{"id":317,"date":"2025-10-29T11:10:39","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T11:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/tourismenu\/?p=317"},"modified":"2025-10-29T11:10:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T11:10:39","slug":"44th-international-society-of-travel-tourism-educators-istte-annual-conference-tailored-experiences-the-future-of-hospitality-and-tourism-industry-and-education-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.napier.ac.uk\/tourismenu\/2025\/10\/29\/44th-international-society-of-travel-tourism-educators-istte-annual-conference-tailored-experiences-the-future-of-hospitality-and-tourism-industry-and-education-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"44th International Society of Travel & Tourism Educators (ISTTE) annual conference, \u201cTailored experiences: The future of hospitality and tourism industry and education” Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 44th<\/sup> Annual Conference of the International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators (ISTTE)<\/a> was held from October 22-24, 2025, at The Business School<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

The theme for the two-and-a-half-day conference was \u201cTailored Experiences: The Future of Hospitality and Tourism Industry and Education.\u201d 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\u2019s leadership, Deputy Dean Paul Barron<\/a> and ISTTE President Nicholas Thomas, followed by a keynote session by Dr. Gary Kerr<\/a> (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\u2019s Seat with engaging presentations from keynote Murat Kizildag<\/a> (University of Central Florida), who discussed a financial dotplot of investing in experiences, as well as a special feature session with Timothy Flohr<\/a> (University of Memphis), who provided a strategic approach to realigning industry and academia.<\/p>\n

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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<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The conference recognized several outstanding contributions to advancing the goals of ISTTE. Kara Wolfe<\/a> (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.<\/p>\n

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The Journal of Teaching in Travel and Tourism<\/em> (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 \u201cInvestigating the Effectiveness of Conventional Hosptality Education Curriculum in Shaping Millennials\u2019 Career Commitment: An Empirical Inquiry.\u201d The JTTT 2024 best reviewer award went to Dr. Elizabeth Whalen (Middle Tennessee State University). The conference also featured several notable paper awards:<\/p>\n