ATLAS Annual Conference 2025
Tourist destinations at a crossroads
Space, community, products, politics and evolutionary processes in the age of transitions
Vila-seca, Catalonia, Spain
June 17-20, 2025
Special Track 1 – Understanding Dark Tourism and Volunteer Tourism in times of transition
Special Track 2 – Systems Thinking in support of Systems in Transition
Special Track 3 – Animals in Tourism Destinations: Challenges and Opportunities of More-Than-Human Communities in More-Than-Human Spaces
Special Track 4 – Cultural and Creative Tourism: Theories, Practices and Tools
Special Track 5 – Degrowth in tourism: debates, complexities, practices
Special Track 6 – Heritage Tourism and Education in the Age of Transitions
Special Track 7 – Climate Change and Circular Economy Principles in an Age of Environmental and Societal Transformations
Special Track 8 – Exploring the Role of Festivals and Leisure Events in Advancing Social Sustainability
Special Track 9 – Liveable Cities, Tourism and Transformation
Introduction
Tourist destinations at a crossroads
Space, community, products, politics and evolutionary processes in the age of transitions
This conference aims at hosting wide-ranging scientific contributions and debates on the way tourist destinations, its geographies, products, communities and policy approaches have evolved and could evolve under the pull of global and local change drivers and how they need to adapt to such changes.
It means to address such questions as:
- How do we analyse and make sense of tourist places as dynamic, evolving entities?
- How organisational and production processes shaping destination evolution adapt to global change drivers?
- What is the role of local communities of residents, workers and entrepreneurs, in confronting, adapting to or facilitating change?
- How are politics and policies of tourism promotion and development constructed between different scales and agencies? How do we understand and qualify destination resilience?
- What is the role of new technologies and digital worlds in bringing about more sustainable tourism and more resilient destinations?
- What has changed in post-pandemic tourism mobilities, and how does that challenge or accommodate the need for sustainability transitions?
- How are changes in tourism mobilities and spatial behaviour of visitors at and towards destinations influencing destination development?
As the world enters the third decade of the twenty-first century, tourism destinations are, perhaps more than ever before, in a crossroads. Global dynamics of economic, social and environmental transformation caused by climate change and the de-carbonization of economic activity in response to the environmental emergency have opened up new challenges for tourism destinations, while also intensifying other that were already latent. This conference aims to contextualize the evolution of tourism destinations within broad vectors of interpretation, including vulnerability, adaptability and resilience and intense change dynamics such as the effects on the destinations of the current global economic transition. Such dynamics, to which we can add the emergency situation and global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, unveil new additional vulnerabilities in destinations, necessitating new governance mechanisms to increase their resilience (Brouder, 2020; Gossling et al, 2020). This situates the proposal within the core of debates on globalization effects and their limitations at different scales and the vulnerability of complex destinations facing global changes and new economic transition strategies. It also connects the project to current challenges identified by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
According to Hall (2019) this situation brings the need “to rethink human–environment relations given the mistaken belief that the exertion of more effort and greater efficiency will alone solve problems of sustainable tourism”. Following Brouder (2000) “a path that leads to transformation in tourism can be realized if sufficient institutional innovation occurs on both the demand and supply side of tourism that can foster the emergence of new paths.” To do so, there is the need to investigate how tourism and especially, tourism destinations, are able to adapt (or in which cases they are not) to the present era of social, economic and environmental transformations. To advance in this direction, an important question to reflect on is how tourism destinations could respond to this global, intense and transversal transformation clearly driven by the new low-carbon imperative. Tourism destinations are, in fact, in the forefront of the challenge (Prideaux et al, 2020) either as generators of carbon footprint and as places affected by the social, economic and entrepreneurial change trends deriving from the low carbon transition. Following Gössling et al (2020), then, this conference will analyse challenges, vulnerabilities, adaptability and transformations in particular tourism destinations and explores the foremost role that agency-driven tools in digital technology, communication and governance domains may play in building sustainable, prosperous and resilient tourism destinations.
As stated by Colchester (2016), “adaptive systems are those that are governed by some control or regulatory mechanism that allows them to change their state in response to changes within their environment”. They are interconnected and interdependent, creating a continuously changing environment including reactive and proactive capacities that generate a continuous trade-off between stability and flexibility. In regional studies, this means “the ability of a region to anticipate, prepare for, respond to and recover from a disturbance” (Foster, 2012, 29). The challenge for a destination is, thus, to set up governance tools in a context of constant change and learning, becoming resilience-oriented when thinking, preparing, acting, governing and performing (Fabry & Zeghni, 2019). As such, adaptability is a continuous process that from an evolutionary perspective must continually involve all destination stakeholders in a complex dynamic that includes societal change. This is truly important as, when dealing with vulnerability and adaptability, Short-, medium- and long-term destination evolution, transformation and resilience depends on the response to the identified challenges. Human agency, context (institutional, geographical and economic) and place path dependence play a role in the definition of co-evolutionary dynamics of destinations and the lock in/out towards new scenarios. Path plasticity, incremental change and path creation, as disruptive transformations, shape the adaptive capacity and resilience of existing complex tourism destinations (Clivaz et al, 2014).
Importantly, destinations are understood as complex places with residential, productive, and social functions beyond tourism; all with co-evolving trajectories. The institutional environment and, by extension, the overall political orientation of the destination will thus influence its social dynamics and productive, social, and ideological relationships. This necessitates a nuanced understanding of the agency tools that destinations put in place in the technological, communication and governance domains that may produce substantial variations as regards its vulnerability and resilience. Empirical observations, theoretical discussions, critical insights and practical expertise could assist a responsible transition towards a sustainable transformation and increase resilience of destinations in the current social, economic and environmental scenario.
References:
Brouder, P. (2020). Reset redux: possible evolutionary pathways towards the transformation of tourism in a COVID-19 world. Tourism Geographies, 22:3, 484-490.
Clivaz, C., Crevoisier, O., Kebir, L., Nahrath, S., and Stock, M. (2014). Resort Development and Touristic Capital of Place. Neuchâtel: Maison d’analyse des processus sociaux. Universite de Neuchâtel.
Colchester, J. (2016). Systems + Complexity. An accessible introduction to the new area of complex systems.
Fabry, N. & Zeghni, S (2019). Resilience, tourist destinations and governance: an analytical framework. In: Cholat F., Gwiazdzinski L., Tritz C. & Tuppen J. (eds) Tourismes et adaptations. Elya Editions, p.96-108.
Foster K. (2012). “In Search of Regional Resilience” in Weir, M. et al (eds). Urban and Regional Policy and Its Effects: Building Resilient Regions Brookings Institution Press. p. 24-59.
Gössling, S.; Scott; D. & Hall, C.M. (2020) Pandemics, tourism and global change: a rapid assessment of COVID-19, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2020.1758708.
Hall, C.M. (2019). Constructing sustainable tourism development: The 2030 agenda and the managerial ecology of sustainable tourism Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 27 (7), 1044-1060,
Prideaux, B.; Thompson, M. & Pabel, A. (2020), Lessons from COVID-19 can prepare global tourism for the economic transformation needed to combat climate change, Tourism Geographies, 22:3, 667-678.
Keynote speakers
Conference Themes
The main theme of the conference is:
Space, community, products, politics and evolutionary processes in the age of transitions
We welcome abstracts in the following areas:
● Sustainable destinations: bringing together economic, social and environmental perspectives
● Destination change: measuring sense and direction
● Destination evolution: local communities, politics and governance
● Innovation in destination: management and experiences
● Resilience planning in tourism in the face of global change drivers
● Global mobilities and local connections: trends and impacts
● Destination transformation: towards new economic, social and environmental paths
● Role of technologies and digital worlds as agents of change for destinations
● Changing mobilities at and towards destinations
● Tourists’ behaviour, practices and performance in the construction of the tourist space
Conference Venue
Transport
Call for Special Tracks
The conference organizers invite proposals for organizing Special Tracks during the conference and encourage ATLAS Special Interest Groups and Chapters to plan meetings and workshops within or alongside the conference program.
At this moment 9 Special Tracks are listed, all submitted by ATLAS Special Interest Groups (SIGs). Even though the organizers would like to limit the number of Special Tracks in the program, there is room for a couple of more Special Tracks. Therefore we like to invite proposals for Special Tracks with other themes than already listed. Please take into account that the Scientific Committee will review all submitted proposals and if too many were submitted they will have to make a selection.
Please submit your proposal to admin@atlas-euro.org before November 1st 2024.
Special Track 1
Understanding Dark Tourism and Volunteer Tourism in times of transition
ATLAS SIG Volunteer Tourism
ATLAS SIG Dark Tourism
Special Track Convenors
Kostantina Zerva – University of Girona, Spain
Elisa Burrai – Leeds Beckett University, UK
Davide Sterchele – Leeds Beckett University, UK
This special track, jointly organised by two ATLAS Special Interest Groups, ‘Dark Tourism’ and ‘Volunteer Tourism’, invites contributions which showcase conceptual, methodological and empirical advances to understand (the intersecting fields of) dark tourism and volunteer tourism in times of transition.
We live in a time of social, geopolitical, ecological, economic and technological transitions which offer both possibilities and challenges for tourism destinations. The changes and challenges of this transitory time expose societies to instability, vulnerability, adaptability but also resilience. Within this complex global scenario, we seek to examine how the intersecting fields of dark tourism and volunteer tourism shape and are shaped by the changes experienced by destinations.
Dark tourism and volunteer tourism are two distinct, yet related, forms of travelling. They share some common characteristics such as tourists’ desire to visit and experience sites of disasters, death and suffering; the ethical and moral dilemmas associated to these types of experiences; commodification (and moral/ethical appropriateness) of sites of death, torture, poverty and deprivation.
Aligned with the theme of the ATLAS conference 2025 that focuses on the ways tourist destinations evolve in times of transition, we call for theoretical and empirical contributions pertaining to the transformation and adaptation of dark tourism and volunteer tourism in conjunction with these changes. To this end, we are particularly interested in contributions that explore how socio-economic, ecological, technological and political transitions affect volunteer tourism and dark tourism, their intersections and conceptual underpinnings on the themes of ethics, morality, power, (im-)mobilities, sustainability and justice in a variety of geographical, socio-ecological and political contexts.
More specifically, this special track aims at understanding the evolution of dark tourism and volunteer tourism in relation to the following areas:
- Evolving conceptualisations and praxis of morality and ethics;
- Migration and memorialisation as drivers of dark and volunteer tourism
- Post-conflict ecovery through dark and volunteer tourism
- Sustainable Development Goals: blending dark tourism and volunteer tourism in post-disaster reconstruction
- Climate change and natural disasters;
- Artificial intelligence and systems of surveillance;
- The role of social media in volunteer and dark tourism to post-disaster regions;
- Social movements and activism;
- Anthropocentrism and posthumanism;
- Imperialism, colonialism and decolonisation;
- Critical theories;
- Participatory methodologies.
We invite submissions that may address, but are not be limited to, the above-mentioned areas.
Special Track 2
Systems Thinking in support of Systems in Transition
ATLAS SIG Systems Thinking in Tourism
Special Track Convenors
Kyriaki Glyptou – Leeds Beckett University, UK
Rodolfo Baggio – Bocconi University, Italy
This Special Track aims to foster a comprehensive forum for exploring the dynamic evolution of tourism destinations in the face of global and local change drivers. It seeks to foster discussions on how destinations, as complex and evolving systems, react, adapt and/or transform to contemporary economic, environmental, socio-political, institutional changes in order to move to a new, ideally optimised, state of equilibrium. These changes pose significant challenges for destinations, necessitating new governance mechanisms and long-term transition strategies that focus on resilience, adaptability, and sustainability.
In line with the theme of the ATLAS 2025 Conference, the Special Tracks Systems Thinking in support of Systems in Transition, invites theoretical and empirical contributions, methodological advancements as well as policy, managerial and operational applications of systems thinking in the context of tourism destinations as evolving entities adaptive to external forces such as climate change, technological advancements, the low-carbon imperative and the global economic transition. The Special Track further aims to unpack the politics and governance frameworks that influence destination transitions and their adaptive capacity amidst the inherent destination complexity and the intersection of institutional, geographical and socio-economic contexts that co-influence their sustainability and resilience in the times of transition.
We invite the submission of abstracts addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Conceptualisation of the Tourism Destination System along the SDGs and 2030 Agenda
- Tourism Destination System Feedback Loops and Boundaries in times of uncertainty
- Tourism Destination Decision Making under uncertainty
- Tourism Destination Governance
- Tourism Policy Support in times of transition
- Dynamic Tourism System Behaviour in times of transition
- The complexity of tourism destination system
- Methodological advancements in complex tourism destination system thinking
- Methodological advancements in impact assessment along the SDGs
- Modelling and Simulations for assessing impacts in systems in transition
- Tourism Destination System Resilience
- Tourism Destination System Change Management
- Tourism Destination System Adaptation & Transformation Capacity
Publication Opportunities
The organisers have agreed with the Journal of Tourism Analysis to have a Special Issue with the papers from the Special Track in System Thinking in Tourism.
Special Track 3
Animals in Tourism Destinations: Challenges and Opportunities of More-Than-Human Communities in More-Than-Human Spaces
ATLAS SIG Animals in Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure
Special Track Convenors
Lucia Tomassini – NHL Stenden University
Akke Folmer – NHL Stenden University
This Special Track organised under the aegis of the ATLAS SIG Animals in Tourism, Hospitality, and Leisure invites contributions presenting theoretical, methodological, and empirical advances in the research on the understanding and role of animals in tourism destinations, discussing the challenges and opportunities of more-than-human communities in a more-than-human space.
This Special Track takes place against the backdrop of severe biodiversity loss, climate change, the surpassing of biomass by human-made materials, and the urgent need for critical reflection on the relationship between humans and non-human animals. In doing so, it also addresses critical approaches to borders, displacement, and othering within a more-than-human spatiality and uneven mobility.
Acknowledging the urgency to envision and manage more-than-human communities in a more-than-human space, this Special Track aims to generate knowledge and stimulate debate by exploring, investigating, and questioning the role of animals in the contexts of tourism destinations and tourism-related anthropic spaces where animals are largely perceived and experienced as tourist attractions, ‘untidy guests’, as well as sources of food and transport service.
We welcome contributions prompting a critical thinking on ‘Animals in Tourism Destinations: Challenges and Opportunities of More-Than-Human Communities in More-Than-Human Spaces’. Contributions should cover a variety of themes, among which:
- Animal Justice
- Animal Ethics
- Animal Welfare
- Wildlife Tourism
- Wildlife conservation
- Blue Tourism and marine mammals
- Pets and animal companionship
- Animal-based tourism experiences
- Animals in food experiences and culinary traditions
- Animals in festivals, events, and sport activities
- More-than-human methodologies
- Animal geography and Animal mobility
- More-than-human spatial theories
- Animals and Governance
- Animal futures
- Animal-based tourism services
- Human and animals’ encounters
- Media storification and visual representation of animals
- Animals through Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality
Publication Opportunities
The organisers of this session will explore publication opportunities with high-impact journals and will make sure that the session will be followed up through active engagement of the participants in the dedicated SIG and its activities.
Special Track 4
Cultural and Creative Tourism: Theories, Practices and Tools
ATLAS SIG Cultural Tourism
CROCUS project
Special Track Convenors
Greg Richards – ATLAS
Henrik Halkier – Aalborg University, Denmark
Laura James – Aalborg University, Denmark
Cultural tourism is a large and well-developed field with a considerable body of research, including much work undertaken by the ATLAS Cultural Tourism Research Group. We now know much more about the motivations, activities and profile of cultural tourists and their impacts on the places they visit. We have also identified several key trends in the cultural tourism field, including the cultural, performance, mobilities, creative and curatorial ‘turns’ (Richards, 2021).
In spite of this growing body of knowledge, we are still facing major challenges, such as the expansion of ‘mass cultural tourism’. Tourism is also increasingly under scrutiny, as many destinations struggle with large numbers of tourism arrivals and growing local disquiet about tourism models. Developing ‘new’ models of tourism and spreading tourists from crowded to less tourists places are therefore seen as potential paths towards more sustainable tourism.
These challenges spurred the European Union (EU) to fund a series of projects relating to cultural tourism, seeking to find smart solutions to overtourism (SmartCulTour) and tourism conflict in cities (Smartdest). With the completion of these projects, EU attention is turning to the potential to develop cultural and creative tourism in rural and remote areas, also as a means of encouraging tourism flows to new areas. This also provides a new set of challenges in cultural tourism development and research. There is a need to examine how cultural and creative tourism affect the communities and environments of rural areas and which business models can most effectively be linked these areas.
This track will bring together insights from three current EU projects which have many common concerns:
- The CROCUS project in which ATLAS is a partner, and focusses on cultural and creative tourism in rural and remote areas
- The SECreTour project, which aims to develop a Fair, Creative and Sustainable Tourism (FaCS-Tourism) approach together with Heritage Communities (HC)
- The CULTURALITY project aiming to promote cultural and creative tourism activities to aid the sustainable development of rural areas
This track will therefore examine the theoretical and practical implications of the development of CCT in RRA, including the relationships between rural and urban areas in shaping tourism flows. Paper proposals are therefore invited from ATLAS delegates on the following and other relevant topics:
- Innovations in cultural and creative tourism
- Sustainability of cultural and creative tourism
- Cultural and creative tourism in rural and remote areas
- Developing Cultural and Creative Tourism in Small cities
- Cultural and creative regions and tourism
- Relationships between urban and rural areas
- Creative networks and creative hubs
- Cultural, social and cultural effects of CCT
- New and emerging CCT practices
- Practice bundles and business models in cultural and creative tourism
Special Track 5
Degrowth in tourism: debates, complexities, practices
ATLAS SIG Space, Place, Mobilities in Tourism
Special Track Convenors
Ilaria Pappalepore – University of Westminster, UK
Antonio Paolo Russo – Rovira i Virgili University, Spain
Isabel Paulino – University of Girona, Spain
Giacomo-Maria Salerno – University of Siena, Italy
This special track continues the academic dialogue held at the 2024 Breda congress in a special track on “Tourism mobilities and the challenge of climate change, at a crossroads” organised together with the SIG Climate Change and Tourism. Now specifically tackling the question of a rising buzzword in societal and scholarly debates around tourism in the face of the global challenge of the climate crisis and the local issues with tourism excesses, that of degrowth. But, what does degrowth actually mean, and what does it involve? What are the complexities, faced at different scales and by a wide range of governmental and non-governmental agencies, for actually embracing a degrowth agenda? What are the immediate plausible consequences of attempts of degrowing tourism for local communities, positive or negative? Is there a future in which a shrinking or restructured system of tourism mobilities could be endorsed by the wide range of agents with vested interests in the seamless expansion of tourist operations?
Arguably, degrowth in tourism hints at fundamental revisions of mobility systems and affordabilities at different scales, which challenges established notions of the ‘right to travel’ and the democratizing character that has for long been attributed to international tourism; at the restructuring of industry operations and the way they ‘land’ in destination spaces (supply systems, use of common pool resources, place promotion, accessibility); and at fundamental questions of visitor behaviour both to and at destinations, including issues of destination selection and consumption practices.
As usual, we will explore opportunities for publishing this collection of paper in a special high-impact journal issue, as we did before with papers presented at the SPMT seminar of 2021 (in Tourism Geographies) and at the Cork meeting in 2023 (in Applied Mobilities).
We are especially keen on welcoming contributions tackling topics among the following:
- Degrowth and post-growth paradigms applied to tourism: conceptual advances
- Sustainable de-growth for liveability: stakeholders’ perspectives (Who would benefit from tourism degrowth? What inequality issues could be nested in a degrowth agenda? Is a future without tourism de-growth even possible?)
- The complexity of transitions towards a degrowth agenda – regime survival, multi-scale incrustations, governance turns
- Planning for degrowth: systems, interactions, narratives
- ‘Doing more with less’: the (potential) realignments of the tourist & travel industry to a degrowth agenda; developing a tourism doughnut economy
- Methodologies and epistemologies for degrowth research
- Case studies of ‘actually implemented degrowth’, partial or fundamental. Successes, failures, measures, lessons learned
Special Track 6
Heritage Tourism and Education in the Age of Transitions
ATLAS SIG Heritage Tourism and Education
Special Track Convenors
Chin-Ee Ong – Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM), China
Adrian Guachalla – Canterbury Christ Church University, UK
The Heritage Tourism and Education Special Interest Group of ATLAS invites submissions for our special track on Heritage Tourism and Education in the Age of Transitions. This session seeks to explore the dynamic interplay between heritage tourism and educational initiatives in the context of both global and local change drivers, as we navigate an era marked by profound societal and planetary disruptions.
Session Focus
- Dynamic Heritage Spaces – Heritage sites are not static; they are evolving entities that must adapt to an ever-changing world. We encourage submissions that explore the transformation of heritage spaces through innovative educational practices and community engagement. How do these spaces reflect societal shifts, climate change, and global migration patterns? What role do they play in fostering a sense of identity amidst such transitions?
- Community and Heritage – Local communities are pivotal in preserving heritage while embracing change. We invite contributions that focus on community-led initiatives and educational programs that support sustainable heritage tourism. What strategies are communities employing to ensure their heritage remains relevant and valued in the face of societal shifts and environmental challenges? How can educational initiatives empower communities to take an active role in heritage preservation?
- Policy and Governance – As we witness disruptions in our societies, it is crucial to explore how policies can foster resilient heritage tourism destinations. We seek analyses of policy frameworks that integrate educational strategies, enhance adaptability, and bolster the resilience of heritage sites. How can heritage policies evolve to address contemporary issues such as climate change, social justice, and economic inequality? What best practices can be shared across different contexts?
- Technology and Education – Digital technologies are reshaping the landscape of heritage tourism and education. Papers should explore how technological advancements—such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and digital storytelling—can create immersive educational experiences that promote sustainable tourism practices. How do these technologies facilitate access to heritage for diverse audiences, especially in an age where physical travel may be limited?
- Post-Pandemic Adaptations – The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally reshaped heritage tourism and education. We invite discussions on the new educational models and tourism practices that have emerged in response to recent global challenges. What lessons have been learned about resilience and adaptability? How can we leverage these insights to foster more sustainable and equitable heritage tourism practices in the future?
We welcome empirical studies, theoretical discussions, case studies, and practical insights. Submissions should align with the broader conference themes of sustainability, resilience, and adaptive governance in tourism destinations, while addressing the critical changes in heritage policies necessitated by current societal and planetary challenges.
Join us in exploring the transformative potential of heritage tourism and education in fostering sustainable and resilient destinations. Let us collectively shape the future of heritage tourism in the age of transitions, where we confront the challenges posed by our rapidly changing world and strive to create inclusive, adaptive spaces that honor our shared heritage.
Special Track 7
Climate Change and Circular Economy Principles in an Age of Environmental and Societal Transformations
ATLAS SIG Climate Change and Tourism
ATLAS SIG Circular Economy
Special Track Convenors
Ioanna Farsari – Dalarna University, Sweden
Lucia Tomassini – NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands
This Special Track is organised under the aegis of two ATLAS SIGs: ‘Climate Change and Tourism’ and ‘Circular Economy and Circularity in the Space of Tourism and Hospitality’. It invites contributions presenting theoretical, methodological, and empirical advances in the research on the intersection of Climate Change and Circular Economy principles in tourism in an age of environmental and societal transformations.
Tourism contributes with an estimated 8% to greenhouse gas emissions (Lenzen et al., 2018), and in spite the pledge to reduce its emissions, those continue to grow (Gössling &Scott, 2018). Although half of the emissions from tourism come from transport, other sectors such as accommodation, activities and food production and chains also contribute to it. Scholars argue on the need for large structural changes and collaboration between the industry, the government and researchers having an active role there to meet Paris Agreement goals (Becken 2019). Besides large-scale initiatives, the role of grass roots movements and enabling communities and actors to take action in sustainability transformations to address global environmental/climate change have also been discussed (Scoones et al. 2020). The shifting of developmental paths is in both cases on focus.
At the same time, circular economy has been discussed as such a way to put transformations for sustainability and decarbonisation in practice (Tomassini & Cavagnaro, 2022). The principles of the circular economy offer a compelling framework for rethinking tourism and hospitality policies and practices in the context of the climate change. Grounded in the concept of circularity—where ecosystems renew themselves through cyclic regenerative processes and an ongoing dynamic equilibrium —circular economy principles can be applied to tourism by creating regenerative, localized, carbon-neutral, economic models. Traditionally focused on the reuse of materials in product-oriented industries, circular economy thinking can be extended to tourism destinations by promoting smaller, localized supply chains and fostering new inclusive relationships among human and non-human actors. This could involve reimagining tourism spaces as multidimensional arenas where sustainable practices and power dynamics are reshaped. As the world enters a new era marked by economic and environmental transformations and global challenges, tourism destinations and the tourism industry must not only adapt to the effects of climate change but also anticipate the challenges posed by decarbonization and other global economic transitions by adopting circular economy principles and practices.
Nevertheless, it has been also criticised as enhancing weak approaches to sustainability, green growth and eco-modernisation (Corvellec et al. 2020; Kallis et al 2018). However, research should move beyond dichotomic views (of circularity and strong approaches to sustainability) and look for ways to advance knowledge and action for decarbonisation (Schröder et al 2019). Regenerative and degrowth approaches have been discussed as a useful lens to stimulate paradigm shifts in the circularity approaches in the production and consumption of tourism.
In this special track we invite contributions on both large systemic changes, policies, and technological improvements but also on social approaches to circularity as a way to decarbonise tourism. Business models, consumer behaviour, slow tourism, proximity tourism, regenerative approaches, new mobility patterns, policies and whole systems approaches can form the focus of the research trying to answer the question of how circularity research can advance (or hinder) our efforts to mitigate carbon emissions and consequent climate change?
Contributions that explore the intersection of tourism, climate change, and circular economy are invites. Those may relate to:
- Slow tourism
- Proximity tourism
- Degrowth
- Sustainability transformations
- Circular regenerative processes
- Circular business models
- Network Theory
- Governance and policymaking for Climate Change adaptation and mitigation
- Circular Economy in Hospitality and Tourism: case studies and/or best
- practices
- Climate justice
- Planning transitions
- Practice Theory
- Behavioural informed interventions
- Sociology of Space
- Biodiversity regeneration
- Collaborative Economy
- Placemaking and circular regenerative processes
- Posthuman approaches
- Green and/or alternative mobility and logistic
- Supply chain management
Publication Opportunities
The organisers of this session will explore publication opportunities with high-impact journals and will make sure that the session will be followed up through active engagement of the participants in the dedicated SIGs and their activities.
Special Track 8
Exploring the Role of Festivals and Leisure Events in Advancing Social Sustainability
ATLAS SIG Events
Special Track Convenors
Alba Colombo – Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain
Vasiliki Georgoula – University of the Aegean, Greece
This special track is pleased to invite submissions for the theoretical, methodological, and empirical advances in research on the festivals and leisure events and how they may be considered as platforms and playground for social sustainability. Currently festivals and leisure events (F&LEs) have become increasingly important arenas for consumption, experience and social interaction across contemporary Europe and beyond. While F&LEs are acknowledged for their ability to foster community engagement, their social value is often eclipsed by negative narratives associated to social and environmental challenges, such as the privatisation of public spaces, environmental degradation, waste generation, congestion, disruption to residential neighbourhoods, and their role in accelerating gentrification. Notwithstanding these challenges, there is evidence that F&LEs can play a crucial role in fostering social engagement, promoting social cohesion, and strengthening communal bonds through shared emotional experiences and knowledge exchange. F&LEs possess significant potential to drive social transformation by fostering tangible connections and reinforcing community cohesion. Their ability to support and sustain communities on a global scale underscores their essential role in promoting social cohesion and community development.(Burgess and Stevens 2023; Mahadewi 2022; McGillivray, Colombo and Villanueva 2022). Equally, resilience demonstrated by the sector during periods of crisis signal the potential they hold for mobilising creative energies and collective activism in the interests of the public good (Sharp, Finkel, and Dashper 2024). Consequently, the capacity to drive social transformation through F&LEs is of significant importance to academics, policymakers and practitioners, particularly in guiding these initiatives towards a sustainable future.
This special track seeks to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of F&LEs practices and their impacts on social sustainability. Submissions are encouraged to address a range of sub-topics, including but not limited to:
- Theoretical frameworks for understanding the social impact of festivals and leisure events.
- Methodological approaches to measuring the social value of F&LEs in communities.
- Case studies highlighting successful F&LEs that promote social cohesion and community engagement.
- Equity, diversity and inclusion approaches (EDI) but also accessibility, social cohesion, well-being and justice.
- The influence of cultural diversity and inclusivity in F&LE programming.
Fostering resilience and collective activism through F&LEs during crises. - The role of F&LEs in mitigating environmental and economic challenges and promoting sustainability.
- Strategies for enhancing community involvement and participation in F&LEs.
Addressing the challenges of privatisation of public spaces in the context of F&LEs. - Examining the impact of F&LEs on local economies and community development.
- The potential of digital platforms and technology in enhancing F&LE experiences and outreach.
- Evaluating the emotional and social experiences generated by F&LEs and their significance for communities.
- Best practices for designing sustainable F&LEs that prioritise community needs and values.
Publication Opportunities
The organizers of this special track will explore publication opportunities with high-impact journals.
Special Track 9
Liveable Cities, Tourism and Transformation
ATLAS SIG Urban Tourism
Special Track Convenors
Melanie Kay Smith – Budapest Business University, Hungary
Ko Koens – InHolland University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands
Manuela Gutberlet – Breda University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands
This stream will focus on the relationship between the concept of liveable cities, sustainable development and resident quality of life. The term ‘liveability’ is a holistic concept that challenges urban development paradigms that fail to centralise residents’ interests and social aspects of sustainability. It has been suggested that focusing on the happiness of local populations aligns well with SDG 11, which advocates creating habitable cities that are good for citizens, and subsequently, for tourists (Croes et al., 2024). However, it has been argued that the concept of liveability is not yet that well understood in urban planning and design (Sheikh & Ameijde, 2022). It can be a subjective concept, which varies according to context and community-specific values (Ahmed, Halafawy & Amin, 2019). The term can relate to quality of life or wellbeing, and several specific aspects of city life, such as transport, health, housing, safety, culture, leisure, and so forth. The development of liveability as a guiding principle in urban planning, design and management should ensure equitable access to all facilities for all residents, addressing issues like social segregation or spatial justice (Sheikh & Ameijde, 2022).
Tourism may provide many benefits, but it can also adversely affect liveability, especially in destinations which have reached peak capacity (e.g. those suffering from ‘overtourism’). However, it has been noted that very little research has focused on the impacts of tourism on liveability (Tang et al, 2022). The latter authors confirm what is becoming evident in many destinations – that urban liveability diminishes with the development of tourism. Inherent in the concept of liveability is interaction between people (Ahmed, Halafawy & Amin, 2019), which can be compromised in tourism destinations by overcrowding, hostility, feelings of inequality, social exclusion, and so on. The notion of liveability invites us to re-visit the nature of host-guest relations in cities, addressing the social dimensions of overtourism, as well as engaging with models of social sustainability in accordance with SDG 11 principles. However, it has been suggested that designers and developers find it easier to focus on creating liveable rather than sustainable communities “because liveability is more tangible, immediate and attainable” (Tennakoon & Kulatunga, 2019). It has been argued that there is a need for some deep transformative changes to navigate sustainability transition, address health concerns and to ensure resilience in the face of crises (Alidoust, 2023). This stream will engage with the process of transformative governance, which aims to facilitate forms of development that support and promote liveability.
Themes which may be considered for this SIG stream include, but are not limited to:
- Liveable cities
- Measures and indicators of liveability
- Sustainable urban development
- Impacts of overtourism on liveability
- Smart cities and smart tourism
- Resident quality of life
- Host-guest relations in cities
- Urban governance for liveability
- People-centred planning models
- Stakeholder collaboration and communication
- Placemaking approaches
- Crises, resilience and future-proofing
- Transformative approaches to city development
Special Track 10
Ecosystem Services and the Impacts of Nature-Based and Adventure Tourism on Tourism Destinations at a Crossroads
Special Track Convenor
Kelsey Johansen – University of Eastern Finland, Finland
Ecosystem services, also know as natural capital, refer to the direct and indirect contributions ecosystems provide for human wellbeing and quality of life. Opportunities to enhance subjective wellbeing, and quality of life, strongly influence engagement in nature-based and adventure tourism. Safeguarding the natural environment, including ecosystem health and biodiversity richness is necessary, not only to ensure that ecosystems continue to provide these services and to guarantee the economic value derived from ecosystem services, through among other avenues, the operation of nature-based tourism and adventure tourism outfitters and guiding businesses, as well as nature-based tourism SMEs, but also to ensure the preservation of natural environments in tourism destinations at a crossroads. This session therefore welcomes submissions on topics including, but not limited to:
- The economic, experience, and amenity value of nature;
- The wellbeing and human health impacts of access to nature;
- Safeguarding the amenity value of recreation and tourism destinations;
- Ecosystem services and recreation and tourism engagement;
- Theoretical and practical approaches to calculating, assessing, monitoring and managing ecosystem services, and the experiential, economic and amenity values of nature;
- Evidence-based methods and practices for calculating the economic value of ecosystem services in recreation and tourism;
- Best practices for monitoring the impacts of outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism on the ecosystem services provided by, and the economic, experience, and amenity values of, nature;
- Evidence-based approaches to monitoring and managing human dimensions of natural resources in mixed use natural settings;
- The recreation and tourism sector’s role and responsibility in maintaining its operational environment;
Metrics and measurement approaches to evidence-based decision-making for human dimensions of natural resource management in outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism; and, - Best policy, communication, and engagement strategies for cultivating pro-environmental behaviours, stewardship intentions, and green business and access practices at the recreation and tourism business and consumer level.
Special Track 11
Unveiling the power of storytelling: Exploring how narratives can shape transitions in tourism and Leisure
Special Track Convenors
Moniek Hover – Breda University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands
Natàlia Ferrer-Roca – University of Girona, Catalonia, Spain
Ilja Simons – Breda University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands
We are excited to invite submissions for this special track, focusing on theoretical, methodological, design, and empirical advancements related to storytelling and narratives in shaping transitions within tourism and leisure. This track aims to explore how storytelling influences destinations, communities and experiences, contributing to both academic knowledge and practical applications.
Storytelling has become an increasingly significan t focus in tourism and leisure research (Bulkens et al., 2015; Chen, 2023; Gravili et al., 2017; Leong, et al., 2024; Mossberg et al., 2011). Broadly, storytelling in tourism can be categorized into two perspectives. Firstly, from an organisational perspective, where stories are employed in experience design or so-called staged experiences, and strategically crafted to present places in compelling ways, thereby enhancing a destination’s distinctiveness and competitiveness (Bassano et al., 2019; Kapferer, 2008). Secondly, storytelling encompasses consumer narratives, providing insights into how tourists perceive, interpret, and communicate their encounters with destinations. This approach captures the tourist’s perspective, highlighting the emotional and subjective elements of their lived experiences.
Moreover, stories and storytelling are integral to cultural and heritage discourses, including local histories, collective memories, and place narratives. Community stories provide insight into cultural contexts and, as components of intangible cultural heritage, storytelling emerges as a powerful tool for creating a sense of belonging and enhancing connections within and between communities.
This special track aims to deepen the understanding of these perspectives and how they intersect. Therefore, we welcome interdisciplinary approaches that integrate insights from fields such as (destination) marketing, cultural studies, psychology, geography, digital media, and communication to provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of storytelling in tourism and leisure, and how it can shape transitions.
We are particularly interested in receiving contributions that address the following topics, but not limited to:
- Personal Narratives: Exploration of the stories shared by tourists, focusing on how personal experiences are articulated and how they influence others’ perceptions of destinations.
- Identity Making: Studies on how storytelling contributes to the construction of both individual and collective identities within tourism contexts, including how destinations shape and promote their identity through narratives.
- Emotions in Storytelling: Investigation of the emotional dimensions of narratives, including how emotions are evoked, expressed, and perceived in both organizational storytelling and consumer narratives, and their role in shaping the tourism experience.
- Meaning-Making Processes: Research on how narratives in tourism create, transform, or reinforce meanings associated with places, events, and cultural heritage.
- Narrative Design: Analysis of the techniques and strategies used in crafting compelling tourism narratives, including digital storytelling, interactive storytelling, and multi-sensory approaches that engage audiences in innovative ways.
- Narrative Immersion: Examination of how narratives create immersive experiences that engage tourists, enhancing their sense of presence, involvement, and connection to the destination.
- Discourse and Representation: Studies on the discourse of tourism storytelling, exploring how language, imagery, and symbols are used to represent and construct destinations, and how these representations may reinforce or challenge cultural, social, and historical narratives.
- Digital and Technological Narratives: Insights into how digital platforms, augmented and virtual reality, social media, and other technological advancements shape and mediate storytelling in tourism.
- Sustainable Storytelling: Research on how storytelling can be used as a tool for promoting sustainable tourism practices and raising awareness about ecological and cultural preservation.
- Green Growth and Post-Growth Narratives: Exploration of how narratives can strengthen green growth initiatives and post-growth tourism models, focusing on sustainability, environmental responsibility, and community-oriented development as alternatives to traditional growth-focused tourism paradigms.
- Heritage and Cultural Narratives: Exploration of the role of storytelling in the interpretation and promotion of cultural heritage, traditions, and intangible cultural assets in tourism.
- Intercultural Narratives: Studies on how storytelling facilitates intercultural exchange and understanding, highlighting how narratives navigate and bridge diverse cultural perspectives within tourism contexts.
- Impact of Storytelling on Destination Development: Examination of how storytelling influences destination branding, marketing strategies, and community involvement in tourism development, contributing to sustainable growth and identity reinforcement.
Publication Opportunities
The organisers of this session will seek publication opportunities with high-impact academic journals.
Abstract Submission
All abstracts will be subject to double-blind review by members of the scientific committee. Acceptance of a submission will be based on: theoretical and empirical significance; methodological soundness; relevance to the theme of the conference and logical clarity. The official language of the conference is English. Abstracts should have between max. 500 words. The title should be no more than 12 words. Authors should also indicate which conference topic their proposed paper relates to.
Abstracts should be submitted to ATLAS by using this form.
Important Dates
| Abstract submission | January 15th 2025 |
| Notification of acceptance | February 15th 2025 |
| Extended abstract submission | March 15th 2025 |
| Conference | June 17-20th 2025 |
| Full paper submission | September 10th 2025 |
Registration
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- Please contact: e-mail admin@atlas-euro.org
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- Abstract submission form
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