Josip Mikulić

English

Hrčak - Portal of scientific journals of Croatia

119TOURISM EditorialVol. 68/ No. 2/ 2020/ 119editorialTh e summer issue of Tourism: An International Interdisciplinary Journal features a collection of best papers presented at the International Tourism Conference Dubrovnik (ITCD) which was held from the 6th to 9th of November, 2019. Th e conference was organized by the Institute for Tourism, one of the publishers of the Journal, on the occasion of the Institute’s 60th work anniversary, with support by the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia, the Ministry of  Tourism of the Republic of Croatia, the Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Zagreb and the City of Dubrovnik. As for most conferences, the goal was to bring together scholars and practitioners from the area of tourism, in order to exchange ideas and experiences, and to discuss the practical challenges encountered in the ever-changing tourism landscape. Th e sessions covered the following themes: Transformation in tourism; Spatial aspects of tourism – the impact of globalization; Th e role of social media in tourism’s present and future; "Overtourism" impacts - new solutions; Questions of stewardship – from individual businesses to policy makers; Transformations of contemporary tourists; New directions in gastronomy and food experience; Destination marketing, branding and reputation for the new era; Th e other side of tourism: possible crisis and confl icts; Knowledge, innovation and education for VUCA tourism future; Changing nature of our societies and new travel trends; Smart destinations and ICT in hospi-tality; Tourism for all: new directions; Community roles and attitudes in VUCA world; Th e new age of enhanced visitor engagement and involvement; and Th e role of indicators in sustainable tourism development. Out of 79 contributions to the conference, 9 articles were fi nally selected for this special issue following peer-review. As the title of this brief editorial says, the overarching theme of the conference was Tourism in the VUCA World, with the acronym standing for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. Th e subtitle of the conference theme was Towards the Era of (Ir)Responsibility which seemed highly topical from a pre-COVID-19 perspective—i.e., at a time when problems caused by overtourism urged for a profound and accelerated transformation of tourism in many destinations across the globe. Now, from a perspective when it is rather obvious that the pandemic will bring many actors in global tourism and related sectors to their knees—i.e., now, when we face the problem of under-tourism as some say, the conference theme appears even more topical. Indeed, it appears as if over- and under-tourism are, in fact, two sides of the same coin, which is an inherently fragile and unsustainable tourism system created in many destinations worldwide. Let us therefore hope that the process of recovery, with its increased focus on resilience on the part of all actors involved, will fi nally lay the pathway for a better future tourism world.Josip Mikulić, PhD, Editor-in-ChiefTourism in a VUCA World113-236 Tourism 2020 02ENG.indd   119 29.6.2020.   9:37:29

Tourism in a VUCA World

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