The 33rd Nordic Symposium on Tourism and Hospitality Research under the theme “The transformative power and potential of tourism”

Conferences have always been important for researchers engaged in academic research and development. Researchers present their findings, seek new collaborations, and advance knowledge to other researchers in the same discipline. Conferences also support the professional development of PhD students and researchers, as their understanding of theories and new research paths develop. (Burford & Henderson, 2022).

The Nordic Symposium for Tourism and Hospitality Research 2025

The 33rd Nordic Symposium on Tourism and Hospitality Research (see The 33rd Nordic Symposium on Tourism and Hospitality Research | The Conference 2025) was organised 17-19 September on the island of Bornholm. Earlier Nordic symposiums have focused on sustainable tourism development, and the 2025 symposium added yet another lens to earlier discussions: the transformative potential in tourism.

Transformative processes can be defined as changes focusing on creating growth in the industry under a community sustainable development vision. The transformations typically take place through socially and environmentally responsible interactions with host communities, intended to benefit both tourists and residents at the destination (see e.g., Pung & Del Chiappa, 2020). Regenerative tourism is basically about leaving the destination in a better shape than it was when you arrived (see e.g., Holmberg & Konttinen, 2025).

The theme is important now, as well as in the coming years, where tourism can become an industry that sets an example of, and plays a key role in, transformation processes in a Nordic context and beyond. This is especially true for local communities, where tourism often takes steps to take actions and deliver sustainable results, by regenerating, revitalizing, and re-strategizing the communities.

To succeed with this, rethinking actions and practices in the industry is appropriate. The Nordic Tourism Plan 2025–2030, published by Nordic Council of Ministers in March 2025, emphasizes also the importance of sustainability, innovation, and cross-border cooperation in developing the Nordic region as a leading destination for sustainable tourism (EU, 2025).

Keynote presentations are usually a highlight at a scientific conference and can set the tone for continued discussions (Brown, 2025). The opening keynote, by Professor Greg Richards, was on how to transform culture in the curated countryside. Richards argued that a shift in destinations, hosts and travellers are underway, and rural destinations can become more sustainable by crafting meaningful and authentic experiences. The 2nd keynote was by Anders Wiberg, Director of Destination Bornholm. His approach was more practically oriented, and he presented a strategic approach to destination marketing in Bornholm and their versatile operations. It became obvious that even if Bornholm represents a kind of success story for expanding the season in a Nordic context, the island is still struggling to find the right path to all-year-around tourism.   

A wide range of subjects covered

The aim of the conference was to share, discuss and further promote topic-related science-based and practitioner knowledge. In the conference sessions, a multitude of topics were covered, exploring the connection between tourism and different transformative processes, mainly at the destinations.

Tourism is a complex interdisciplinary research object and draws on numerous academic fields. This, in turn, brings in new, interesting angles to tourism research, and this multitude could be noted in the presentations. The topics ranged from research on second homeowners, weather and tourism, island and arctic tourism, as well as entrepreneurship and visitor experiences at destinations, but also in tourism facilities such as hotels.  

One red thread running through many of the presentations was the social sustainability with a strong connection to the local community. Professor Peter Björk from Hanken School of Economics presented e.g. a project in which they strive to engage local people as ambassadors in tourism, by enhancing the interactions between tourists and local people. Another interesting project was carried out in Norway, where fjord cruises are popular. Small municipalities are facing challenges, when more than 1000 people come into the city for a day, creating overcrowding and traffic chaos.  

Yet another highlight was the presentation by university researcher Juulia Räikkönen from Turku University (TU), focusing on CO2 emissions created by academic travel. Juulia showed how you can decrease your footprint, by travelling by train and ferry, rather than flying. Juulia showed that most of the emissions from academic travel at TU come from long-haul travel to countries like Brazil. Hence, by choosing conferences in Europe, any individual can limit their CO2 emissions, especially if the trip is carried out by train.  

Conclusion

Next year’s Nordic symposium will focus on “Tourism in a Changing World: An Active Agent for Good?”, which feels like a natural continuation of this year’s event. The RDI tourism team at Novia Business Administration focuses on developing regenerative tourism and fits well into the key focus areas of Nordic tourism research.  

Finally, we want to acknowledge that academic conferences provide opportunities for learning, collaboration, and networking, as stated by Fakunle et al (2019). We received constructive feedback on our presentation “Enhancing Learning in Tourism Projects - Insights from the Interreg BSR Project Light in the Dark”, discussing the importance of creating trust between entrepreneurs in a workshop process to enhance knowledge sharing and learning. Consequently, we are now inspired to expand the abstract we submitted for the conference to a short article.

Sources

Brown, R. (2025). Keynote Speakers in Academia: Conference Presentation Strategies and Tips for Early-Career Academics Balancing Research, Teaching & Life. https://www.lifeofschool.com/articles/keynote-speakers-academia-conference-tips-early-career/

Burford, J. & Henderson, E. (2022). Making Sense of Academic Conferences: Presenting, Participating and Organising. Routledge

EU (2025).         Nordic Tourism Plan 2025–2030: Leading sustainable growth and innovation.       https://transition-pathways.europa.eu/tourism/policy/nordic-tourism-plan-2025-2030-leading-sustainable-growth-and-innovation#:~:text=The%20Nordic%20Tourism%20Plan%202025%E2%80%932030%2C%20published%20by%20Nordic,region%20as%20a%20leading%20destination%20for%20sustainable%20tourism.

Fakunle, O., Dollinger, M., Alla-Mensah, J., & Izard, B. (2019). Academic conferences as learning sites: a multinational comparison of doctoral students’ perspectives and institutional policy. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 14, 479–497. http://doi.org/10.28945/4383

Holmberg, E. & Konttinen, A. (2025). Decoding Regenerative Literacy in Tourism. https://novialia.novia.fi/bloggar/hallbarhet-sustainability/decoding-regenerative-literacy-in-tourism

Leochico, C.F., Di Giusto, M. L. & Mitre, R. (2021). Impact of scientific conferences on climate change and how to make them eco-friendly and inclusive: A scoping review, The Journal of Climate Change and Health, (4) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2021.100042.

Lopez, F. L. & de McQuillin, L. B. (2018). The Role of Conferences on the Pathway to Academic Impact Evidence from a Natural Experiment. The Journal of Human Resources. https://jhr.uwpress.org/content/wpjhr/55/1/164.full.pdf

Pung, J.M. & Del Chiappa, G. (2020) An exploratory and qualitative study on the meaning of transformative tourism and its facilitators and inhibitors. European Journal of Tourism Research 24:2404  https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v24i.406

Cover picture: Pixabay

Texten har granskats och godkänts av Novias redaktionsråd 6.11.2025.