The 12th Annual Conference of EATSA – the Euro-Asia Tourism Studies Association – was held in Poland from 29 June to 3 July 2026. Our colleagues and PhD students from the Department of Tourism actively represented the University of Pannonia at the event.

Entitled “Bridges over Borders: Tourism in an Accelerating World”, the central theme of the EATSA 2026 Conference was the role of tourism in connecting people in an increasingly fast-changing, geopolitically divided and technologically transforming world.

Participants explored how tourism can build bridges between cultures, countries, generations and communities while addressing the challenges posed by artificial intelligence, sustainability, social justice and climate change. The conference placed particular emphasis on the future of responsible, human-centred tourism that fosters cooperation.

Our colleagues and PhD students delivered several presentations at the conference and contributed to a number of the research projects presented:

• Eszter Csontó: Artificial Intelligence in Hotels: Research Directions for PhD Dissertation
• Kitti Hiezl (Co-author: Katalin Juhász-Dóra): AI Literacy and the Recognition of AI-Generated Hotel Review Responses: The Effects of Raising Awareness
• Zsófia Papp (Co-author: Kitti Hiezl): From Prompting to Professional Judgement: How Tourism Education Shapes Students’ Revisions of AI-Assisted Travel Plans
• Mónika Horváth (Co-author: Zsófia Papp): Luxury Retail as an Urban Experiencescape: Personalized Experiences and Satisfaction
• Márk Fauszt: Immersive Exhibitions and Cultural Consumption: Reframing Visitor Experience in Cultural Tourism
• Petra Gyurácz-Németh (Co-author: Petra Emeneth): Factors Leading to Career Transition in Tourism with a Focus on Generation Y and Generation Z
• Gábor Michalkó (Co-author; the presentation was delivered by Mihály Tömöri – University of Nyíregyháza): The Millers on the Road: Crime-Related Travel in the Era of Total Tourism (additional co-authors: Kökény László, Michalkó Lili)

We are delighted and honoured that PhD student Eszter Csontó received the Best PhD Paper Award at the conference. We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to her on this outstanding achievement.

During the conference, the members of the EATSA General Assembly elected the new Board of Directors for the next three-year term. We are proud that our colleague, Petra Gyurácz-Németh, was elected Vice President of EATSA’s European Region. You can read more about this here. >>>

Colleagues from our Department of Tourism participated in THE INC 2026 – Tourism, Hospitality & Events INternational Conference, which was held in Portugal between 17–19 June 2026.

THE INC is the official conference of ATHENA (Association of Tourism, Hospitality and Events Networks in Academia), an international academic organisation of which our Faculty’s Research Centre for Business and Management Sciences is also a member.

Our colleagues represented our university with several current research topics in tourism and hospitality. Their presentations focused, among other topics, on personalised hotel experiences, the measurement of sustainability awareness, the development of early career graduates’ professional paths, and the role of the Living Lab method in community involvement.

Research topics presented by our colleagues:

• Kitti Hiezl, Petra Gyurácz-Németh, Gábor Michalkó: From Experiencescape to Place Attachment: The Mediating Role of Personalised Hotels
• Petra Gyurácz-Németh, Ágnes Raffay-Danyi & Nikolett Bosnyák-Simon: Conceptualizing and Measuring Sustainability Awareness: A Multidimensional Indicator-Based Approach
• Katalin Formadi, Petra Gyurácz-Németh, László Gadár & Eszter Bogdány: Personalizing the professional path: a persona-based longitudinal analysis of early career graduates
• Zsófia Márta Papp, Ágnes Raffay-Danyi, Katalin Lőrincz: The Living Lab Method to Help Community Involvement

More information about the research topics is available in the conference proceedings, which can be accessed here.

It is a great honour that the publication by Dr. Kitti Hiezl, Dr. Petra Gyurácz-Németh and Dr. Gábor Michalkó titled “From Experiencescape to Place Attachment: The Mediating Role of Personalised Hotels” was ranked among the top three awarded papers in the Hospitality Paper Awards category. Further information is available here.

We warmly congratulate our colleagues and wish them continued success.

Our students participated in an international conference in Albania in April 2026 as part of the short-term mobility program of the Pannonia Scholarship Program, and Kamilla Gáncs wrote a summary of the event.

“Between April 27–30, as Tourism and Hospitality students of the University of Pannonia, we had the opportunity to participate in an international professional conference in Albania, hosted at the Aleksandër Moisiu University of Durrës, as part of the the Pannonia Scholarship Program.

During the “Family Business Forum – Symposium” conference, we attended inspiring presentations about the development of family tourism businesses, the role of education and international cooperation, and the future of tourism.

However, one of the most valuable aspects of the program was the opportunity to build international connections: we had the chance to meet Slovak and Czech university students and lecturers, with whom we exchanged professional experiences, discussed current challenges in tourism, and gained insight into each other’s educational and tourism perspectives.

The days we spent together provided us not only with professional knowledge, but also with meaningful personal experiences: new friendships, inspiring conversations, and unforgettable memories were created. We are proud to have represented our university in such an international and motivating environment.

We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of this journey, which reinforced our belief that tourism truly connects people and cultures.”

The staff of the Department of Tourism and our master’s students studying tourism participated in the Tourism Summit Budapest 2025 event. The central message of the event was “Travel Smart, Explore the Future!”, which emphasizes the role of innovation, sustainability, and digitalization in shaping the future of tourism.

During the two-day conference, inspiring lectures and panel discussions saw industry leaders and experts sharing the latest trends, and together we shaped the future of tourism. Key topics included digital transformation, sustainability, and the role of young professionals in the development of the industry.

The event provided opportunities for networking, learning, and exploring industry innovations through an exhibition area, where travel destinations, technology providers, and educational institutions showcased their latest developments.

We thank Visit Hungary for organizing this inspiring and forward-looking event, and everyone who participated made it possible.

The Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Pannonia and Corvinus University of Budapest organize the European Conference on Innovation Management (ECIM) 2025 on 20-21 November 2025 with the motto: „Creative regions and innovative education – Hubs for the future”.

The objective of the ECIM2025 Conference is to explore diverse perspectives, opportunities, best practices and inspire actionable solutions, that support creative regions, industries and entrepreneurs in building vibrant, future-oriented and innovative hubs that strengthen regional identity and competitiveness.

The conference invites professionals from the governmental, industrial and academic sectors as well as PhD and DBA students in the following research areas (but not limited to):

• Innovative education and talent development
• Creative regions and innovative hubs
• The challenges of public and higher education
• Social and cultural innovation
• Technology, digitalization and role of AI
• Business model and financial innovation: for creative industry
• Innovation management processes
• Creative hubs and ecosystem

Abstract submission for presenters: 10th November 2025.

Visitors’ registration and payment: 17th November 2025.

Registration and more information: https://ecim2023.com/

Call for paper >>>

The UNeECC (University Network of the European Capitals of Culture) cordially invites you to the public events of its next annual conference: the Monitoring Workshop and the parallel PhD Workshop on 27th September 2023 from 3 to 6 pm. Location: Pannon Community Hub, University of Pannonia, Building E. (Egyetem str. 10.)

The conference titled ‘Cultur(E)scapes – Innovation in Culture and Beyond’ is hosted by the University of Pannonia, Veszprém (Hungary), on 27-29 September 2023.

The two public events are held parallel, on the first day of the conference, on 27 September form 3 until 6 pm.

At the PhD Workshop, PhD students from the universities of the ECoC Cities will present the topic of their doctoral theses, which can be linked to the main theme of the conference, culture. They will receive advice on their research and preparing their publications from the experts present. Detailed programme: https://uneecc2023.uni-pannon.hu/conference/phd-workshop

At the Monitoring Workshop, we can hear presentations about the methodology and results of monitoring research in various ECoC cities. Detailed programme: https://uneecc2023.uni-pannon.hu/conference/monitoring-workshop

The language of both professional workshops is English.

The entry is free, but registration is needed until 20th September 2023 on the following link: https://veb2023.typeform.com/UNEeCC 

The UNeECC Annual Conference 2023 titled Cultur(E)scapes – Innovation in Culture and Beyond is supported by the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture programme.