Welcome to the website for the 2nd International Conference on the Measurement and Economic Analysis of Regional Tourism – MOVE to be held in Bilbao, Spain, on 27-29 October 2011.
The conference is organized within a framework of collaboration between the Vice-Ministry for Basque Commerce and Tourism, the General Secretariat for Tourism and Internal Commerce of Spain, and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The three institutions, represented respectively by Vice-minister Ms. Pilar Zorrilla, Secretary General Mr. Joan Mesquida and Secretary General Mr. Taleb Rifai, will celebrate in Bilbao the second in a series of co-organized international conferences dealing with the measurement and economic analysis of tourism at the regional (sub-national) level.
The first International Conference on the Measurement and Economic Analysis of Regional Tourism was also held in the region of the Basque Country (Spain), in the historically tourism-attractive city of San Sebastian.
The MOVE Conference in Bilbao aims at reexamining several topics that are understood to be of special importance to tourism policy design and implementation at the regional level, with a special focus on the measurement and research that support it.
Background
Tourism is an economic phenomenon concerning the movement of people to places outside their usual environment for either personal or business/professional purposes. As such, tourism has implications for the economy, for the natural and built environment, for the local population at the destination and for the visitors themselves.
Due to these multiple impacts, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) encourages a holistic approach in the formulation and implementation of national and local tourism policies.
The United Nations recommendations (International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics 2008 and Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended Methodological Framework 2008) are taken as the foundation for the measurement of tourism activity and its economic dimension at the national, but also at the regional and local, levels. This is particularly the case for the regional adaptation of the Tourism Satellite Account and other pertinent instruments that provide input for the economic analysis of tourism.
The nature of tourism itself means it is closely linked to the territory, not only because the natural or built territory is often the main tourism attraction (an exotic beach, a vibrant city), but also because the territory largely conditions visitor activity and expenditure, the nature of the supply that caters to visitor consumption, and consequently the relationship to potential welfare.
The themes of the Conference are:
Theme 1: Policies for Seizing the Economic Potential of Tourism Destinations
Theme 2: New Technologies and Innovation: Empowering Regional Tourism Stakeholders
Theme 3: Linking Regional Economics, Mobility and Tourism in Applied Research
Please note that the Conference during the first day will be in English and Spanish, and simultaneous translation will be provided. The second and third day will be exclusively in English, with no translation.
This website offers information on the Conference Agenda, Call for Papers, Registration process, and other ´Need to Know Information´ including accommodation, travel arrangements and more.
We look forward to welcoming you soon to beautiful Bilbao, Spain.
