and Tourism Industry Association; Vice President Unit of Hebei Provincial Society of Business Economics; and Council Member Unit of China Tourism Association and Hebei Tourism Association. The school has been designated by the Hebei Provincial Department of Education, the Hebei Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, and the Hebei Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security as the “Hebei Provincial Training Base for Culture and Tourism Professionals.”

In 2021, the Party Committee of the School was conferred the title of “Advanced Primary-Level Party Organization of Hebei Province” by the Hebei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. In 2024, the Faculty Party Branch of the Department of MICE and Marketing was selected for the “National Model Branch for Party Building” Cultivation and Creation Unit and was included in the “National Empowerment” Special Action Team List for “Double-Leader” Faculty Party Branch Secretaries in Higher Education Institutions. In 2025, the School of Tourism was selected as a pilot school for comprehensive reform of the mechanism for fostering virtue and nurturing talent under the Three-Year Action Plan for Strengthening Education. The school consistently adheres to the guiding philosophy of “Pioneering, Service, Innovation” upholds the motto “Pursue Knowledge for Application, Cultivate Virtue for Endeavor” and strives to cultivate interdisciplinary, application-oriented, high-caliber next-generation financial and tourism talents who possess patriotic commitment, professional expertise, vocational integrity, digital and technological proficiency, and a global perspective.

Academic Strengths and Research Platforms

The school currently offers postgraduate and undergraduate education. It has a Master’s Degree Authorization Point in Tourism Management (academic discipline). It offers three regular undergraduate programs in Tourism Management, Events Economy & Management, and Hospitality Management, as well as three articulation undergraduate programs in Tourism Management, Hospitality Management, and Marketing. Among these, the Tourism Management program has been selected as one of the first batch of National First-Class Undergraduate Program Construction Sites and one of the first batch of key construction programs for application-oriented transformation among regular undergraduate institutions in Hebei Province. Both the Events Economy & Management and the Hospitality Management programs are Hebei Province First-Class Undergraduate Programs that have been evaluated as excellent. All three programs-Tourism Management, Events Economy & Management, and Hospitality Management-have received and successfully renewed the UNWTO Ted Qual certification. The school currently has over 1,300 postgraduate and undergraduate students and is qualified to recommend outstanding graduating undergraduates for master’s degree enrollment without entrance examination.

The school hosts one Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences in Higher Educational Institutions in Hebei Province (Research Center for Green Development of the Great Wall Cultural Economic Belt) and two university-level non-entity research centers (Research Center for Integrated Innovation of Agriculture, Culture and Tourism；Research Center for Industrial Cultural Tourism). Additionally, it has established Digital Culture and Tourism Modern Industry College in collaboration with industry partners.

Faculty Team and Teaching & Research Achievements

The school currently has 59 faculty and staff members. Among the faculty, those holding doctoral degrees or having overseas educational backgrounds account for over 70%, and teachers with dual qualifications and dual abilities account for 60%. The school has established more than ten national first-class courses, provincial first-class courses, provincial innovation and entrepreneurship courses, and provincial courses on ideological and political education within the curriculum. It has been honored with titles including Hebei Provincial Excellent Teaching Team, Hebei Provincial Excellent Innovation and Entrepreneurship Teaching Team, Hebei Provincial Course-based Ideological and Political Education Teaching Team, and Hebei Provincial Excellent Grassroots Teaching Organization. Among the faculty, multiple teachers have received honors such as Expert Entitled to the State Council Special Allowance, Hebei Provincial Teaching Master, Hebei Provincial Master Teacher for Course-based Ideological and Political Education, “Three-Three-Three” Talent of Hebei Province, “Star of Hebei Youth”, and Expert of Hebei Provincial Culture and Tourism Think Tank. In recent years, faculty members of the school have led, as principal investigators, seven national-level and Ministry of Education research projects, over 30 provincial-level and above vertical research projects, more than ten teaching research projects, and over 20 large-scale horizontal research projects. They have received more than ten instructions from provincial (or higher) level leadership, published over ten monographs, published multiple academic papers in authoritative domestic and international journals, and won six provincial-level awards for outstanding research and teaching achievements.

Industry-Education Integration and Employment Guidance

The school places great emphasis on enhancing student competencies through industry-education integration and collaborative education involving government, industry, enterprises, and the institution. The Tourism Training Center has been designated as a Provincial Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center. Student-led and student-operated studios include the Zhixing Travel Planning Studio, Xingkong MICE Studio, 890 Creative Art Hotel Studio, and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Transmission Center. Regularly held events include the Golden Autumn Ginkgo Festival, Hebei Provincial University Student Tourism Creative Planning Competition, Hotel Culture Carnival, Intangible Cultural Heritage on Campus Campaign, and the “5·19 China Tourism Day” promotional activities. The School has long supported student participation in competitions such as the “Challenge Cup” National University Student Competition, China International College Student Innovation Competition, National University Student Business Elite Challenge, National University Student Red Tourism Creative Planning Competition, China University Student Tourism Management Virtual Simulation Competition, Yuanhua Cup National University Student MICE Creative Competition, National University Student Market Survey and Analysis Competition, and National University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program, achieving outstanding results.

The school implements the “Full Participation, Targeted Assistance” action plan for undergraduate career vision guidance, adopting a collaborative education model involving government, enterprise, and academia. It has secured the Ministry of Education’s Supply-Demand Matching Employment Guidance Program for five consecutive years, and has established stable cooperation mechanisms with relevant government departments, international premium enterprise groups, large cultural and tourism enterprises, and research institutions, thereby facilitating employment pathways. The school’s employment rate has remained above 90% over the past five years, earning it the title of “Advanced Collective in Employment Work” year after year.

The School organizes the “Lvxiang Social Service Corps” and appointed science and technology commissioners, who have long been active along the Great Wall and the Taihang Mountains, conducting practical research and teaching and research activities in rural areas, enterprises, and communities. They have completed multiple projects including five-year cultural and tourism development plans, regional cultural and tourism planning, project planning, tourist attraction transformation, beautiful and harmonious rural construction, cultural and creative product design, study tour curriculum development, and talent training, thereby providing intellectual support and recommendations for regional development and enterprises, and earning a strong social reputation.