TOURISM IS DISCUSSED AT IUE
In her opening speech, Deputy Dean of Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Head of Department of Business Administration Prof. Dr. Alev Katrinli stated her happiness in hosting the symposium that was organized in Arizona last year. Prof. Dr. Katrinli pointed out that 100 attendees from 35 countries would discuss tourism for three days.
The Head of the Committee, IUE lecturer Prof. Dr. Turgut Var stated that tourism provided much more foreign currency with fewer import than other industries and said “In automotive sector the 50-60% of the production depends on import. However, tourism sector needs very few import. In 2007 we gained nearly 20 Billion Dollars by investing 3,5 Billion Dollars. There is no other industry that is more income yielding than this. Tourism is an activity that develops the well being of the people and makes them happy.”
The main speeches are made by Dr. Robert Cummins, Australia Center of Quality of Life President, and Tricia Barnett, Tourism Company Director about the Difficulties that Tourism must overcome.
How would it be possible for tourism to provide quality of life, is discussed in two workshops. Specific research questions about sustainable tourism are shaped in terms of how theory and practice will provide a common solution for the future. The following opinion was on the foreground in the symposium;” The facilities that aim to present sustainable tourism as an example for other sectors must be researched in future phases, and it must be carried on by being respectful to the resources of the world and to the people that are affiliated to tourism sector.”
The Organizing Committee of the Conference was made up of İzmir University of Economics Department of Business Administration lecturer Prof. Turgut Var, BEST Education Network, South Denmark University lecturer Dr. Janne Liburd, İzmir University of Economics Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design lecturer Asst. Prof. Dr. Deniz Hasırcı, İzmir University of Economics Department of Business Administration lecturer Melike Sezgin, Yaşar University lecturer Asst. Prof. Dr. Gökçe Özdemir. The next meeting will be in Singapore in 2009.
