ATLAS – Association of Tourism and Leisure Education and Research

The Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research (ATLAS) was established in 1991 to develop transnational educational initiatives in tourism and leisure.

ATLAS provides a forum to promote staff and student exchange, transnational research and to facilitate curriculum and professional development. Membership is institutional and it currently has 194 members in 61 countries worldwide.

Some of the objectives of ATLAS are the promotion of the teaching of tourism, leisure and related subjects, and the promotion of transnational research. This helps to underpin the development of appropriate curricula for transnational education.

ATLAS organizes conferences on issues in tourism and leisure education and research. The 2018 annual conference will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark. Regional conferences are held in Africa, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. Smaller meetings are also organised by the ATLAS Special Interest Groups on themes like Dark Tourism, Mobility, Gastronomy and Events.

ATLAS publishes contributions from its members, Special Interest Groups and participants of the conferences and meetings in conference proceedings. Publications appear in ATLAS Review, ATLAS Reflections, reports, publications series, books and also in outstanding international journals.

Visit the ATLAS website

Varna University of Management – Bulgaria

Varna University of Management (VUM) is a private not-for-profit higher education institution. The university was established in 1996 and is based in Varna, Bulgaria. It offers undergraduate and master programmes in the fields of Business, Management, Hospitality, Tourism, Business Information Systems and Software Systems and Technologies. All VUM study programmes are delivered exclusively in English. The main campus of VUM is located in Varna, however the University has campuses also in Dobrich and in Sofia.

The long-term efforts and work of VUM academic community have been internationally recognized and validated. In 2018, in terms of student mobility VUM was ranked 1^st worldwide by U Multirank. VUM master programme in International Hospitality and Tourism Management is ranked 17^th worldwide by Eduversinal Best Masters ranking. 

VUM Research Institute issues internationally recognised science journals such as European Journal of Tourism Research (indexed in Scopus and Web of Science), Journal of Pedagogy and Educational Management and VUM Management Review.

VUM maintains an extensive network of more than 200 Universities from five continents and multiple industry partners with which it participates in joint study programmes, staff and student mobility and/or projects. In the recent years VUM has accomplished a number of international projects in the fields of tourism and hospitality, education, human resource development and training, competitiveness and internationalization. Thanks to the close relations with the industry, VUM is a desirable partner of many business initiatives and hosts such events as well.

Visit the Varna University of Management website

People 1st International – United Kingdom

People 1^st International is a unique insight driven, talent and performance management expert for employers in the UK tourism and visitor economy sector (hospitality, tourism, leisure, travel, passenger transport and retail industries).

People 1st International works to raise the productivity and professionalism of the sector by helping employers tackle skills and recruitment needs. The role of People 1st International is strategic, identifying industry needs, developing solutions where required in partnership with government and the education and training system to shape a skills system driven by employer demand.

Key activities of the organization include:

• Research and analysis on the sector workforce skills needs;
• Development of national occupational standards and professional standards in specific technical disciplines;
• Design, development and implementation of vocational training models including assessment strategies;
• Policy dialogue to support collaborative partnerships that include all key partners such as government ministries, education, employers and sectoral agencies;
• Development of employer-driven training courses and business solutions to support high quality human resource practices;
• Building capacity and sustainability within work-based formal and non-formal environments;
  Careers information, advice and guidance through professional pathways.

Visit the People 1st International website

Alicante University – Spain

The University of Alicante (UA) is a Spanish public university located in the Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast. Created in 1979, it is composed of around 3.800 professors and administrative and services staff, and just over 30.000 students in official degrees. It is a multidisciplinary university, formed by six Faculties and a Higher Polytechnic School, whose principles are research, innovation, entrepreneurship and the real transfer of knowledge.

The Valencian Community is one of the main tourist destinations in Spain in number of travelers and overnight stays, and the tourism sector represents 13.2% of GDP and 14.4% of employment in that region. These data support that the UA imparts two degrees, an official postgraduate and a doctorate in tourism.

Scientific publications in high impact journals in the field of tourism place the UA in a high position in the research ranking. These include: Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Current Issues in Tourism, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, International Journal of Hospitality Management or Tourism Economics.

Visit the Alicante University website

Deutsches Seminar für Tourismus (DSFT) Berlin – Germany

The DSFT Berlin was founded in 1964 with the goal of the professionalization of tourism businesses by training and qualification. Parts of the activities are funded by the German Ministry of Economy.
The DSFT is incorporated by 14 German umbrella organizations in the public and private tourism sector.
Actually, the DSFT is working in three business segments:

Seminars
The DSFT-Seminars are directed to core skills like online marketing, social competences, quality management, human resource management, product development. In the last 5 years, 330 open seminars with 5,430 participants were realized. In addition, there were 167 in-house trainings with 2,250 participants.

Accessible tourism
In cooperation with disabled associations, the DSFT designed a certification scheme for tourism businesses. This is supplemented by a qualification scheme. Since starting 72 trainings with 1,700 participants took place. Additional 2.000 participants completed the web-based training. Now 2,000 enterprises are signed with the certification “Reisen für Alle” (tourism for all) or in process of certification.

Service Quality Germany
The scheme offers practical tools for the analysis and improvement of service quality. Businesses can reach three different levels of certification. The certification is based on the external assessment of the obligatory quality plans. In the last 5 years, 40 trainings with 490 participants took place. Since 2013 the DSFT is responsible for the certification in Berlin and Hamburg.

Visit the Deutsches Seminar für Tourismus (DSFT) Berlin website

Cardiff Metropolitan University – United Kingdom

Cardiff Metropolitan University has five academic schools which provide practice-focused and professionally oriented education to students from around the globe. The university’s vision emboldens this commitment to education, research and innovation with the Cardiff Met EDGE – a series of Ethical, Digital, Global and Entrepreneurial skills seeks to develop confidence, resilience and student experiences that will prepare them for life after university.

Cardiff Met is the first university to be an Accredited Training Organization (ATO) for APMG’s PM4SD Certification (Project Management for Sustainable Development) in the UK.  The PM4SD methodology underpins the Next Tourism Generation’s (NTG) project approach and Cardiff School of Management houses staff working on the (NTG) project.  Cardiff School of Management (CSM) is organized into four Departments and performs consistently well in the annual National Student Survey (NSS) in which students are asked to rate their overall university experience.

The tourism, hospitality and events management department provides undergraduate, postgraduate and research degree programmes in tourism, hospitality and events accredited by professional industry bodies, including the Institute of Hospitality and the Tourism Management Institute. Our BA (Hons) International Tourism Management programmes achieved 100% Overall Satisfaction in the NSS.  We are an ABTA Educational Partner and are actively involved in the Association for Tourism in Higher Education, Association of Event Management Educators and the Council for Hospitality Management Education.  Staff within the department deliver the PM4SD Foundation and practitioner qualifications.

The Welsh Centre for Tourism Research (WCTR) produces world-leading and internationally excellent research that engages with practice and policy.  Such research includes: economic impact studies of the Volvo Ocean Race (2018) and UEFA Champions League Final (2017), an analysis of the Welsh food supply chain (2017), event evaluation and toolkit development for Monmouthshire County Council (2015-16) and a review of Wales’ Major Events Strategy for the Welsh Government (2012).  We also partner European projects, including: the Erasmus+ Next Tourism Generation (2018-2022), Erasmus+ Co-operating for Leadership in Tourism (2015-17) and a project on tourism and events in northern regions funded by the Norwegian Research Council (2013-2016).

Visit the Cardiff Metropolitan University website