Tourism experts from 16 countries gather in Varna

The world's oldest association of scientific experts and practitioners in the field of tourism - AIEST - has chosen Varna for its annual conference. In Bulgaria the organization has been coming for the first time in 40 years.

Varna. The 69th Annual Conference of the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism (AIEST), the world's oldest organization of tourism scholars and practitioners, will be held in Varna from August 25 to 29, 2019. The event is hosted by Prof. Stanislav Ivanov - Vice Rector for Research, University of Management-Varna and a member of the Board of Directors of AIEST.

Each year, AIEST chooses a different destination for its conference. It is interesting to note that Bulgaria has not hosted the 1979 event when experts also visited Varna. The seaside capital also hosted the 29th edition of the conference at the Grand Hotel Varna in the resort of "St. St. Konstantin and Helena ”(then“ Druzhba ”) and was dedicated to the topic of human resources in tourism.

This year's conference looks at sustainable tourism development, trends and the development of the legal framework. More than 40 scientists and experts from Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Canada, Malta, Slovakia, Hungary, Finland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Japan will participate. Among the participants in the forum are Prof. Dr. Harald Pechlaner - President of AIEST and Head of the Entrepreneurship Center of the Catholic University of Eichstadt-Ingolstadt, Germany, and Prof. Dr. Christian Leeser of the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland - Secretary General at AIEST.

The plenary report will be delivered by Eis Tussiadia - Professor of Intelligent Systems Services and Head of the Department of Hotel Management at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom. Prof. Tussiadia's research interest focuses on the applications and implications of artificial intelligence in tourism. Since 2018, she has also chaired the International Federation of Information Technology and Tourism (IFITT) as well as the founder of the Alliance for Innovators and Researchers in Tourism and Hospitality.

The official opening of the 69th Annual AIEST Conference will be on August 26, 2019 at 9:30 am at the Darzalas Hall of the Rosslyn Dimyat Hotel. This year's main theme is "Frontiers of Tourism: Theories, Practices, Methodologies" and part of the planned sessions are "Sustainability in Tourism and Hospitality", "Destination Management", "Consumer Behavior", "Business Models and Management" and others .

The International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism (AIEST) was founded in 1951 and is one of the main drivers for the development of scientific activities in the field of tourism and hospitality. Its membership includes over 300 scientists from nearly 50 countries. For its annual conferences, AIEST always selects topical issues of concern for tourism industry practitioners and members of the scientific community. You can learn more about AIEST on the organization's website - https://www.aiest.org.