Tourism and Culture in the Age of Innovation: Second International Conference IACuDiT, Athens 2015

627 Pages·2016·9.73 MB·English

by  Vicky Katsoni

Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics
Vicky Katsoni
Editors
Anastasia Stratigea
Tourism and
Culture in
the Age of
Innovation
Second International Conference
IACuDiT, Athens 2015
Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11960
Vicky Katsoni • Anastasia Stratigea
Editors
Tourism and Culture
in the Age of Innovation
Second International Conference IACuDiT,
Athens 2015
Editors
VickyKatsoni AnastasiaStratigea
TechnologicalEducationalInstitute NationalTechnicalUniversityofAthens
Athens,Greece Athens,Greece
ISSN2198-7246 ISSN2198-7254 (electronic)
SpringerProceedingsinBusinessandEconomics
ISBN978-3-319-27527-7 ISBN978-3-319-27528-4 (eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-27528-4
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016931324
SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
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Preface
Thecurrentbookistheoutcomeoftheeffortofmanypeople,whoparticipatedat
the 2nd International Conference organized by the International Association of
Cultural and Digital Tourism (IACuDiT) in Athens, May 21–24, 2015 http://
iacudit.org/Conference2015/. The theme of the Conference was on the ‘Forms
and Norms of Tourism and Culture in the Age of Innovation’. The scope of the
conferencewastogatherlatestdevelopmentsaroundseveralkeythemes,placingat
the heart of the discussion the prominent goal of sustainable tourism, as a sector
cross-cutting and interacting with cultural, environmental, economic, and social
dimensions of our society. Towards this end, efforts were carried out for
establishing a fruitful and challenging dialogue, understanding, and interaction
among academicresearchers andscholars,tourismindustryprofessionals andkey
practitioners,aswellasdecision-makers,inorderforknowledgeandexperiencesto
be creatively shared and synergies to be created. Athens, with its long history of
democraticdebate,wasanidealsettingforthisconference,andwereallythinkthat
it provided a fitting opportunity for an open and productive discussion. In a
globalized,digitalera,nationsseektoretainasenseofidentitythroughtheirvery
uniqueculturesandhistory.
The Conference was chaired by the International Association of Cultural and
Digital Tourism (IACuDiT) and co-chaired by University of Greenwich—UK,
Linnaeus University—Sweden, and National Technical University of Athens
(NTUA)—Greece.
The International Association of Cultural and Digital Tourism (IACuDiT) is a
globalnetworkofpeople,projects,andeventsthatbearonawiderangeofissuesof
concern and interest in cultural and digital tourism, in an era of major global
v
vi Preface
changes.IACuDiTisanon-profitinternationalassociation,whichvaluescreative,
ethical,andprogressiveaction,aimedattheimprovementofglobalhospitalityand
tourism research on cultural and digital issues. IACuDiT brings together a wide
rangeofacademicsandindustrypractitionersfromcultural,heritage,communica-
tion, and innovational tourism backgrounds and interests. It mainly promotes and
sponsors discussion, knowledge sharing, and close cooperation among scholars,
researchers,policymakers,andtourismprofessionals.Itisbasedonthenotionthat:
‘Technologicalchangesdonotinfluencethemissionsofculturaltourismactorsin
theareasofpromotionandproductdevelopment,butratherthemannerofcarrying
them out.’ It provides its members with a timely, interactive, and international
platform to meet, discuss, and debate cultural, heritage, and other tourism issues
thatwillaffectthefuturedirectionofhospitalityandtourismresearchandpractice
inadigitalandinnovationalera.
The valuable contributions to the 2nd IACuDiT Conference have formed the
content of the current book. This is the amalgam of a variety of contributors,
including academic researchers and scholars, industry professionals, and
government/quasi-government officials and other key industry practitioners, who
willshareandhighlighttourismindustrytrendsandresearchgapsfromapragmatic
andappliedperspective.
On thisoccasion, we wouldfeel obliged toexpressoursincere gratitude tothe
people and organizations for their contributions, help, and supportfor making the
2ndInternationalConferenceofIACuDiTareality.Wewouldalsoliketoexpress
our sincere appreciation to all our Keynote speakers who have enriched our
discussion and questioning around key themes of the conference. In this respect,
wewouldliketoaddressoursincerethankstoZefiDimadama,DirectorGeneralof
the ICBSS (International Centre for Black Sea Studies); Georgios Drakopoulos,
Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism
Organization and Counsellor in the European Economic and Social Committee;
Amitabh Upadhya Professor—Dean Skyline University College, University City
Sharjah;andHilaryduCros,HonorarySeniorResearchFellow,UniversityofNew
Brunswick,Canada.
Wewouldliketohopethatthisconferencehasaddedsomevaluebysharingour
knowledge and stepping a bit further interdisciplinary communication and under-
standing, issues that are forming the cornerstone for indulging in future tourist
sector’sdevelopments.
Wewouldalsoliketothinkthatwehaveaddedsomevaluetotheintriguingand
fascinatingissueoftourism,although we always keep inminditscomplexityand
exposure to a range of unexpected and unpredictable factors (political, social,
Preface vii
economic,technological,environmental,etc.)thatareshapingitsfuture,afactthat
waswonderfullyexpressedbyJohnSteinbeck’swords(NobelPrize,1962):
Ajourneyislikemarriage.
Thecertainwaytobewrongistothinkyoucontrolit.
VickyKatsoni AnastasiaStratigea
Athens,Greece
June2015
ThiSisaFMBlankPage
Editorial
World Leaders meeting at two major summits, the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development (Rio+20) and the G20 Summit in Mexico, agreed that
tourismcanmakeanimportantcontributiontomanyoftheworld’smostpressing
challenges,fromeconomicgrowthtoclimatechange,andrecognizedtourismasan
economic powerhouse and contributor to all three pillars of sustainable develop-
ment (economic, environmental, and social dimension). The above description is
indicative of the role that tourist sector can play as a key driver of growth for the
world economy, but also an important player for coping with current global
challenges, taking into consideration the close interaction of the sector with the
environmental and cultural resources of tourist destinations (Stratigea &
Katsoni,2015).
On the other hand, Chon and Olsen [9:213] state that ‘... today’s tourism
environmentisincreasinglycompetitiveandcomplex...andtourismorganizations
atthenational,stateandlocallevelsmustmakeestimatesaboutthewhatislikelyto
happen in the future and decide how to adjust to future events’. This statement
impliesaneedtoexploreglobalchallengesandthreatsoftheexternalenvironment
andstructurefutureoptionsforeachsingletouristdestinationthatareadjustableto
noticeableexternalsigns(Stratigea&Katsoni,2015).
The key themes emerging from the above statements, namely the potential of
tourismasakeydriver ofgrowth,the strong competitiveness faced bythe sector,
and the emergence of new ICTs applications in tourism within a digitalized and
highlyconnectedandinnovativeenvironment,wereexploredinthecontextofthe
2nd International Conference organized by the International Association of Cul-
turalandDigitalTourismon‘FormsandNormsofTourismandCulturalintheAge
of Innovation’. The Conference goal was to get more insight into the various
aspectsoftheabovethemes,bycollectingdifferentviews,opinions,andpractical
experiencesfromdifferentplacesoftheworldthroughthecreationofaninterdis-
ciplinary platform of interaction among academia, policymakers, practitioners,
tourismindustry,etc.
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