Meng Qu (渠蒙), Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and Deputy Director at the Center for Advanced Tourism Studies, Hokkaido University. He co-convenes the Small Island Cultures Research Initiative (SICRI) and serves as Associate Editor for Tourism Geographies and Folk, Knowledge, Place, Regional Editor for Event Management, and editorial board member for Shima, Journal of Marine and Island Cultures (JMIC), and Journal of Responsible Tourism Management (JRTM), among others.
His research focuses on the revitalization of rural communities through international art festivals, emphasizing socially engaged art, regional festivals, creative tourism, relational aesthetics, creative in-migrants, sustainability, and rural regeneration. He integrates documentary filmmaking as a method for fieldwork and public engagement. Drawing on interdisciplinary approaches from creative and tourism geography and rural studies, he is currently leading a comparative project on community-embedded art and rural revitalization across the Asia-Pacific and the EU. He is also assisting with a study on social change in island communities in the UK, Canada, and Japan. His research has received funding from JSPS KAKENHI, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), and the British Academy.
Dr. Meng began his career in design (2006–2015), progressing into leadership roles as Interactive Design Director and Vice President in Shanghai and Beijing, where he specialized in tourism-oriented spatial narratives—a foundation for his subsequent work in destination development and entrepreneurship. He has participated in art revitalization projects since 2011, including the Xucun International Art Festival (China), the Setouchi Triennale (Japan), and other regional initiatives between the two countries as a volunteer, staff member, and researcher. His consultancy work since 2021 spans international and domestic contexts, including advising the UN Tourism Asia-Pacific Executive Training Programme, Destination Management Organizations (DMOs), regional tourism associations, and inbound tourism firms across Japan.