The Programme is being supported by members of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism (IAST) as a part of the biennial (2015) meeting that is taking place in Rhodes. This is a part of the endeavour of the Academy to create opportunities for members to engage with the tourism community in the location of their meeting and to bring their research to a wider tourism field. The Academy itself, which was formed more than 25 years ago, is an international organisation created to enhance both theoretical and practical research in the field of tourism. Its membership is limited to 75 leading tourism scholars from throughout the world. The goals of the Academy are to further the scholarly research and investigation of tourism, to encourage the application of research findings and to advance the international diffusion and exchange of knowledge about tourism. For further details see the Academy website www.polyu.edu.hk/htm/iast/. For this workshop the Academy members are being joined by experts in tourism from Greece. The full list of contributors is given below:
 

David Airey:  is Professor of Tourism Management at the University of Surrey, UK. He has been involved in tourism studies for more than 40 years. His research interests focus on tourism education, for which he has had national responsibility in England, and tourism policy. 

Tom Baum: is Professor in the Department of Human Resource Management in the Business School of the University of Strathclyde. His research focuses on workforce themes and issues related to tourism and hospitality. His work has a strong application focus and draws upon experience from across the world.
 www.strath.ac.uk/hrm/staff/baumtomprof/

Dimitrios Buhalis: is Professor and Director of the eTourism Lab and Deputy Director of the International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research, at Bournemouth University in England. He is a Strategic Management and Marketing expert with specialisation in Information Communication Technology applications in the Tourism, Travel, Hospitality and Leisure industries.  www.buhalis.com

Geoffrey Crouch: is Professor of Tourism Policy and Marketing at the La Trobe Business School, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. His research interests include destination competitiveness and management, tourism psychology and consumer behaviour, and tourism and destination marketing.
 www.latrobe.edu.au/business/about/staff/profile?uname=gicrouch

Georgios Drakopoulos: Tourism Expert, is currently Special Adviser to the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization and Counsellor in the European Economic and Social Committee. He has served as Chairman of the Affiliate Members of the UNWTO (2012-2013) and as Director General of SETE (1997-2014).
www.linkedin.com/profile/public-profile-settings?trk=prof-edit-edit-public_profile

Larry Dwyer: is Professor of Travel and Tourism Economics at the Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales, Australia. He is President of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism. His research interests include tourism economics, planning and management. 
www.marketing.unsw.edu.au/LarryDwyer

Alison Gill: is a Professor at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada where she holds a joint appointment with the Department of Geography and the School of Resource and Environmental Management. Her research interests lie in the area of destination planning and development.  
www.sfu.ca/geography/people/faculty/alison-gill

Haralambos Loukaras: is an Economist and holds a M.Sc. in Tourism Marketing and Management. He is Partner at Double Dot Consulting as well as Partner at Loukaras and Associates, both of them expertise business consulting firms in the field of tourism development and strategy.
www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=22648618&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic

Alastair Morrison: is a Distinguished Professor specializing in the area of tourism and hospitality planning, development, and marketing in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University, USA. He is the CEO of Belle Tourism International Consulting (BTI) and the Director for International Research and Communication at the International Center for Recreation and Tourism Research at Peking University.
 www.cfs.purdue.edu/HTM/pages/academics/directory/morrison.html

Andreas Papatheodorou: is Associate Professor in Industrial and Spatial Economics with Emphasis on Tourism and Director of the Laboratory for Tourism Research and Studies (ETEM) at the Department of Business Administration, University of the Aegean, Chios, Greece. In 2009 he was recognized as an Emerging Scholar of Distinction by the International Academy for the Study of Tourism.
www.ba.aegean.gr/papatheodorou

Pauline J. Sheldon: is Professor Emerita at the School of Travel Industry Management at the University of Hawaii, USA and co-founder of Tourism Education Futures Initiative (TEFI). Her research interests are in tourism education, tourism information technology, sustainable tourism and corporate social responsibility in tourism. 
www.tim.hawaii.edu/faculty_bios/pauline_sheldon.aspx

Mariana Sigala: is Associate Professor of Service Management in Tourism at the Department of Business Administration, University of the Aegean, Chios, Greece. She has served at the executive board of the international associations ICHRIE, EuroCHRIE, IFITT and HeAIS. She specialises in Information & Communication Technologies in tourism/hospitality and her work has been published in numerous international academic journals and conferences.
www.ba.aegean.gr/m.sigala

Theodoros Stavrianoudis: is Assistant Professor in Tourism Management at the University of the Aegean and Tutor at the Hellenic Open University. His research interests include Tourism Management, Human Resources Management in Tourism and Strategic Management in Tourism. 
aegean.academia.edu/DrTheodorosStavrinoudis

Paris Tsartas: is Professor of Tourism Development at the Department of Business Administration, University of the Aegean, Chios, Greece. He served as Rector of the University of the Aegean between 2010 and 2014 and Head of Department of Business Administration between 2001-2003 and 2007-2009.
www.ba.aegean.gr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=924&Itemid=61