MU at the 45th Travel and Tourism Research Association Conference – Brugge

The historical walled city of Brugge, Belgium hosted the 45th Annual International Conference bringing together about 150 academic researchers and 40 managers from the travel and tourism industry.

This year’s conference theme was “Tourism and the New Global Economy,” offering practitioners’ sessions, general sessions, academic breakout sessions, and a special track on international tourism and media. Ongoing projects from a European perspective were presented by Eduardo Santander, the Executive Director of the European Travel Commission, Francesca Tudini, the Head of the Tourism Policy Unit of the European Union, and by Antonio Massieu on behalf of the International Network on Regional Economics, Mobility and Tourism (INRouTe).

Two faculty from the department of Tourism and Service Management attended this year's conference in the 'Venice of the North'. President Karl Wöber was invited to speak at the Wednesday Academic Roundtable Luncheon, where he emphasized the stewardship and governance that should be strengthened by academic tourism education institutions. Later on, Prof. Andreas Zins delivered recent research results on monitoring competitive relations among European city destinations through guest-mix analyses.

Another focal topic throughout the conference was sustainability: Chris Adams, Chairman of the Industry Advisory Board of the Center for Sustainable Tourism presented the Centre’s work on the Travel Care Code; a set of simple environmental guidelines for travelers, and the challenges of introducing them into the industry. Sarah Klavas illustrated how the state of Wisconsin developed and implemented one of the only industry-wide certification programs in the U.S. ‘Travel Green Wisconsin’. During one of the general sessions, Prof. John Swarbrooke addressed the topic from a more critical perspective claiming more attention to issues such as fair trade, human rights, labor issues and social inclusion.

Visa Vue Travel together with TCI Research presented results on how US travelers perceive Europe and European travelers perceive the USA as a travel destination. Google Belgium gave insights how current tools and those in the development pipe can be used for by travelers to make decisions and travel experience more convenient. David Edwards from VisitBritain talked about the relevance and difficulties of making forecasts in tourism, and Donna Keren from New York City & Company explained their approach of monitoring visitor flows to New York City.

Next year’s TTRA European Chapter Conference will be held in Innsbruck, Austria, in April 2015.