First appearance: FH Kufstein Tirol at the AIEST annual conference

In August 2025, the 74th AIEST (International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism) conference took place in Paris, France. Around 65 tourism experts from all over the world gathered at the Novotel Paris-Bercy from August 24 to 27, 2025, to exchange the latest research findings and promote ideas in tourism research. Helena Gey, MSc, represented the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol with a contribution on overtourism in mountain regions, joining a series of presentations on sustainability and resilience in tourism. Other sessions addressed this year's main theme of human-machine relations, as well as digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) in tourism.

Paris welcomes friends from around the world

AIEST President Kirstin Hallmann officially opened this year's conference on August 25. Patrick Vicérat and Claude Origet Du Cluzeau, President and Vice President of AFEST (Association Française d’Experts de Tourisme), as well as Hamida Rezeg, Vice President for Tourism in the Paris Île de France region, also addressed the conference participants with words of welcome.

The first highlight of the conference was Laurent Queige, Director of Tourism at Reworld Media, reporting on the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. He proudly gave a thoroughly positive initial assessment of the major sporting event.

Numerous perspectives on tourism...

Afterwards, the audience split into two parallel sessions to delve into scientific perspectives on tourism. Over the following three days, the focus shifted to topics such as sustainability in the hospitality industry, transformation in tourism, the impact of tourism on the economy and society, and the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in tourism. Among other things, discussions focused on approaches to influencing guest behavior at buffets in order to counteract food waste; introducing robots into the tourism service landscape in mixed human-machine teams; opportunities for mountain regions in particular to adapt to the effects of climate change; and how family businesses in tourism can break with traditional gender roles to their own advantage. Helena Gey's presentation sparked a discussion about the definition of overtourism and potential regulatory mechanisms, as well as the general rights of use of public space.

...and science

Renowned tourism scientist Sara Dolnicar from the University of Queensland gave the keynote speech on the current publication culture and the challenges it poses, especially for young scientists. The trick, she said, is to maintain a certain idealism in research despite high publication pressure and an oversupply of scientific journals, and not to sacrifice quality in favor of quantity. She believes that experienced and established scientists have a duty to take young scientists under their wing and guide them.

General Assembly

The AIEST General Assembly is also held annually as part of the conference. In addition to changes in the organizational structure of the association, St. Gallen was announced as the venue for the AIEST Annual Conference in 2026. This will mark the conference's return to its founding location, and long-standing members of the board will conclude their service in their current positions with the organization of the 2026 annual conference. The General Assembly also welcomed new members to AIEST, including Helena Gey, who is now listed as a junior member.

Friendly atmosphere

During the coffee breaks, there was always a lively atmosphere in the event rooms, and the joy of reuniting with long-standing colleagues and friends was palpable. The annual conference has secured a firm place in the calendar of numerous personalities from the field of tourism research. For doctoral students, it is the ideal platform for international networking, facilitated by the open and personal atmosphere of this conference. The manageable setting, shared meals, and program outside the seminar rooms offered ample opportunity to answer in-depth questions about presentations and engage in professional discussions on pressing topics in tourism. There was also plenty of time for personal exchanges. “We are one big family,” emphasized Bieger, head of the AIEST secretariat, to the newcomers at the conference during the first joint dinner.

Criticism leads to peak performance

Nevertheless, as Christian Laesser, Secretary General of AIEST, repeatedly emphasized: “We don't get better if we only pat each other on the back.” The AIEST conference is known for its intensive discussion of scientific contributions following the presentation. A time frame of 15-20 minutes is available for this – many times longer than at other conferences. If young scientists in particular are open to this critical feedback, they will succeed in driving their own research to excellence at an early stage. This year, Alexandra Pozzan from IMCA, Università della Svizzera Italiana, once again won the prize for the best contribution by a doctoral student and, in addition, the prize for the best contribution overall, which is a great honor given the consistently high standard. This year also saw the first ever Critical Friend Award, created to honor the most constructive critic and thus highlight the critical culture of AIEST. Stefan Bingemer was delighted to receive this award, which he earned with his numerous ideas and questions throughout all sessions. Another award, the Peter Keller Award, was presented to the best practice-oriented contribution. Ulrike Pröbstl-Haider and Alice Wanner won this award with their application-oriented research on the transformation of tourism in the Ötscher region. 

Conclusion on the Seine

After two joint dinners at selected locations during the conference, Le Frog in the historic wine district of Paris-Bercy and the LAHO rooftop bar with a view over Paris, all participants were offered a selected sightseeing program on the last day of the conference. In addition to the must-see in Paris – the newly renovated Notre Dame – the scientists were given an insight into selected houses of the international student residence of the Université de Paris. The closing dinner took place on a barge on the Seine with a view of Notre Dame. Here, the award winners of this year's conference were honored and all participants were bid farewell until next year in St. Gallen, Switzerland, after a thoroughly successful event.

Links:

• International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism | Website