PhD Seminar

ATLAS PhD Seminar
Quality of Life: Sustainability, Well-Being and Regenerative Tourism
Bad Gleichenberg, Austria
Tuesday 10 October 2023

The focus for the 2023 PhD ATLAS Seminar takes its inspiration from the Annual ATLAS conference theme concentrating on issues of sustainability, well-being and regenerative tourism. The PhD seminar is a space which intends to provide an arena for dialogue, discussion and collaboration for the PhD candidates engaged in research about tourism, leisure, hospitality, recreation and their related fields.

Sustainability has become a contemporary buzzword when we consider how we spend our lives outside of work hours, specifical in our leisure and touristic activities. Focus has also shifted to actively embrace aspects of well-being and, since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are focusing more and more on the regeneration of ourselves, our tourism destinations and our communities.

This PhD seminar aims to bring together PhD candidates who are considering one or more of these issues within their PhD research to provide a forum for discussion, engagement, collaboration and growth. The seminar offers the opportunity to gain one-on-one peer feedback on research and writing as well as providing a small, intimate environment in which to get to know like-minded PhD colleagues. Co-hosted by Dr Melanie Smith, a world-leading scholar in the area of tourism and well-being, this PhD seminar is an opportunity to get a head-start on the ATLAS Annual Conference and enjoy the spa location of Bad Gleichneberg.

Requirements

Participants are expected to be enrolled as PhD students within fields related to tourism, leisure, recreation, hospitality, mobilities, social/cultural geography, cultural studies or similar. Students at all stages of their research project are welcome. In order to apply for the seminar, the student must submit a research paper (approx. 1000-2500 words). The paper must relate to at least one area of sustainability, well-being and/or regenerative tourism. The paper should engage theoretically, methodologically, empirically or ethically with the PhD candidate’s research. Ideas for what the paper might include or look like could include (but are not limited to): The paper might be a first draft of a journal article, chapter or conference presentation. It may engage with the UN’s SDGs or challenge assumptions about sustainability or regenerative tourism. The paper may be a personal reflection on the PhD candidate’s journey or may discuss methodological challenges in researching these areas.

The participant’s papers will form part of the discussions during the PhD event, in particular the workshop. In sharing and discussing the papers and the aims/purposes/meanings behind them, the PhD seminar strives to foster a space of insight into possible futures for sustainability, well-being and regenerative tourism and leisure. The seminar will provide the opportunity to consider how the viewpoints of the PhD candidates involved coalesce, differ, intertwine, diverge and build upon each other to lead to innovative, thought-provoking and engaged futures for those studying and researching in these areas.

Who should apply?

Participants should be enrolled as PhD candidates within fields related to tourism, leisure, recreation, hospitality, mobilities, social/cultural geography, cultural studies or similar. Candidates at all stages of their PhD are welcome.    

Submission

Please submit a research reflections paper of approx. 1000-2500 words to admin@atlas-euro.org

Abstract specifications:

• 1000-2500 words (excluding references)
• In English
• Word format
• Include a short bio-sketch about you which outlines where you are in the PhD process.
• Deadline June 15^th 2023

Certificate

PhD candidates will be issued with a certificate outlining the total amount of hours of the PhD seminar.

Preliminary Programme

8:30      Registration and welcome
9:00      Workshop: Looking at papers in progress
10:30    Coffee break
11:00    Where is the future of sustainability in tourism and leisure? How does regenerative tourism ‘fit’?
12:00    Lunch
13:00    Alternative views of well-being in Tourism and Leisure
14:00    Close

Practical Information

Seminar chairs: Tara Duncan, Miju Choi and Melanie Smith
Date: Tuesday 10th October 2023
Place: Bad Gleichenberg, Austria
Maximum number of participants: 25
Participation is free but can only be attended by delegates of the ATLAS annual conference
 

Up

Call for special tracks

The conference organizers invite proposals for organizing special tracks during the conference and encourage ATLAS Special Interest Groups and Chapters to plan meetings and workshops within or alongside the conference programme. Please contact admin@atlas-euro.org before February 1^st 2023 if you have any plans to organize a SIG meeting, a project meeting or a special track during this conference.

The Scientific Committee also welcomes Special Tracks in another languages than English.

Up

Special Track 1

Circular Economy and Circularity in the Space of Tourism and Hospitality
ATLAS SIG Circular Economy

Track Convenors
Lucia Tomassini - NHL Stenden University, Netherlands - lucia.tomassini@nhlstenden.com
Elena Cavagnaro - NHL Stenden University, Netherlands

This Special Track organised under the aegis of the ATLAS SIG Circular Economy and Circularity in the Space of Tourism and Hospitality invites contributions presenting theoretical, methodological, and empirical advances in the research on Circular Economy and circular regenerative processes in the space of tourism and hospitality.
The Circular Economy is at the centre of a growing debate and legislative initiatives both within Europe and globally. Despite such increasing political and institutional interest in the circularity paradigm, academics and professionals in the tourism and hospitality sector seem only partially involved in the discussion.

The Circular Economy has been so far investigated predominantly with regards to products and framed in terms of eco-effectiveness and eco-efficiency, with benefits at both environmental and economic levels. The implications of the Circular Economy for the space of tourism and hospitality have remained largely unexplored and under theorised, especially with regards to its social implications in a complex service-oriented sector like the one of tourism and hospitality. The idea of an economy that can become ‘circular’ is grounded into an ancient understanding of the cyclic patterns of continuous regenerative processes where ‘circularity’ appears as a principle of order and continuity.

Framing circularity as a means to contribute to sustainable development implies being able to simultaneously create value in the environmental, economic, and social dimension. While the latter is usually overlooked in studies and theorisations of Circular Economy, the creation of circular regenerative processes can generate new value in the social dimension by enriching it with a multiplicity of novel relations, connections, and networks among human and non-human stakeholders. This means also localising the tourism and hospitality economy and supply chain in the local space by creating ‘smaller’ loops prompting the active involvement of human (and non-human) stakeholders and re-designing new power-relationships, networks, and connections among them. This can happen because the ‘space’ of tourism and hospitality is not just a flat surface that people, capital, and products transit, but a multidimensional situation within which different types of relationships, networks and connections take place, together with different type of practices and behaviours.

A critical reflection on Circular Economy and a further exploration of the notion of ‘circularity’ in the space of tourism and hospitality can be interweaved with theorisations of degrowth - and a-growth - as well as with features of sociology of space, pro-social and pro-environmental behaviour, network theory, posthumanism, and collaborative economy.

We welcome contributions prompting a critical thinking on Circular Economy and Circularity in the Space of Tourism and Hospitality. Contributions should cover a variety of themes, among which:

• Network Theory
• Practice Theory
• Behavioural informed interventions
• Sociology of Space
• Biodiversity regeneration
• Collaborative Economy
• Placemaking and circular regenerative processes
• Posthuman approaches
• Green and/or alternative mobility and logistic
• Supply chain management

Publication Opportunities
The organisers of this session will explore publication opportunities with high-impact journals and will make sure that the session will be followed up through active engagement of the participants in the dedicated SIG and its activities.

Submission abstracts
Abstracts should have between max. 500 words. The title should be no more than 12 words. Authors should also indicate which conference topic their proposed paper relates to. Abstracts should be submitted by using this form.

Up

Special Track 2

Cultural Routes and Sustainable Tourism Development

Track Convenor
James Miller - FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences, Austria - jim.miller@gmx.at

This special track will explore the role of cultural routes in promoting sustainable tourism. Cultural routes began to be developed as a way to promote tourism after the Second World War in Europe, but also in many other parts of the world. In addition to promoting tourism, they also are intended to develop awareness of, and appreciation for, important cultural themes. Based on the unique resources of a particular region, they provide a way to preserve and protect cultural and natural heritage. In that sense, whether thematically focused on religion, gastronomy, history, literature or art and architecture, they have always been projects aimed at promoting sustainability.

Recently, the theme of sustainability has become increasingly important in the planning and management of cultural routes. The 10th Annual Advisory Forum of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in 2021, for example, was devoted to how cultural routes can be made sustainable and resilient in challenging times. When developed using bottom-up approaches with decisive input from regional actors and then managed in sustainable ways, cultural routes can help strengthen regional identity, promote the local economy by using the resources of small-scale providers and serve as positive motors of tourism innovation. This can have important implications for the health of the communities in which such innovations take place. Furthermore, in all but a few exceptional cases, cultural routes are not geared toward mass tourism, but rather toward individually paced exploration of a cultural landscape. Here issues relating to clean and sustainable mobility along the route are ones receiving increasing attention.

Cultural routes frequently encourage guests to enter into a dialogue with the landscape being explored, thus providing an opportunity for self-exploration and development.  The most obvious example of this aspect are cultural routes involving pilgrimage, but a cultural route that encourages guests to question their own prejudices and assumptions, whether stemming from nationalism or other pre-conceived notions, can also help to promote individual development. A positive by-product of such a process may ideally be an increase in intercultural understanding. Here, careful thematic planning to encourage the guest to engage in such a dialogue is critical. Such offers may be of particular interest to tourists who want to use their vacation as a chance to look inward, as a way to gain spiritual insight and increased well-being.

Key to the successful implementation of a cultural route, whatever its thematic focus, is the effective collaboration of a diverse set of actors within the region in the form of a dynamic network. Thus, cultural routes, in their great variety, can provide opportunities for promoting environmental, economic and social sustainability.

Contributions are invited which advance the understanding of how cultural routes can contribute to the sustainability of regions in ways such as the following (though this should not by any means be considered an exhaustive list):

• promotion of intercultural dialogue
• encouragement of slow tourism
• rural tourism development
• sustainable mobility
• heritage protection
• resilience in the face of crises such as Covid-19
• identity-building as a basis for network development
• addressing accessibility and inclusion issues
• sustainable planning
• promotion of health and well-being, both for residents and guests

Collaboration with The Castle Road
This special track is being organized in cooperation with the Castle Road, a cultural route located in the cross-border region of the conference venue.   An opportunity to explore the Castle Road as an optional tour organized for conference participants is in planning.

Publication Opportunity
A concerted effort will be made to publish articles from this thread as part of a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal.
Submission abstracts

Submission abstracts
Abstracts should have between max. 500 words. The title should be no more than 12 words. Authors should also indicate which conference topic their proposed paper relates to. Abstracts should be submitted by using this form.

Up

Special Track 3

Sustainable, physical active transport in rural areas: Developing an interdisciplinary perspective

Track Convenor
Gerlinde Grasser - FH JOANNEUM, Austria - gerlinde.grasser@fh-joanneum.at
Kathrin Hofer‐Fischanger - FH JOANNEUM, Austria

Background
As one means to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour health promotion aims to increase active transportation. Since a big part of the population needs to commute longer distances, the promotion of active transport in rural areas is specifically challenging and evidence is rare. Similarly, it is challenging to provide sustainable transport options to tourists in rural areas, specifically to overcome the “last mile”.

Aim
To discuss the issue of sustainable, physical active transport from the perspectives of health, tourism and climate

Presentations
•    Issues of promoting sustainable, physical active transport in rural areas
•    Issues of sustainable, physical active transport in rural areas in tourism
•    The role of sustainable, physical active transport in rural areas from a climate perspective

Guideline for the presentations - Perspectives of each discipline
•    What does sustainable, physical active transport mean?
•    Is there a need for more sustainable, physical active transport, if yes why?
•    What are the obstacles involved?
•    What are potential approaches to increase sustainable, physical active transport?

References

Frost, S. S., Goins, R. T., Hunter, R. H., Hooker, S. P., Bryant, L. L., Kruger, J. et al. (2010) Effects of the built environment on physical activity of adults living in rural settings. American Journal of Health Promotion, 24, 267–283.

Hofer‐Fischanger, K., Tuttner, S., Amort, F.M., Helms, K., Unger, J., Hödl, J. et al. (2021) Promoting active travel in rural communities through infrastructural modifications: the PABEM needs assessment tool. Health Promotion International, 1‐12.

Hofer‐Fischanger, K., Grasser, G. & van Poppel, M.N.M. (2022) Psychosocial and environmental determinants of active transport to school in Austrian rural communities: a cross‐sectional study among schoolchildren and their parents. Journal of Public Health, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389‐022‐01754‐8.

Zehentgruber, Ch. (2019). Last Mile. Rahmenbedingungen für flexible nachhaltige Mobilitätslösungen auf der „letzten Meile“ im Tourismus. Zeitschrift für Tourismuswissenschaft, 11, 299‐308.

Submission abstracts
Abstracts should have between max. 500 words. The title should be no more than 12 words. Authors should also indicate which conference topic their proposed paper relates to. Abstracts should be submitted by using this form.

Up

Special Track 4

Good Practice in Learning and Teaching Tourism in Higher Education
ATLAS SIG Tourism Education

Track Convenor
Sheena Carlisle - Cardiff Metropolitan University, United Kingdom - scarlisle@cardiffmet.ac.uk
Goretti Silva - Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo, Portugal - goretti@estg.ipvc.pt

Welcome to the Tourism Education Special Interest Group (SIG) Call for Summaries of Good Practice in Learning and Teaching Tourism in Higher Education. The Tourism Education SIG is hosting a special track to showcase good practice in learning and teaching through the compilation of a range of case study examples of how different tourism education themes and topics can be delivered in or outside the classroom.

If you are interested to join us and share good teaching practices with conference delegates and the wider ATLAS website community, please use the headings format (see below) to write a 500-word summary.  Examples of teaching practices could be based on any of the conference themes or another contemporary tourism education topic, that can showcase and demonstrate how you address a specific topic.

The ATLAS Conference 2023 is intended to provide a multi-perspective view of tourism and its relation to a wide range of burning contemporary issues. The SIG Tourism Education track aims to present pedagogical examples of teaching practice in the following core topics that provide innovative methods of teaching to increase knowledge and understanding via applied practice case studies and scenarios that help to find answers and solutions to the following questions:

• How does tourism impact the quality of life of those who work within the industry and the people in the destination communities? I.e.: Working conditions and Wellbeing of employees; Community participation in tourism development and host and guest relations.
• How are health and tourism-related—not just in the context of health and medical tourism, but also in connection with ways in which tourism may be health-promoting (or not)? I.e: mitigation of negative tourism impacts that affect health and wellbeing of communities; how to learn and understand tourism models of good practice for sustainable tourism and community well-being   
• How can the economic health of communities, particularly demographically and infrastructurally disadvantaged ones, for example, in rural areas, be enhanced by tourism? – I.e. methods of teaching poverty alleviation and tourism management processes; teaching effective community participation in tourism via entrepreneurship and small scale business development; how to teach the protection of community interests in tourism against exploitation of residents and employees.  
• How will climate change impact the health of the tourism industry? Teaching climate change mitigation and adaption; teaching intervention frameworks for carbon reduction to reduce negative impacts of tourism on climate change; building climate change resilience via education and training.
• What is necessary for “healthy” tourism development? Teaching models of holistic tourism, dealing with conflict and challenging traditional tourism consumption models to reduce negative impacts of tourism

Please use these Headings of Teaching Practice in your abstract:

• Introduction of learning topic
• Key applied theories/Concepts/Models
• Learning objectives
• The Teaching Method
• The Learning Experience
• Conclusion
• Key references

Extended abstract
Following the approval of your written summary, please send an extended teaching case study format of 2,000-3,000 words that elaborates on the above headings and can be written up by the 1st June?? in time to publish on the ATLAS website in advance of the conference.

Submission abstracts
Abstracts should have between max. 500 words. The title should be no more than 12 words. Authors should also indicate which conference topic their proposed paper relates to. Abstracts should be submitted by using this form.

Up

Special Track 5

Urban Tourism and Wellbeing
ATLAS SIG Urban Tourism

Track Convenor
Melanie Kay Smith – Budapest Metropolitan University, Hungary - msmith@metropolitan.hu
Ko Koens – Inholland University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands - ko.koens@inholland.nl

There has been a growing interest in health, wellbeing and wellness tourism in the post-COVID era (Jiang and Wen, 2020), including possibilities for new product development and activities in destinations which can ‘refresh’ tourism and change tourists’ behaviour, helping to solve pre-COVID problems like overtourism (Pocinho, Garcês and Neves de Jesus, 2022). This is especially important for cities that are currently reviewing their strategies and focusing on future developments. Post-COVID response and recovery strategies (e.g. OECD, 2020) emphasise building more resilient and sustainable tourism. The concept of resilience applies not only to destinations, but to residents and tourists as well. Pocinho et al.  (2022) argue that resilience is a concept that is intimately related to wellbeing and helps to deal effectively with adversity. This can include managerial challenges like overtourism and host-guest conflicts, as well as more serious crises like urban terrorist attacks or a Pandemic.

It has also become increasingly clear that there is an inextricable connection between sustainable development and human wellbeing, which has become more and more prominent in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One of the SDGs focuses specifically on Good Health and Wellbeing (SDG3) with several others emphasizing wellbeing. For example, SDG 11 on Sustainable Cities specifically includes communities and resident wellbeing. Another key concept that has emerged in the post-COVID era is ‘regenerative travel’, which aims to heal and revitalize human and natural ecosystems focusing on health and wellbeing rather than growth (CBI, 2022). Some authors refer to ‘restorative’ tourism, which is partly derived from previous academic studies that are based on ‘Attention Restoration Theory’, which connects to the positive contribution of tourism to health and wellbeing (Lehto and Lehto, 2019; Packer, 2021). Many of these studies increasingly feature urban green spaces, for example, the importance of city parks for resident wellbeing clearly increased during the COVID pandemic (Kleinschroth and Kowarik, 2020). Visiting urban green spaces can contribute to mental and physical wellbeing (Ma et al., 2019) as well as providing spaces for social interaction (Kim and Jin, 2018).

In the future, it is predicted that wellbeing will become more central to urban government and stakeholder policy. For example, the UN New Urban Agenda 2030 prioritizes proper planning and management in cities with the aim of ensuring a high quality of life, health, safety and economic development. It promotes sustainable urban mobility, the principle of social participation and the idea of the smart city. An increasing numbers of authors are emphasizing the importance of quality of life and citizens’ wellbeing in the context of smart cities. For example, Myeong et al. (2020) suggest that the focus of Smart Cities is switching from infrastructure supply-oriented to improving citizens’ quality of life and sustainability. Within this literature, there is a call for more inclusive, citizen-centric and socially inclusive cities in which technology-driven smartness and innovation are inextricably connected to community needs and priorities (Del Real et al., 2023).

Themes which may be considered for this SIG stream include, but are not limited to:

• Urban tourism and wellbeing policies
• City tourism, wellbeing and sustainable development
• Urban tourism and resilience
• Crisis management in urban destinations
• Post-COVID urban tourism strategies
• The contribution of tourism to liveable cities, wellbeing and quality of life
• Local resident wellbeing
• Smart cities and quality of life
• The role of cities in regenerative travel
• Wellness tourism in cities
• Urban green spaces and wellbeing

Those papers that seem suitable for publication will be considered for a Special Issue of the International Journal of Tourism Cities. Those authors will be asked to provide an Extended Abstract and later a full paper.

Submission abstracts
All abstracts should be around 300 words and will be subject to double-blind review by the track convenors and members of the scientific committee of the ATLAS annual conference. Acceptance of a submission will be based on: theoretical and empirical significance; methodological soundness; relevance to the theme of the conference and logical clarity. The official language of the conference is English. Abstracts should be submitted by using this form.

Up

Special Track 6

Quality of life, wellbeing, climate change: Bridging the theory-action gap
ATLAS SIG Climate Change and Tourism

Track Convenor
Ioanna Farsari - Dalarna University, Sweden - ifa@du.se
Harald A. Friedl - FH JOANNEUM, Austria - harald.friedl@fh-joanneum.at

As our 2021 special track discussions revealed, bridging the theory-action gap is one of the most important roles of scholars for meaningful research for climate change and tourism. The gap between research and practice with regards to climate change has been discussed in tourism by several scholars who point to the need to critically examine the ways that academic knowledge is produced and how it is reaching tourism practitioners and policy makers (Loehr & Becken 2021; Scott, 2021). Tourism researchers need to engage with action research to disrupt the knowledge production process and reimagine their role on it (Ivanova, Buda, & Burrai, 2021). Furthermore, the critical turn to tourism studies has placed emphasis on the importance of embedded community research and academic activism to bridge the gap and bring social, environmental and climate justice (Hales, Dredge, Higgins-Desbiolles, & Jamal, 2018).

To celebrate the occasion of having climate change on the theme for the 2023 Annual ATLAS conference and the presence of several scholars active in climate change research and tourism in the conference, we want to combine the theme of the conference with an appreciation of the importance for more action in our research around climate change and tourism and invite for contributions on the theme which bridge the theory-action gap.

We welcome presentations which address aspects of quality of life and well-being in relation to climate change with a special focus on bridging the gap.  How are globalised tourist practices affecting the health and well-being of communities and ecosystems? How are water shortages, higher temperatures, food shortages, or biodiversity loss going to affect the quality of life and the well-being of communities. How are they going to affect the well-being of other than humans? How can we research and act for humans and other than humans to address the climate urgency? What lessons are to be learned from humans and other than humans to understand climate urgency and take action?  How do we understand our epistemology to research and act for climate change?

We invite, but not limit, presentations which contribute to the following with a clear connection to climate change:

• Post-disciplinary research
• Collaboration, action research, academic activism, disruptive methods
• Co-creation and co-design methods
• Epistemological implications of action research
• Reflexivity over researcher’s role and positionality
• Reflexive practice
• Regenerative tourism and ethic of care
• Post-human research
• Transformative research
• Degrowth and climate change
• Well-being and human and other than human health
• Intergenerational well-being
• Impacts of climate change on destinations and communities
• Policies for climate change and tourism
• Transformations for climate change

Submission of abstracts
Abstracts should have between max. 500 words. The title should be no more than 12 words. Authors should also indicate which conference topic their proposed paper relates to. Abstracts should be submitted by using this form.

References
Hales, R., Dredge, D., Higgins-Desbiolles, F., & Jamal, T. (2018). Academic Activism in Tourism Studies: Critical Narratives from Four Researchers. Tourism Analysis, 23(2), 189-199. doi:10.3727/108354218X15210313504544
Ivanova, M., Buda, D. M., & Burrai, E. (2021). Creative and disruptive methodologies in tourism studies. Tourism Geographies, 23(1-2), 1-10.
Loehr, J., & Becken, S. (2021). The Tourism Climate Change Knowledge System. Annals of Tourism Research, 86, 103073. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.103073
Scott, D. (2021). Sustainable Tourism and the Grand Challenge of Climate Change. Sustainability, 13(4). doi:10.3390/su13041966.

Up

Special Track 7

(De)Constructing events in light of underlying tensions, crises and disputes
ATLAS SIG Events

Track Convenor
Alba Colombo - Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain - acolombo@uoc.edu
Amber Herrewijn - NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands - amber.herrewijn@nhlstenden.com

This track aims to examine events amidst tensions, crises, and disputes, and how they can serve as a platform for activism, restoration, polarization, and reclamation. In the midst of crisis related to environment, health, economics and safety, event spaces are used or understood as cocoons where memories, experiences, power dynamics, violence, symbolism, and social actions converge to create social change while simultaneously fostering uncertainty. As events evolve and change, they have the potential to be reconsidered as spaces of preservation, activism, revitalization but also a space of experimentation, contesting and confronting narratives against the social, economical and political contexts.

Academics have traditionally studied the effects and potential possibilities generated by events, ranging from environmental, social, political, economic to urbanistic impacts, to the direct festival or event context. However, it is equally important to consider not only the huge effect that crises has on events but also the potential effects that events may have on crises, tensions, or disputes. Festivals, community celebrations, sports mega events, riots, congregations may be also consolidated and constructed as tools or contestation for fighting or change.

The central goal of this track is to critically engage in a multifaceted and multi-disciplinary perspective, a richer and more integrated understanding of ideologies, relationships, meanings, and practices that arise from diverse interactions among events, social action and context along past, contemporary and future crises, tensions and disputes.

Themes which may be considered for this SIG stream include, but are not limited to:

• Activism - reclaiming social space - detachment - contestation
• Space of resistance
• Space of regeneration (sustainability/circularity)
• Constructing bridging space of resistance
• Online interaction - engagement with the metaverse - communities
• Power dynamics in a contexts of events
• LGTBQ+, safe spaces
• Re-claiming  - contra movement - reivindicacion
• Rhythms
• Polarisation and (contra)reaction
• Memories, experiences and storytelling
• Hybrid events
• Safe spaces, inclusion and equity
• Dark festivals
• Regenerative events
• Detachment, ownership

Those papers that seem suitable for publication will be considered for a Special Issue in an academic journal. Those authors will be asked to provide an Extended Abstract and later a full paper.

Submission of abstracts

Abstracts should have between max. 500 words. The title should be no more than 12 words. Authors should also indicate which conference topic their proposed paper relates to. Abstracts should be submitted by using this form.

Up

Special Track 8

Saving the Tourism World in 4 Tries

Track Convenors
Paul Peeters  - Breda University of Applied Science, Netherlands - paul.peeters1000@zohomail.eu
Harald A. Friedl - FH JOANNEUM, Austria - harald.friedl@fh-joanneum.at

A Simulation Supported Serious Game with Dr. Paul Peeters, Professor for sustainable tourism transport at the Centre for Sustainability, Tourism & Transport (CSTT), Breda University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands.

The role play accommodates the interaction of seven central political stakeholders in international tourism using a simulation model. This Global Tourism and Transport Model (GTTMdyn) provides immediate feedback on the effects of any combination of 40 different policies/measures to achieve global climate goals.
 

The following scenario is assumed
It is October 2023, the United Nations has decided that tourism as a sector is not performing to expectations and may even cause that the Paris 2015 Climate Agreement cannot be met. Therefore, the UN have assigned a High-Level Tourism Decarbonization Group (HLTDG) which consists of the following global stakeholders (‘player groups’):

1. UNWTO (UN World Tourism Organisation)
2. IATA (International Air Transport Association; an international organisation of most airlines in the world)
3. ICCAIA (International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations; an organisation consisting of aircraft manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus)
4. UIC (Union International des Chemins de Fer; World Railway Organisation)
5. ICSA (International Coalition of Sustainable Aviation); a coalition of environmental NGO’s like WWF, T&E)
6. IRU (International Road union; car transport but also coaches and busses)
7. IH&RA (International Hotel & Restaurant Association)

The UN goal is as follows: The HLTDG is assigned the task to change the reference tourism pathway to stay well below the overall Paris 2015-agreed 1.5° C CO2 emission pathway.
This means, the following goals need to be reached:

1. By 2030, the emissions of CO2 have tlo be reduced by 50% with respect to 2019
2. By 2050, the CO2 emissions need to become zero and stay zero up to the year 2100.
3. A healthy global tourism sector all the way the year 2100

Program Sequence of the Simulation Supported Serious Game
Short intro
1.    About ecological and political background and target of the role-play
2.    One walk-through with the GTTMdyn.
3.    Distribution of stakeholder roles according to number of participants
Round 1: Individual stakeholder proposals for setting measures (those that fit their strategy.
4.    Effect: Stakeholders will (most likely) realize that none of the goals have been reached and measures from one stakeholder may destroy the effects of others; often an hilarious round
Round 2: Stakeholders try again but talk to each other first about causing contradicting measures.
Round 3: Last attempt to make the scenario reach its goals.
Round 4: If the goals still are not met, role-play chair Paul Peeters takes over the lead to show how to finally reach the goals.


Minimum conditions
180 Minutes including discussions and breaks
Min. 3 – max. 4 rounds.
Min. 12 participants max. 30


Important note for interested persons
If you are interested in participating in this GAME, please fill in the abstract submission form HERE. In the field where you should include your abstract, just mention that you would like to participate in the Simulation Supported Serious Game. On receipt of the form, we will send you further information on this game. The game needs at least 12 participants. We will keep you informed on the progress and whether the game continues.

Up

Special Track 9

Global changes and new challenges for volunteer tourism practice and research
ATLAS SIG Volunteer Tourism

Track Convenor
Elisa Burrai - Leeds Beckett University, UK - e.burrai@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
Davide Sterchele - Leeds Beckett University, UK - d.sterchele@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

This Special Track is included in the ATLAS Annual conference program but will be run virtually. ONSITE delegates can attend the Special Track in one of the workshop rooms where the workshop will take place HYBRID. All papers submitted (and approved) for this Special Track will be included in the conference program and will be presented REMOTE and ONSITE.

Whilst aimed at improving the quality of life and generating wellbeing for both the hosts and the tourists, volunteer tourism faces ongoing challenges and contradictions that are complexified by the current health and environmental crises.  

The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily disrupted the sector, but also offered an opportunity to re-think volunteer tourism practice and theory. This practical and theoretical evolution of the field is made even more necessary by the increasing issues related to climate change. Nevertheless, both the practice and the study of volunteer tourism still seem to replicate old patterns, paradoxes, and limitations.


Therefore, this special track aims at exploring the current state and future trajectories of volunteer tourism in relation to the following areas:

• Changing mobilities and volunteer tourism (e.g. tourism and/vs migration)
• Changing geographies of volunteer tourism (i.e. global vs local)
• North-South dependency
• Power relationships and inequality
• Volunteer tourism and climate justice
• Digital technologies and volunteer tourism
• Sustainability and volunteer tourism
• Volunteer tourism, social movements, and activism
• Volunteer tourism, anthropocentrism and posthumanism
• Leisure-work boundaries and ‘accidental’ volunteer tourism
• Evolving segmentation of the industry
• Policymaking and volunteer tourism

We invite submissions that may address, but are not be limited to, the above-mentioned areas.
 

Submission of abstracts

Abstracts should have between max. 500 words. The title should be no more than 12 words. Authors should also indicate which conference topic their proposed paper relates to. Abstracts should be submitted by using this form.

Up

Special Track 10

How to create Sustainable Hospitality. A handbook for guest participation

Track Convenor
Christopher Warren - My Green Butler, Ireland - christopher@mygreenbutler.com

Special Track with Christopher Warren, author of the book “How to create Sustainable Hospitality. A handbook for guest participation” (Goodfellow Publishers Ltd, 2023)

Background
Hospitality is the core element of tourism. Hospitality has often been recorded in history as where the generosity of the host includes the care of their guests. Today, hospitality is about creating an experience that enhances the wellbeing of guests, locals, and future generations. It is about protecting the visitors from extreme weather events, and informing them to make better choices and so by creating creating a sustainable and ethical approach that considers social, economic, and environmental factors. Sustainable Hospitality is defined as tourist accommodation that applies the ritual of strong levels of host-guest interaction whilst applying the triple-bottom-line approach to minimizing negative impacts and maximizing benefits.

Aim
The aim of this special track is to explore the role of hospitality in promoting the wellbeing of guests, locals, and future generations. The focus is on how hospitality can contribute to the overall wellbeing of people and the planet, considering social, economic, and environmental factors. The contributors are expected to provide insights on which kinds of innovation could make the hospitality industry more responsible, sustainable, and ethical on the one side, but also more attractive while sustaining economic success.

Possible Topics for potential contributors

1. The role of hospitality in promoting social wellbeing: How can hospitality contribute to the social wellbeing of guests and locals? What are the challenges and opportunities in creating a more inclusive and diverse hospitality industry?
2. Sustainable and ethical hospitality practices: How can hospitality adopt more sustainable and ethical practices that contribute to the wellbeing of future generations? What are the best practices in reducing waste, conserving energy, and promoting responsible tourism?
3. Responsible Technology and hospitality: How can technology be used to enhance the hospitality experience while promoting wellbeing? What are the ethical considerations in using technology in hospitality, and how can they be addressed? Papers on both social technology and hard technology will be considered.
4. Hospitality and the environment: How can the hospitality industry contribute to protecting the environment while promoting wellbeing? What are the challenges and opportunities in adopting sustainable practices and reducing the environmental impact of hospitality operations?
5. Hospitality and the economy: How can the hospitality industry contribute to the economic wellbeing of local communities? What are the challenges and opportunities in promoting sustainable tourism and supporting local businesses – and what are the costs and return of investments for hospitality businesses?
6. Innovation in hospitality: How can service innovation in hospitality contribute to promoting wellbeing for guests, locals, and future generations? What are the emerging trends and best practices in hospitality service delivery that can promote sustainable and responsible practices?

Overall, the special track aims to bring together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to share their insights and best practices in promoting the role of hospitality in enhancing the wellbeing of guests, locals, and future generations. The expected outcome is a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities in promoting sustainable and responsible hospitality practices that benefit both people and the planet.

Submission of abstracts

We invite, but not limit, presentations which contribute to the above topics. Abstracts should have between max. 500 words. The title should be no more than 12 words. Authors should also indicate which conference topic their proposed paper relates to. Abstracts should be submitted by using this form.

Up

Special Track 11

Health, Heritage Tourism, and Climate: Beyond Quality of Life?
ATLAS SIG Heritage Tourism and Education

Track Convenor
Chin-Ee Ong - Sun Yat-sen University, China - ceong.geography@gmail.com
Sharif Shams Imon - Macao Institute for Tourism Studies, China - imon@ift.edu.mo

In this hybrid panel, we examine the role of heritage tourism in all its cultural-natural forms in the creation and maintenance of human and planetary health. Positioned as a special track within the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research to be held in Bad Gleichenberg between 10th and 13th October 2023, our panel call builds on the main conference theme ‘Quality of Life: Health, Tourism and Climate’ by highlighting the need to consider not just human-centric concerns of ‘quality of life’ but to interrogate our broader responsibilities as a species on this planet.

Specifically, we are looking for in-person and online presentations on how visitations and related protection of sites of cultural, natural or mixed significances add value to not just human health and quality of life but also towards mitigating the climate challenge and in improving biodiversity.

We are looking for a range of topics which respond to the themes indicated above and these topics could include:

• Conceptualisations of quality of life and heritage tourism;
• Relationships between heritage tourism and health;
• Heritage management systems, health and climate change;
• Heritage education systems, health and climate change;
• Heritage, traditional livelihoods and tourism;
• Natural heritage education and tourism and their health or climate implications;
• Cultural heritage education and tourism and their health or climate implications;
• Propagation of traditional knowledge through heritage tourism;
• Traditional knowledge’s role in mitigating the climate challenge and heritage education or tourism’s role in disseminating these;
• Class, gender and/or power and heritage tourism

Submission of abstracts

Abstracts should have between max. 500 words. The title should be no more than 12 words. Authors should also indicate which conference topic their proposed paper relates to. Abstracts should be submitted by using this form.

Up