Christel DeHaan Tourism & Travel Research Institute, University of Nottingham

and

The Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change, Leeds Metropolitan University

Conference Announcement and Call for Papers

‘Attractions and events as catalysts for regeneration and social change’

The University of Nottingham 24^th and 25^th September 2008

The aim of this conference is to bring together researchers who share interests in the role of tourist attractions and events in place making and shaping destinations. This research area is clearly relevant to professionals in the field including consultants, developers and local authorities.

The visitor economy is becoming increasingly competitive as destinations chase tourist spend. This is increasingly so in the context of ‘regional capitals’ which play a pivotal role in the regional economy, and ‘third cities’ whose visitor economy is often over-shadowed by the larger regional neighbours. Although tourism is seen as an integral part of regional development in these cities, they often compete for visitor expenditure in an environment of shrinking marketing investment and a volatile economic marketplace. Destinations have sought to differentiate their appeal on the basis of culture and heritage and/or events and festivals and seek to deliver 'a total visitor experience'.

We welcome papers for this conference which explore:

• The role of regional capitals in driving the regional visitor economy
• Delivering the total visitor experience
• The potential for sustainable urban tourism through culture and heritage tourism

• Creative uses of visitor attractions as focal points for regeneration programmes
• Attractions and events and discourses of place shaping/making and the visitor economy
• Major events and community cultural festivals as animators of place and tourist attractions
• Planning dimensions of attractions and events development in urban and rural contexts
• Community participation in attractions and events
• Building sustainable partnerships and stakeholder relationships between tourism, culture and heritage in destinations
• Managing attractions and events in sensitive sites
• New and emerging technologies in attractions and events marketing and management

• The role of festivals and cultural events in policies and programmes to promote community cohesion, crime reduction and anti-racism
• Festivals, cultural events and the multi- (inter-) cultural city
• Issues in conceiving museums and artistic venues as visitor attractions
• Issues surrounding the 2012 London Olympics

The conference will form the academic stream of the European Union of Tourist Officers (EUTO) study visit and will provide the unique opportunity for researchers to network and share cutting edge ideas, innovation and critical thinking with the EUTO participants. The conference will include study visits as well as academic paper sessions. The study visits will focus on the role of culture in shaping destination image as Nottingham transforms into a cultural capital with ambitious projects such as Wollaton Hall, Centre for Contemporary Art Nottingham & The New Art Exchange as well as a visit to Nottingham Castle and Sherwood Forest to see how ‘Living Legends’ can be used to stimulate the visitor economy. 

Paper Submission

Abstracts should be up to 250-300 words, 12 point, 1½-line spaced and be formatted for printing on A4 paper. The deadline for submission of abstracts is Friday June 13^th 2008 and successful authors will be notified by the end of June, 2008. A final paper of between 4 – 8,000 words is required by the end of August 2008 if authors wish to be included in the Conference Proceedings. All abstracts and papers should be submitted electronically to: ttri@...

European Union of Tourist Officers (EUTO) Study Visit

Whilst TTRI and CTCC will organise this academic part of the conference, delegates are welcome to join the EUTO tourism practitioners and we will be jointly organising social functions to allow both groups to network.

The EUTO study visit runs from 21-28 September 2008 and will be held in both Nottingham and London. It will comprise study visits, presentations and workshops. Themes to be explored include the role of attractions & events in destination development & the Olympics 2012.  There will be an opportunity to visit the O2 Arena by boat and learn about riverside regeneration en route to Europe’s largest family entertainment centre and Olympic 2012 venue.  Explore Bankside, the Pool of London and the South Bank by foot to see how iconic attractions such as London Eye, Shakespeare’s Globe, Tate Modern and Vinopolis have helped create this vibrant destination. 

A draft programme is currently available via www.EUTO.org

Delegate rates for The University of Nottingham (TTRI/CTCC conference) 24^th and 25^th September 2008 are:

Earlybird fee £230 + £40/night accommodation

Standard fee £250 + £40/night accommodation

For further information and a booking form for the TTRI/CTCC conference please email Ann Lavin at: ttri@...