24th Nordic Symposium in Tourism and Hospitality Research to be held in Reykjavík in October

Gullfoss

The Nordic Symposium in Tourism and Hospitality Research will be held October 1st-3rd. The symposium will be held on University of Iceland campus and at the conference venue of the Radisson BLU Saga Hotel.

The symposium‘s theme is „Responsible tourism?“. The 24th Nordic Symposium of Tourism and Hospitality Research invites tourism scholars to explore emerging themes of how travel industries can trace the contours of a travel imaginary grounded in the everyday practical and political realities of the destination’s natures and cultures once developing their products. In the seemingly fluid world of tourism people are invited to travel the globe and experience destinations as trouble free zones in which goals are achieved, dreams and wonders come true. People are offered to set aside everyday responsibilities momentarily whilst visiting different places, cultures and natures, be it for work or leisure purposes. However the environmental costs of travelling are becoming all too apparent during times of climate change. The demonstrable impact of tourism on the cultures and lives of locals have also been foregrounded for some time in tourism scholarship. How can tourism be conceptualised as a responsible activity and how can tourists become attentive to their encounter with places, nature and cultures for their benefit and empowerment?

Over 120 international and Icelandic academics will present around 170 papers in 27 sessions.

The keynote speakers are:

• Dr. Anniken Greve, Professor at the Department of Culture and Literature, UiT The Arctic University of Norway.
• Dr. Dianne Dredge – Professor, Tourism Policy and Destination Development, Department of Culture and Global Studies, Aalborg University
• Sævar Freyr Sigurðsson – CEO Saga Travel
• Dr. Scott McCabe – Professor of Marketing and Tourism, Nottingham University Business School

The 27 sessions are following:

• Overloaded? The destiny of nature tourist destinations in times of limitless demand
• Diaspora and tourism: Migrants as tourists – tourist as migrants
• Reformulating ‘tourism destination development’ in terms of responsible tourism
• Winter adventures in the North: performances and responsibilities
• The geographical imaginaries of consumption
• Responsible Engagement with Animals in Tourism
• Sharing Space with Tourism
• Encounters, controversies and responsibilities – exploring relational materialism resource
• Volunteer tourism: Pushing the boundaries
• Whose responsibility?
• The Dynamics of Networks, Networking and Innovation in the Tourism Industry
• Responsible geographies and local realities of tourism in the Nordic peripheries
• The Authenticity Debate: Implications for Responsible Tourism
• Green Ice: Responsible creation of nature in the High North?
• World Heritage Sites – to protect from or to use for tourism?
• Tourism and hospitality work(ers): new challenges in a globalised world.
• Adventure tourism and responsible tourism: A paradox?
• Co-creation in tourism: the right direction to ensure a tourism for all?
• Proactive management of responsible tourism in the North
• Recreation trends and sustainable development in mountain tourism – Results from Sweden
• Responsible human resource management in the tourism and hospitality businesses
• Mobile neighbouring in tourism
• Planning and development of resilient destination communities
• Food and culinary experiences
• Exploring motives and activities
• The Geography of Tourism
• Conducting high quality tourism- and hospitality research – reflections and demonstrations of methodological approaches

The Nordic Symposium an annual event, hosted in turns by the Scandinavian countries. This is the third time Iceland hosts the symposium, last in Akureyri in 2010. The symposium is organised by the Icelandic Tourism Research Centre in close collaboration with the University of Iceland, Hólar University College and the University of Akureyri.

Registration deadline is August 31^st.