ICTDT 2019 (Rome October 22-24, 2019)

Between 22^nd to 24^th of October Dr. Radu Mihailescu attended the INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TOURISM DYMICS AND TRENDS, hosted by University of Rome Unitelma Sapienza – Department of Law and Economics. The conference theme was interdisciplinary in nature, with various research angles that were be discussed in the plenary and parallel sessions. The conference aimed at investigating how digital transformation impacts tourism and hospitality organizations in terms of new business opportunities, new statistical tools, new international regulations and new initiatives to support destination sustainability. The four main thematic areas of the conference were:

• Management and Technology area
• Statistical sciences area
• Socio-Economic and Environmental area
• Legal Issues and Regulations area

A very interesting and thought provoking key-note speech was given by Profesor Louiz Moutinho, from University of Suffolk on Future technology trends in tourism and hospitality.

In this context Radu Mihailescu presented a working paper on: Preliminary results regarding estuary valuation in urban areas from a tourism recreational perspective. The Nahoon Estuary in East London, South Africa. The paper aimed to develop a model that gives evidence and supports the opportunity for optimal tourism social investment as an alternative to a overly cost oriented preservation policy.

The presentation was received with much interest  by the attendants and has opened possibilities for further co-operation with other researchers in the same field. The paper on which the presentation was based, will be published in a special edition of Journal of Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research published by Pearson.

Apart from the Conference proceedings Radu Mihailescu also presented an online seminar on Wine Tourism Development around the World to the UNITELMA students. The presentation is part of the regular curriculum that Tourism students are following as part of their degree.

The next conference, in 2020 ,will take place in Antalya between 16th to 19th September. Dr. Mihailescu is part of the Scientific committee for the conference and would encourage AIHR colleagues to submit research papers for this conference. More information can be found on the following website: https://ictdt.net/