The organisers of the International Conference on Tourism ICOT2026 invite contributions to be submitted for the ‘Best Paper’ and ‘Young Scholar’ Award competition:

Best Paper Award in Tourism – International Journal of Tourism Policy

A Best Paper Award in Tourism will be given by the International Journal of Tourism Policy (IJTP) and the Journal of Qualitative Research in Tourism. It will honour the author(s) of a paper of exceptional merit accepted and presented at the conference. Applications of candidates for this award are to be submitted to Dr Matina Terzidou (m.terzidou@mdx.ac.uk) by 10/06/2026. The award winners are chosen by the members of the scientific committee.

New Scholars Awards

The award intends to recognize three papers of exceptional merit of scholars who present their paper at the conference and show outstanding merit at the beginnings of their careers. Applicants should be either Ph.D. students, Post-doc fellows or have obtained their PhD within the last 3 years. For applications to be valid, the applicant must be the sole author of the paper. Applications, including full paper should be made to Dr Matina Terzidou (m.terzidou@mdx.ac.uk) no later than 10/06/2026. The award winners are chosen by members of the scientific committee.

Best Tourism Marketing Paper

The Journal of Vacation Marketing is pleased to support an award for best tourism marketing paper at the ICOT2026 Conference. Winning authors will be presented with a certificate and a book voucher from Sage Publishing during the closing ceremony.

Best Paper Award – Qualitative Research in Tourism
The Journal of Qualitative Research in Tourism (JQRT) is pleased to sponsor the Best Qualitative Paper in Tourism award at ICOT 2026. This award recognises outstanding scholarly work that advances qualitative inquiry in tourism studies. The winning authors will be invited to submit their paper for consideration in the Journal of Qualitative Research in Tourism. To apply, submit your paper to Dr. Matina Terzidou at m.terzidou@mdx.ac.uk by 10 June 2026.

All submissions will be evaluated by members of the ICOT2026 Scientific Committee, who will select the papers that demonstrate exceptional methodological rigour, originality, and contribution to tourism research.

Submission Guidelines

The submission guidelines applicable only for the papers wishing to be considered for the Best Paper Award and the Young Scientist Award can be found here: Paper Submission Guidelines