From Policy into Practice: Issues and challenges in engaging policy makers and end users

London 24-27 June 2015



Following the success of the previous four International Conferences on Tourism (ICOT) held in China, Greece and Cyprus and the support by the international scholarly community, the 5th ICOT conference will be held at Middlesex University in London, UK.



Conference Aims and Scope

There has been a growing interest in tourism studies, which has resulted in implications for policies and practical recommendations for end users including practitioners, policy makers, the industry and tourists. Policy is particularly important in tourism due to its multi-faceted nature and the complexity in inter-organizational relations and collaborative policy-making.  Moreover, policy implementation is also important as many tourism plans and regulations are not applied or are only partially implemented. The understanding of tourism policy-making and implementation, which is described as the process through which policy ideas and plans can be translated into practice has been the focus of many academic studies and professional reports.  In recent years the relevance of academic studies to policy making and impact on end users has been a pre-condition for securing research funding. This has been particularly the case in the UK and the EU research agenda, where academics are asked to link their research proposals to current issues in the industry and engage end users from the very initial stage of research design.  Some recent attempts of scholars to link their academic debates and empirical studies have focused on connecting marketing and branding research and practice adopting a global and more multidisciplinary approach, bringing the subject of tourism branding outside of the conventional domains of marketing and destinations. Special attention has been given to the role and expectations of the main tourism stakeholders, particularly residents, business, and government in the hosting community. In addition theoretical considerations on the role of tourism as a tool for development-related public and private policies are followed by a methodological framework for tourism policy and governance and application of these in real-world situations.

The conference addresses questions such as:

- How does the nature of tourism and its complexity in areas such as inter-organizational relations, collaboration, competition, innovation, marketing, etc. impact policy making and implementation?

- What are the factors identified in both the top-down and bottom-up approaches of policy implementation?

- What are the challenges in implementing tourism policies and what is the current gap between formal and informal policies in tourism?

- Has academia managed to have a significant impact on policy making and end users?

- Examples and case studies in various areas area of tourism research which has managed to make an impact or failed to do so?

- Issues in teaching the principles of tourism policy making and related community engagement.

- How can we measure or evaluate the impact of tourism research on end users?

Bearing all these questions in mind, this conference aims to add to this debate by stimulating discussion and exchange of ideas between tourism professionals, academics, researchers, policy-makers, consultants, practitioners, government officials and postgraduate students from all tourism-related fields.



Conference Themes



The conference will focus on a broad range of topics related to tourism, including (but not limited to):

•



Theoretical Perspectives on Tourism

•       Tourism Development, Policy and Planning

•       Public Administration of Tourism Development

•       Local Government Role and Responses to Sustainable Tourism Development

•       Community Responses to Tourists and Tourism

•       Economic/Social/Environmental/Cultural Impacts of Tourism

•       European Union Policies for Sustainable Tourism

•       Tourism Education and its Role in Managing Sustainable Tourism Development

•       Alternative and Special Forms of Tourism

•       Case Studies and Applied Research on Various Types and Forms of Sustainable Tourism, Such as Agro-Tourism, Rural Tourism, Eco-Tourism and Cultural Tourism

•       Industry’s Role in Managing Growth

•       Destination Marketing

•       Information Technology in Tourism

•       Tourism Research and Methodology

•       Globalisation Effects

•       Resiliency Planning

•       Challenges and Best Practices of Hospitality and Tourism Marketing and Management

•       Negotiation in Tourism

•       Tourism Mobilities

•       Transportation and Tourism

•       Authenticity and Commodification

•       The Future of Tourism

•       Climate Change and Natural Disasters

•       The Effects of Crime, Terrorism, Safety and Security

•       Managing Human Resources in Hospitality and Tourism



Abstract Submission Guidelines



Abstracts are invited for concurrent sessions and poster presentations. The abstract will be the sole criterion for reviewers to decide the acceptance (or not) of the paper or poster for presentation. Thus the abstract should clearly communicate the objective(s) of the work, the results and their significance, and the advancement over previous work. Time and effort spent constructing a clear, concise, and well-written abstract will maximize the chances of the paper being accepted. Original and significant work is a prerequisite for paper acceptance.

Submitted abstracts should be between 250 and 350 words. Abstracts may only be submitted on-line at http://iatour.net/icot2015/icot2015-abstract-submission/, no later than May 23rd 2015.



Important Dates



Abstract submission deadline (250-350 words)



1st June 2015





Notification of acceptance / referees’ amendments



5th June 2015





Full paper submission deadline (proceedings will be published and be available electronically after the event)



15th July 2015





Conference



25-28th June 2015





Conference Fees



Early Registration

(Until 5th June 2015)



Late Registration

(Until 10th June 2015)





Full registration



€300

€500





Research Students

Registration



€200

€350





Accompanying Persons



€150

€200





Looking forward to meeting you in London, UK.



Conference Leaflet

Available at:

http://iatour.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/LEAFLET_ICOT2015.pdf



Contact Details



For registration or any further enquiries, please contact the conference secretariat at:



[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>



or visit the conference webpage:



http://iatour.net/icot2015.



Abstracts may only be submitted on-line at :

http://iatour.net/icot2015/icot2015-abstract-submission/













-----------------------------------------------------

Konstantinos Andriotis

Professor in Tourism

Middlesex University Business School

Room W215 – Williams Building The Burroughs

London NW4 4BT United Kingdom



MDX Tourism Policy Research Group<http://www.mdx.ac.uk/research/business/groups_projects/tourism-research/index.aspx>











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