Month: October 2025

44th International Society of Travel & Tourism Educators (ISTTE) annual conference, “Tailored experiences: The future of hospitality and tourism industry and education” Recap

The 44th Annual Conference of the International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators (ISTTE) was held from October 22-24, 2025, at The Business School at Edinburgh Napier University. The event was in-person; there was no virtual component. This delivery modality allowed 46 registered participants worldwide to connect and share research and best practices in travel and tourism education.

The theme for the two-and-a-half-day conference was “Tailored Experiences: The Future of Hospitality and Tourism Industry and Education.” The conference featured a range of engaging sessions and events. To open the conference, attendees networked at a welcoming reception and facilitated group dinners nightly throughout Edinburgh. The following day began with welcoming remarks from the host institution’s leadership, Deputy Dean Paul Barron and ISTTE President Nicholas Thomas, followed by a keynote session by Dr. Gary Kerr (Atlantic Technological University), who provided insights into creativity and innovation in tourism and events education. Day two ended with an engaging special feature session with JTTT providing a practical guide for authors, reviewers, and academic contributors. The final day provided a unique backdrop overlooking Arthur’s Seat with engaging presentations from keynote Murat Kizildag (University of Central Florida), who discussed a financial dotplot of investing in experiences, as well as a special feature session with Timothy Flohr (University of Memphis), who provided a strategic approach to realigning industry and academia.

The program included 22 stand-up presentations covering a variety of pedagogical topics as well as five workshops designed to enhance participant knowledge across other topics relevant to our membership. All presentations were face-to-face, and this modality will continue until further notice

A unique feature of the ISTTE conference is its attendee workshops. This year, participants were able to participate in engaging workshops related to, among other things: (a) expanding access to the industry, (b) flipped and experiential classrooms, (c) team-based learning approaches, (d) designing ELITE experiences for career-ready graduates, and (e) post-graduate students and sustainability.

The conference recognized several outstanding contributions to advancing the goals of ISTTE. Kara Wolfe (Missouri State University) won the Martin Oppermann Lifetime Achievement Award, and Edmund Goh (Les Roches) won the Heidi Sung Achievement Award. Additionally, Les Roches received the Institutional Achievement Award. Two deserving students were presented with scholarships to support student educational endeavors: graduate student Nikol Lopez Llantuy from Iowa State University and undergraduate student Liraysa Ponson from Breda University of Applied Sciences.

The Journal of Teaching in Travel and Tourism (JTTT) 2024 Best Paper Award went to Drs. Feri Ferdian, (Universitas Negeri Pedang), Mohd Salehuddin Mohd Zahari, Mohd Onn Rashdi Abd Fatah, Zuraini Mat Issa, and Mohd Hafiz Hanafiah (Universiti Teknologi MARA) for their paper entitled “Investigating the Effectiveness of Conventional Hosptality Education Curriculum in Shaping Millennials’ Career Commitment: An Empirical Inquiry.” The JTTT 2024 best reviewer award went to Dr. Elizabeth Whalen (Middle Tennessee State University). The conference also featured several notable paper awards:

  • Best Paper: “Beyond the Plate: Cultivating Work-Life Balance in the Hospitality Industry” by Sasi Gangiah
  • Best Workshop Paper: “Beyond Internships: Designing ELITE Experiences for Career-Ready Graduates in Hospitality, Tourism, and Culinary Education” by Timothy Flohr and William Mullins
  • Best Working Paper: “Visualizing the Sequence of Service AI-Generated Flowcharts” by Sarah Belanger and Edmund Goh
  • Best Pecha Kucha Paper: “AI in Hospitality and Tourism: Rewriting the Customer Journey” by Annamarie Sisson, Rui Costa, Minwoo Lee, and Billy Bai

The 44th ISTTE Conference continued the return of exclusively in-person gatherings for the travel and tourism education community. A resounding success, the conference showcased innovative research and teaching practices through insightful sessions, valuable networking opportunities, and a celebration of excellence with the awards ceremony. As always, the hallmark of an ISTTE conference, the strong sense of community, fostered a ‘family and friends’ atmosphere throughout the event. Attendees left feeling energized and inspired to continue pushing the boundaries of tourism education.

I am especially grateful for the efforts of the ISTTE Board of Directors in planning this conference. Special mention goes to Dr. Annamarie Sisson (Edinburgh Napier University) and Dr. Cora Wong (Macao Polytechnic University). Dr. Sisson tirelessly executed the logistics of hosting the conference at Edinburgh Napier University, while Dr. Cora Wong was responsible for the conference paper review process.

The 45th annual ISTTE conference will take place in mid-October at Breda University of Applied Sciences. The theme for this year is yet to be determined. As always, travel, tourism, and hospitality educators, researchers, graduate students, and destination and industry practitioners are welcome to join us in Breda, Netherlands. We are open to a variety of contributions, including research papers, case studies, curriculum modules, teaching methods, and other original work about the theme. There will be four award categories: Best Paper, Best Working Paper or Poster, Best Case Study, and Best Workshop. Authors of exceptional papers will be invited to submit their work to the Journal of Teaching in Travel and Tourism. On behalf of the entire ISTTE board, I look forward to seeing you in Breda. For more details on the conference, including the Call for Papers and program information, please visit: https://istte.org/

Disclosure statement: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Written by: Dr. Annamarie Sisson (they/them), Lecturer

Postgraduate Student Dissertations – Meet Christy MSc Marketing with Festival and Event Management

Beyond the contract: Edinburgh festival fringe performers and their relationships with key stakeholders

“It becomes quite difficult to capture the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in a single sentence. With a programme that includes everything from theatre, comedy, and dance to music, cabaret, and spoken word, the options are seemingly endless. As the Edinburgh Fringe Society likes to illustrate, the festival plays host to the world’s greatest platform for creative freedom.

My dissertation examines the intricate relationships between performers and key stakeholders at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, beyond the contract. With the use of a qualitative research approach, I was able to interview an array of key festival stakeholders to critically explore how these connections influence artists’ campaigns and the overall festival experience.

The findings uncovered the strategic use of power within the festival’s social structures and highlighted a collective objective among stakeholders to enhance the creative development for visiting companies and all artists venturing to the Edinburgh Fringe. The festival should be used as an inclusive development platform as opposed to a performance space for favored or polished productions. There is immense risk involved for all contributing stakeholders across the entire ecosystem in which the most damage falls on the financial. This paper takes a valuable look into the importance of stakeholder connections for the longevity of the festival. It also provides insights for both artists and key festival stakeholders on how to leverage these vital networks that inevitably elevates the performing arts and culture escapade.”

Read the full dissertation by Christy Tukalo, MSc Marketing with Festival and Event Management

How the Edinburgh Festivals make the city a better place to live, work and play in

The World Leisure community gathered in Breda for the 18th World Leisure Congress: Leisure for a Better Society, held from August 25-28, 2025, bringing together over 400 participants and experts in the field from 40 countries. With a full program of inspiring sessions, vibrant poster presentations by emerging scholars, and the World Leisure Awards Ceremony, the event celebrated individuals and organizations driving leisure as a force for inclusion, human growth, and social transformation.

conference

Professor Jane Ali-Knight sat on a panel discussing ‘The role of leisure in creating livable and lovable places’; participated in a WLJ Podcast and delivered one of the conferences keynote sessions titled: Fringe benefits: how the Edinburgh Festivals make the city a better place to live, work and play in. Drawing on recent research, examining Fringe Festival Networks in Perth, Adelaide and Edinburgh, Jane has been involved in with ENU colleague David Jarman and other academic collaborators from Australia, she delivered an interactive and informative presentation highlighting how the festivals contribute to the wellbeing of the city.

There is little doubt that the festivals significantly contribute to making Edinburgh a better place to live, both culturally and economically. They bring in visitors, boost local businesses, create jobs, and enhance the city’s global reputation which in turn generates soft power. The festivals also offer residents a variety of cultural experiences and contribute to their quality of life. Festivals also have a positive social impact on local communities: building community cohesion, offering positive emotions and shared connections, promoting social interaction and cultural exchange, and contributing to a general sense of wellbeing, especially in turbulent times (Yolal et al. 2016).  The 2025 Edinburgh Fringe sold over 2.6m tickets featured 3,893 shows across 301 venues, and hosted performers from over 60 countries.

 It is a myth that Edinburgh’s residents are anti the festivals. More residents support than oppose them with large numbers actively participating in and/or attending events. The latest study by BOP Consulting (2023), which surveyed 22,000 people – shows that the Edinburgh Festivals continue to be Scotland’s world-leading cultural brands. Recent studies show that a substantial percentage of residents believe the festivals make Edinburgh a better place to live and are ‘Loved by locals’. Around 1.5m festival attendances are local residents (that is c50% of total audience) while 89% of Edinburgh residents say that the festivals increase local pride in their home city.

       

Beyond direct employment, festivals play a critical role creating work and supporting many thousands of jobs for wider service businesses and local traders. The festivals alone create the full-time equivalent of 5,850 jobs in Edinburgh. This sector together with arts, entertainment, recreation and other services are significant employers in the city, accounting for 44,000 jobs between them. (Edinburgh Festival City, 2022).

Finally, festivals are playful…. one month of the year the city takes on a joyous carnival atmosphere which tens of thousands of locals join in. They are escapist and bring joy and laughter to communities, and the places in which they reside. It’s a privilege having so much world class, innovative art on our doorstep.

So, as the planning cycle begins for the 2026 festivals, amid a background of public funding cuts and drops in sponsorship revenue, rising inflation and production costs, cost-of-living challenges, and shortages of skilled labour and materials, the organisers of Edinburgh’s world leading events will have to assert the contribution of its festivals make to Edinburgh making it a better place to live. Echoing a Guardian writers’ opinion…’Cultural institutions like the fringe are about more than making money and stars. In our age of disinformation, artificial intelligence and alienation, such gatherings of people, talent and ideas are more vital than ever’ (2025).

Note: The 2025 Best Poster Award was presented to Dr. Afiya Holder for her outstanding presentation on Reimagining Leisure as a Tool for Inclusivity and Social Cohesion: The Transformative Potential of African-Caribbean-Scottish Shared Cultural Heritage Tourism.

Written by Dr Jane Ali-Knight