•        Prof. Donald Getz, University of Calgary, Canada

Title of the presentation: "Social Worlds and the Highly-Involved Leisure Traveller: Theoretical and Applied Perspectives"

Dr. Getz retired in July, 2009 from his full-time academic position at the University of Calgary, Canada, where he remains Professor Emeritus and Adjunct Professor in the Haskayne School of Business. Donald received a BES from the University of Waterloo, an MA from Carlton University, and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. Dr. Getz is a Distinguished Fellow in the International Academy for the Study of Tourism, and has been a leading scholar in the fields of tourism and event studies. He is also a part-time Professor at the Norwegian School of Hotel Management, Stavanger University, in Norway, and is Visiting Professor at several other universities: Bournemouth University, England; Mid-Sweden University; Northwestern University, South Africa.  Professor Getz is a leading international proponent of event studies, drawing from his extensive research, volunteer, teaching and consulting experience in many countries. His book, Event Studies, defines the field of study, establishes the theoretical and policy framework, and provides a detailed reference work on related research. He is also active in researching a variety of special-interest market segments, including food and wine tourism, culture and sports.  

•     Prof. Gianna Moscardo, James Cook University, Australia

Title of the presentation: "The Future of Tourism: Are We Riding the Crest of a Wave?"

Gianna Moscardo is a Professor in the School of Business at James Cook University in 2002. She joined the university academic staff in 2002 and was the Associate Dean of Research for the Faculty of Law, Business and Creative Arts from 2008 to 2011 and she is currently a Senior Fellow in Residence at the Cairns Institute at JCU.  Prior to joining JCU Professor Moscardo was the Tourism Research project leader for the CRC Reef Research for eight years. Her qualifications in applied psychology and sociology support her research interests in understanding how consumers, especially, tourists make decisions and evaluate their experiences and how communities and organisations perceive, plan for, and manage tourism development opportunities.  She has published extensively on tourism and related areas with more than 150 refereed papers or book chapters  and based on this profile was elected to the World Tourism Organization’s International Academy for the Study of Tourism Scholars in 2005. Professor Moscardo has been invited to speak on issues related to tourism in New Zealand, South Africa, Botswana, Finland and the United States. Her recent project areas include evaluating tourism as a tool for economic development in rural regions, dimensions of tourist experiences, characteristics of generational cohorts and understanding perceptions of, and attitudes towards, sustainability and related concepts.

•     Prof. Stephen R. Ch. Wanhill, University of Limerick, Ireland

Title of the presentation: "Amusement parks, their Development and Prospects"

Stephen Wanhill is Adjunct Professor of Tourism Economics, University of Limerick and Emeritus Professor of Tourism Research, Bournemouth University and a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Nottingham and Swansea.  He is a Director of Global Tourism Solutions (UK) and his principal research interests are in the field of tourism destination development.  
To this extent he has acted as a tourism consultant to a number of UK planning and management consulting firms, and has undertaken a wide range of tourism development strategies, tourism impact assessments, lecture programmes and project studies from airports to cultural attractions, both in the UK and worldwide, covering some 50 or more countries.   He has written extensively on public sector intervention in tourism, tourism impact methodology, and project appraisal and development in academic journals and edited books, which has brought him recognition in terms of acting as tourism policy advisor to the Select Committee on Welsh Affairs for a period of five years in House of Commons.   He is one of the authors for the best selling book Tourism Principles and Practice (Pearson Education), now in its 4th Edition, and the new addition of Managing Visitor Attractions:  New Directions (Butterworth-Heinemann).   He has been a Board Member of the Wales Tourist Board with responsibilities for the development and research divisions.
In this capacity, he spent much time reviewing and recommending grant applications for projects that encompass accommodation, restaurants and pubs, attractions and public facilities, such as country parks, visitor centres and infrastructure improvements.   He is the Editor of Tourism Economics and has been an  Editorial Board Member of Acta Touristica, The Service Industries Journal, European Journal of Tourism Research, Tourism Management, the International Journal of Tourism Research, and the Journal of Travel Research.”

•     Prof. Dogan Gursoy Washington State University (USA) 
                        Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management

“A meeting with the Editor” (for doctoral students) 

Dr. Dogan Gursoy is the Taco Bell Distinguished Professor in Hospitality Business Management at Washington State University in the School of Hospitality Business Management and the editor of Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management. His area of research includes services management, hospitality and tourism marketing, tourist behavior, travelers’ information search behavior, community support for tourism development, cross-cultural studies, consumer behavior, involvement and generational leadership. His research has been published broadly in refereed Tier I journals such as Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Travel Research, Tourism Management, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research. His research has been presented at numerous hospitality and tourism conferences and received numerous research awards. He serves on the editorial board of several journals including Annals of Tourism Research (resource editor), Journal of Social Inquiry (associate editor), International Journal of Hospitality Management, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, Tourism Analysis, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, International Journal Contemporary Hospitality Management, etc. His research has been presented at numerous hospitality and tourism conferences and received many research awards. Dr. Dogan Gursoy also receives frequent invitations to give key note speeches at international hospitality and tourism conferences. He is also an active member of Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) and the International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators (I-CHRIE).

• Prof. Daniel Fesenmaier, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA