This CityLabs Lightning Bites series features short, impactful talks from diverse perspectives, addressing the critical challenges and opportunities in promoting sustainable and regenerative tourism practices.

Join us for three days of bite-size talks where we explore how sustainable and regenerative tourism aims to minimize negative impacts on the environment, economy and society, how it maximizes benefits but also contributes to the restoration and improvement of the environment and local communities.

SESSIONS:

Date: Monday 28^th of October, 13:00-13:30

Organizing University: Erasmus University Rotterdam

Speaker: Donagh Horgan 

Topic: Regenerative tourism in the post-industrial city

Donagh will talk about a project he has been doing for InHolland (University of Applied Sciences in Rotterdam) together with Cork. The project is called: Sustainable cultural tourism as a catalyst for urban activation: Surfacing regenerative tourism pathways through participatory co-design in Cork city."

Date: Monday 28^th of October, 13:30 - 14:00 

Organizing University: University of Malmö

Speaker: Sayaka Osanami Törngren

Topic: Tourisms in Multicultural Societies

Tourism and the tourism industry have been criticized for contributing to a uni-dimensional view of culture and people, which (re)produces stereotypic images, discredited histories and romantic fantasies. There is a risk that tourism reduces places to monocultures where the complexity that makes them interesting disappear. No modern society has only one culture, language, or identity. Intercultural exchanges, globalization and migration changes places.

Inclusion and participation are increasingly highlighted in tourism and place branding literature. However, these fields have rarely been associated with concepts such as integration, migration, and multiculturalism. The newly completed research project, “Tourisms in Multicultural Societies,” funded by the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (Formas, 2019-2024), explored the role of tourism in multicultural societies in Sweden and beyond. This project engaged in the called-for action for the inclusion and representation of diversity in tourism development and place branding.

Bio:

Sayaka Osanami Törngren is an Associate Professor in International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER). She is currently engaged in full-time research at the Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration. Her research interests include race and racialization, racism and discrimination, and inequality.

Date: Tuesday 29^th of October, 13:00 – 13:30 

Organizing University: University of Deusto

Speaker: Aurkene Alzua

Topic: Environmental impact of festivals and events in tourism

Aurkene will explore the environmental impact of festivals and events in tourism, which, while culturally and economically valuable, contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. The talk will focus on the importance of raising awareness for greener festival destinations.

Through an analysis of pro-environmental behavior and its role in sustainable tourism, Dr. Alzua-Sorzabal will highlight how festivals can be restructured to reduce their ecological impact and align with global sustainability goals.

Date: Tuesday 29^th of October, 13:30 - 14:00 

Organizing University: University of Oulu

Speaker: Roosa Ridanpää

Topic: Prospects for regenerative tourism in the Arctic: The perspective of SMEs

In her talk, Roosa will present some preliminary results of her research and discuss the future of regenerative tourism. Her research focuses on tourism enterprises and destinations in Northern Finland, where climate change and increasing international tourism pose challenges to Arctic socio-ecological systems.

Date: Wednesday 30^th of October, 13:00 – 13:30 

Organizing University: University of Zagreb

Speaker: Vanja Krajinović

Topic: Sustainable tourism development in Croatia: challenges and perspectives.

With tourist arrivals on the rise worldwide, it is crucial for tourism destinations to rethink their development policies and adopt sustainable practises as a necessary means to ensure prosperity in local communities. Alongside the outbreak of overtourism in numerous destinations, the involvement of the public sector in ensuring a high quality of life for local communities seems inevitable. Through the implementation of various tourism policy measures, local authorities are taking an active role in minimising the negative impacts of tourism in destinations. However, this requires a change in mentality, as neoliberal policies have relaxed regulations on the tourism market and reduced the role of the public sector in this process. However, we are seeing a shift within communities as locals are taking an active role and raising their voices against uncontrolled and unsustainable tourism growth by emphasising the need to set carrying capacities at the destination level. As an example of the government's attempt to reduce the negative impacts of tourism development and set the limits of tourism growth, the case of Croatia is briefly analysed. The new Tourism Act introduces numerous new measures that focus on setting maximum capacities at the destination level and provide clear guidelines and strategies for stakeholders in the process of destination development and management. These measures and guidelines are discussed in the context of ensuring a sustainable environment and long-term prosperity for local communities in Croatia.

REGISTRATION:

Register for the Lightning Bites session via this form. 

The deadline for registration is 27^th of October, 23:59 CET.

A Zoom link, which gives you access to all sessions, will be sent to registrants before the start of the event.