July 23, 2008
Anyone interested in the academic side of travel?
Conference Announcement and Call for Papers
An International Conference: Tourist Experiences: Meanings, Motivations, Behaviours, April 1st - 4th 2009
Keynote Speaker: Professor Chris Ryan, University of Waikato, New Zealand
As participation in tourism has continued to expand in scale and scope, the nature of tourist experiences has become increasingly diverse. New destinations, new attractions, new markets and new forms of tourism have emerged, enabling tourists to experience new places, peoples and activities. At the same time, tourism has become more deeply embedded as a socio-cultural phenomenon, more intimately related to wider social and cultural transformations and development in both generating and destination regions. As a consequence, the understanding of tourist experiences has become increasingly complex, challenging and, arguably, elusive.
The purpose of this international conference, therefore, is to provide a forum for exploring the diversity of behaviours, motivations and meanings embraced by contemporary tourist experiences.
Call for Papers
It is envisaged that the conference will focus on three broad themes within the context of tourist experiences, namely: the social / anthropological meaning or significance of tourism (individual to societal); tourist demand and motivation; and, the analysis of tourist behaviours. We would welcome papers that, from an empirical or conceptual basis, address these themes in general, whilst more specific topics might include:
* (Post)modernity and tourist experiences
* Specific niche markets / behaviours (e.g. youth tourism, backpacking, ecotourism, etc)
* The significance of tourist places
* Tourist typologies
* Spiritual dimensions of tourism
* Tourist motivation
* Tourism demand (models / perspectives)
* Emergent behaviours / forms of tourism
* Dark tourism
* Researching tourist experiences: methodological perspectives
* Tourism industry / destination perspectives
* New tourist spaces
* Heritage / authenticity
Expressions of interest and abstracts of up to 500 words should, in the first instance, be sent to Richard Sharpley. All submissions will be subject to a double-blind review. Abstracts should include author(s) names, affiliations and contact details, and should be submitted no later than 15 August 2008. Conference proceedings will be provided on a CD-Rom whilst it is planned to publish selected papers in an edited volume.
The venue
The conference is hosted by the Department of Tourism & Leisure Management, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK. It will be held in the University’s Conference Centre.
Conference fee / booking forms
The full conference fee (£450) is inclusive of three nights’ accommodation and meals; day attendance and student rates are also available.
Conference convenors:
Richard Sharpley rajsharpley@uclan.ac.uk ( (+44) 01772 894622
Philip Stone pstone@uclan.ac.uk ( (+44) 01772 894769
