ATLAS Annual Conference 2024
Leisure & Tourism 2030: Navigating the future
Breda, Netherlands, 25-28 June 2024
The Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research (ATLAS) Annual Conference 2024, titled “Leisure & Tourism 2030: Navigating the Future”, brought together researchers, educators, and innovators to explore the future of leisure and tourism and how we could adapt to meet the changing landscape. The conference covered topics such as the impact of technology on travel, the rise of sustainability in leisure and tourism, societal impacts, and the evolving preferences of consumers.
On the 26th of June, the Centre of Expertise in Leisure, Tourism, and Hospitality (CELTH) and ATLAS powered an ‘Industry Day’ in which scholars and industry representatives could come together to deepen knowledge and discuss sustainable transformation in business model, industry challenges, and knowledge state-of-the-art. More than 200 international scientists attended the two key notes of, respectively, Mr. Frank Radstake, Managing Director of ANVR – the Dutch trade association of tour operators and travel agents, and Mr. Jos Vranken, Managing Director of NBTC – the Dutch Bureau for Tourism & Congress, and attended one of the seven industry workshops and moment of discussion.
Mr. Frank Radstake from ANVR presented and elaborated on the opportunities, challenges, and achievements of a future-proof travel industry, that is committed to sustainability goals as well as becoming carbon neutral by 2025. Mr. Jos Vranken from NBTC presented and discussed the sustainable development of the destination Netherlands and the vision and mission – together with opportunities and constraints – of a green transition envisioning new ways cities, regions, territories, as well as their stakeholders embrace sustainable development and destination management with the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
During the ATLAS Conference, on the 28th and 29th of June, Prof. Elena Cavagnaro and Dr. Lucia Tomassini from the Professorship of Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism of Hotel Management School Leeuwarden coordinated the Special Track ‘Circular Economy and circular regenerative processes in the future of tourism and hospitality’ linked to the Special Interest Group they established and coordinated “Circular Economy and circularity in the space of tourism and hospitality”. The Special Track hosted 7 compelling presentations from a pool of international scholars offering an overview of the themes of circular economy in tourism, leisure and hospitality. The presentations – ranging from circular logistics and data driven choices, the paradox of regenerative tourism, circular economy in islands and coastal regions, circularity in water use in hospitality facility – spark a vibrant discussion among participants and attendances and foster reflection and ideas for possible collaborations and projects to bridge theory to practice.
On the 27th of June, Dr. Lucia Tomassini and Dr. Akke Folmer from European Tourism Futures Institute of NHL Stenden University, coordinated the Special Track ‘Animals in the future of tourism, hospitality, and leisure’ linked to the novel Special Interest Group they established and coordinate: “Animals in Tourism, Hospitality, and Leisure”. The Special Track hosted 4 key presentations providing an overview of the complexity of this theme in which animals redefine more-than-human spaces, type of encounters, and ethical dilemmas in tourism destinations, hospitality facilities, natural areas, and zoos where animals can be guests and travellers too. The session sparked lots of interest and discussion over this topic so relevant and urgent for the sustainable future of the tourism, hospitality, and leisure sector as well as largely overlooked in previous decades.
Prof. Elena Cavagnaro and Dr. Lucia Tomassini at ATLAS Annual Conference 2024