Tourism in the Era of Liquid Modernity:

Rethinking Tourism Strategy and Facing Uncertainty

The ICOT2024 conference builds on the eminent support of the international scholarly community and the success of the previous thirteen International Conferences on Tourism (ICOT) held in Greece, China, Cyprus, U.K., Italy, Thailand, Portugal, but also virtually following the COVID-19 outbreak.

The scope of ICOT2024 is to examine the complex elements of the current era of liquid modernity, and to understand how phenomena such as overtourism, artificial intelligence and sustainable tourism development impact the contemporary tourism industry.

The tourism and hospitality sectors have entered a new era after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by several ongoing crises such as the Russo-Ukrainian War, the climate crisis, the global energy crisis, high inflation and slowing growth of the global economy. This new era is mainly characterized by Bauman’s (2000) liquid modernity. Uncertainty is the only certainty left today and nobody is able to predict the forthcoming changes in economic and societal structures based on the rapid transformation that artificial intelligence as well as virtual and augmented reality brought and will continue to bring into peoples’ life. Another feature of this era is that the economic, socio-cultural and environmental conditions that guarantee people’s well-being today might no longer exist tomorrow. The modern tourist might be affected by digital advertising and the astonishing achievements of information technology, but always travel experiences will create tourists’ real memories.

The conference will be a unique opportunity where academics, professionals, researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and post-graduate students from the fields and industries of tourism and travel will meet, discuss, exchange ideas and express their views and scientific approaches. The ultimate objective is to stimulate a dialogue on how tourism in current times should invest in innovative sustainable practices for its recovery and resilience, thereby building a more solid ground for sustainable, balanced, and holistic development.

We invite submissions on all aspects of tourism development, policy, planning, growth, management and marketing that will add to the current debate.