Arsal's blog

7th annual TourMIS Users’ Workshop & International Seminar on New Media Analysis and Strategies for Tourism Marketing Organizations
September 15-16, 2011

Organized by the European Travel Commission, European Cities Marketing & MODUL University Vienna

European Cities Marketing, the leading network of city tourist offices and convention bureaus, is using the ITB to report on the recent development of tourism demand in their member destinations.

MODUL University is proud to announce the addition of TOBB University to our ERASMUS partnerships, located in Ankara, Turkey. Currently, student exchange will be possible from September 2011 up until 2013.

The university was founded by the Turkish Chamber of Commerce and has a diverse selection of study programs ranging from Business Administration to Fine Arts and beyond. Degree programs akin to MU's study line include Bachelor degrees in Business Administration, Economics, International Relations and International Entrepreneurship.

MODUL Research is working on the second version of the European Cities Online Benchmarking Tool, which is being designed for the Benchmark Group of European Cities Marketing. The aim of the online tool is to administer the necessary city tourism statistics in an easy and efficient way.

New ERASMUS partner university in Istanbul

Ever expanding its international connections, Bogazici Univesity is the newest ERASMUS partner of MODUL University Vienna. Student exchange between the two universities will be possible beginning from the 2011-2012 academic year.

In a study conducted by ECM’s academic advisors, Prof. Karl Wöber and Dr. Irem Arsal (MODUL University Vienna), shows that annual European tourist bednights can be accurately predicted by using monthly data. In addition, annual forecasts are more accurate for the near rather than the distant future.

In the long run, city holidays and weekend breaks will continue to be a vibrant and growing segment of the global tourism market. When the editors’ first book on analyzing city tourism was published in 1997, tourism marketing still had to prove its ability to utilize advanced research techniques and sophisticated analytical tools. More than a decade later this is taken for granted and no educational program of international significance would do without such methodology.

European Cities Marketing (ECM), the leading network of city tourism organisations in Europe, launched the sixth edition of the European Cities Marketing Benchmarking Report on June 11th, during its Annual Conference in Las Palmas. The report, which was developed by MODUL University Vienna, includes the latest figures about the performance of European Cities in 2009 and illustrates the main trends in city tourism between 2004 and 2009 from 101 European cities.