Tourism and Service Management

TourMIS Workshop

Organized by the European Travel Commission,World Tourism Organization, European Cities Marketing & MODUL University Vienna.

Modul University Vienna was pleased to host two major events on September 11th and 12th, 2014: the 10th TourMIS Users’ Workshop (day 1) and the International Seminar on Knowledge Sharing for Tourism Destinations (day 2). 96 delegates from 26 countries attended this year’s events, the majority of whom represented city and national tourist organizations, as well as international tourism organizations, universities and companies from the hospitality and tourism industry. In addition to regular workshop attendees we happily welcome every year, there were quite a number of new faces in the audience, eager to learn about TourMIS!

The first day’s workshop provided an introduction and discussion of important TourMIS features, and focused primarily on the topic knowledge sharing for tourism destinations. The workshop was led by Dr. Karl Wöber, President of Modul University Vienna, and developer of TourMIS, and was further enriched by the contributions of Tünde Mester (Hungarian Tourism Plc.). As such, this workshop was a unique outlet to provide training on how to use TourMIS and for discussion on possible future steps in developing the system. Moreover, Marta Sabou (TU Vienna) and Irem Önder (MODUL University Vienna) presented their work on how one can go from multi-domain statistical data to complex decisions and actions.

The International Seminar on Knowledge Sharing for Tourism Destinations Services on Day 2 was organized by the European Travel Commission. Focused on the subtheme ‘’going from data to action,’’ the workshops provided practitioners insights how to deal with the quantity and quality of knowledge provided by the diverse tools now available. Additionally, linkages and interaction possible between stakeholders will allow the tourism industry to effectively share and create new knowledge. For this reason, this year’s presentations and discussions focused on knowledge sharing, the use of data in the tourism industry, and the support of the diverse information- and communication technologies (ICT).

Luis Gonzalez Morales (UN, Spain), opened the session, discussing how effective knowledge sharing can support the development of sustainable tourism, followed by Professor Chris Cooper (Oxford Brookes University, UK), who presented the opportunities and limitations of knowledge sharing between academia and the tourism industry.

Continuing on this theme, a number of illustrious speakers from academia and the industry took the floor: Stefan Egger, (IIDD, Vienna), Arno Scharl (Modul University Vienna), Sandro Cuzzolin (Amadeus, Spain), Ronald Pfister (Creability, Switzerland), Peter Nash (Tourism Ireland) and Nessa Skehan  (Failte Ireland), Lorenzo Cantoni and Nadzeya Kalbaska (both from University of Lugano), Julia Jakoebek (Vienna Tourist Board), Frédéric Cornet (VisitBrussels), and Olivier Ponti (Amsterdam Marketing) contributed their own case studies and shared expertise within this research area.

Both events were generously sponsored by the Austrian National Tourist Office (ANTO), Vienna Tourist Board, and Amadeus, and we would like to thank them for their continuous support. For more information about these events, a detailed program, speakers’ information handout, and all presentations are available for download on our TourMIS webpage. 

We are all looking forward to the next year’s workshop!

Prof. Dr. Karl Wöber, President
Contact: Ms Lidija Lalicic
lidija.lalicic[at]modul.ac.at
Researcher and Lecturer
MODUL University Vienna