THE INC 2026 - Legacy and Continuation

Dear colleagues,

On 19^th June we have concluded the fifth instalment of THE INC (Tourism, Hospitality and Events INternational Conference) “Personalisation and Immersive Experiences in Tourism, Hospitality and Events” at the University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal. THE INC is the official conference of ATHENA (Association of Tourism, Hospitality and Events Networks in Academia). For once again, THE INC 2026 has set the research output bar very high hosting five highly esteemed journals (Event Management; International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management; Journal of Travel Research; Tourism Geographies; Tourism Management), generating special issues in two of those journals (EM; TG) that are expected to be published in mid-end 2027, and having as exhibitors three of the largest publishers in the globe (CAB International; Goodfellow Publishers; Routledge), All these whilst 113 oral and 18 Doctoral Presentations delivered from more than 150 delegates coming from more than 60 countries, across five different continents.

We would warmly like to thank our three keynote speakers, the journal editors participating in our editors’ corner session, and the ATHENA research centres’ directors participating in our ATHENA panel for their substantial scientific outputs and for inspiring all keynote sessions. Moreover, we would like to thank the industry panel members for their provision of valuable insights, further bridging industry with academia. We would also like to thank the University of Algarve for their exceptional hospitality, and the Universities of Derby and Northumbria, CBI, CinTurs and EPIC for their scientific contribution and support. You can download the conference proceedings (ISBN 978-989-9244-23-8) from the official website of THE INC 2026.

See you in two years at THE INC 2028, which will be held during June at Breda University, the Netherlands.

Kind regards.