CALL FOR PAPERS

HEALTH AND WELL-BEING IN TOURISM DESTINATIONS

September the 16th and 17th, 2014

Turku, Finland

The seminar will take place from September the 16th to 17th in Turku, Finland and will continue aboard M/S Viking Grace for an optional post tour (from evening of 17th until the evening of 18th September) through the beautiful archipelago between Finland and Sweden. The seminar will provide an opportunity for researchers and practitioners from all over the world to exchange ideas and scientific results and discuss new and emerging directions in research and practice in the field. The seminar will be organised in conjunction with the European Union LLP funded Project WelDest (Health and Well-being in Tourism Destination) and the Faculty of Business, ITC and Life Sciences at Turku University of Applied Sciences / Degree Program in Hospitality Management.

Seminar themes:

Key service supply, resources, staff competencies and elements of health and well-being at tourism destinations appreciated by both tourists and locals

Potential for business opportunities and innovations in health and well-being based tourism services in destinations

Competence needs in managing and developing health and well-being destinations

Destination management network structures and destination development approaches and tools to develop a health and well-being destination

Seminar offers:

1) Renowned international keynote speakers, 2) High quality scientific sessions with internationally peer-reviewed paper presentations, 3) Special session dedicated to PhD students mentored by The Finnish University Network for Tourism studies (FUNTS) open to all PhD students attending the seminar, 4) Journal coverage for selected papers on the Finnish Journal for Tourism Research*, 5) A unique experience in Turku, the oldest city in Finland. Turku is a fascinating mixture of a medieval town and a vibrant modern city. The Turku archipelago is among the world’s largest and you can enjoy it on an optional post-tour with the greenest and quietest passenger ferry in the world, M/S Viking Grace. The post-tour offers a mini cruise of one day and one night aboard with modern equipped cabins, many restaurants, entertainment and a Spa & Wellness Center with saunas, Jacuzzis and vivacious treatments (http://www.vikinggrace.com/?lang=en)

Thematic Area addressed:

Participants are welcome to present conceptual and empirical papers on a range of topics including:

Competitiveness of tourism destinations, especially health and well-being destinations and regions (e.g. service supply, resources and competencies as part of the competitiveness)

Destination management and aspects of multi-stakeholder collaboration in tourism planning and management (e.g. public-private partnerships, networks, destination management organisations, clusters and innovation systems)

Innovation in Tourism and Health & Well-being services

Changing consumer behaviour and future tourism demand in health and wellbeing services

Position of health and well-being tourism or health promotion in overall strategies and plans for local and regional development

Cross-sector analyses: synergetic inter-linkages between health and well-being tourism and related sectors, such as regional development, health sciences and creative industries

Quality management, safety and sustainability in health and well-being destinations

Submission guidelines

Researchers are invited to submit extended abstracts of no more than 4000 characters which will be

reviewed in a double-blind refereeing process. If accepted, researchers will be invited to present at the

conference in September 2014. A selection of papers will also be suggested for publication in a Special Issue

on the multidisciplinary Finnish Journal of Tourism Research. Abstracts are to be submitted electronically

for review and selection using this link (https://www.webropolsurveys.com/S/234E4BDA269FC1EF.par).

The structured abstract form includes:

• Authors’ contact details

• Title (up to 120 characters)

• Keywords (up to five)

• Structured Abstract:

• Purpose of the study

• Design/methodology/approach

• Findings

• Originality/value

• Research limitations/implications

• Practical implications

• References

You will also be asked to indicate:

• Preferred Type of Presentation:

(a) Research paper for Oral presentation (b) PhD session presentation.

Scientific committee

Prof. Antti Honkanen, Prof. Kai Illing, Dr. Steffen Lange, Prof. Peter Björk, Lic.Sc.(B.A.) Henna Konu, Doctoral student (M.Sc. Econ. & Bus.Adm.) Juulia Räikkönen.

Contact

Ms. Susanna Saari: Susanna.saari@turkuamk.fi or mobile: +358 50 5895 343

Important Dates

Abstract submission deadline: March 7th 2014 Acceptance notification: April 7th 2014 Registration deadline (early bird): May 30th 2014

If an abstract is preliminarily accepted, at least one presenting author must register for the conference before May 16th 2014. Preliminarily accepted abstracts with no single author registered in time will be removed from the program and from the journal.

Additional information Venue: The seminar will take place at the TUAS campus in the Turku, Finland. Address: Turku University of Applied Sciences Faculty of Business, ICT and Life-Sciences Lemminkäisenkatu 30, 20520 Turku Finland Map of the venue: http://goo.gl/maps/HVjEm Accommodation – more details to follow, a special rate will become available at participating hotels within Turku city centre and Kultaranta Resort, Naantali. Travel to the seminar venue

The closest airport is Turku, which is served by daily flights from Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Riga and Gdansk.

Helsinki-Vantaa airport is app. 170km away with an excellent direct Express bus connection

There are several daily bus and train connections from Helsinki city centre to Turku.

Also a twice a day ferry connection from Stockholm to Turku is available.

* The Finnish Society for Tourism Research was established in spring 2004. The aim of the activities is to enhance multidisciplinary research in tourism and leisure studies, and to increase interest in and appreciation for these fields of research. The Finnish Society for Tourism Research publishes a bi-annual multidisciplinary journal.

More about WelDest project http://weldest.blogspot.com

WelDest project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This call for paper reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information

contained therein.

527775-LLP-1-2012-1-FI-ERASMUS-ECUE