The Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab Rotterdam had the honour of hosting the ATLAS Special Interest Group Urban Tourism on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 June. This Special Interest Group for academics researching tourism in cities has been in existence for more than 10 years, making it one of the older knowledge groups on this topic in the world.
This time, 25 academics from more than 10 countries came together to talk and learn about the future of urban tourism. Although the meeting unfortunately had to take place online, and therefore the participants could not admire Rotterdam, it was nevertheless a very fruitful meeting, where different perspectives emerged. For example, several presentations highlighted the need and the will to take a positive critical look at the future of co-creation and participatory policies, as well as the principle of New Urban Tourism during the pandemic and the way existing tourist facilities can be used for local use. Discussions on these topics and more will continue September 7-10 during a special track titled “Re-marketing or De-marketing in the Post-COVID City?” at the annual ATLAS meeting hosted digitally from Prague.
Atlas, Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research organises meetings on tourism and leisure education and research.