Matkailukoulutuksen ja -tutkimuksen kannatusyhdistys ry

(Text: Muhammad Khogali | Photos: Muhammad Khogali/WLO) The 18th World Leisure Congress (WLC) was organized in Breda, the Netherlands by Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUAS) from 25 to 28 August 2025.    The Congress theme this year was “Leisure for a Better Society” which addresses leisure that shapes the lives of people worldwide and acts as determinant of both individual and collective well-being. WLC2025 aimed to strategically brainstorm leisure as a catalyst for promoting well-being and inducing increased social and ecological sustainability by gathering academics, governments, and industry to collectively brainstorm and build a better society. The congress program included a groundbreaking Industry Day on Wednesday 27 August with the theme of “From Knowledge to Experience: Building Bridges between Science and Industry” organized by the Dutch Centre of Expertise Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality (CELTH) .    The congress also encompassed a poster ses...

(Text: Tuuli Pulkkinen | Photo: Bella Thanakarn Vongvisitsin) Konnichiwa! My conference trip to Japan might have happened already months ago, but the spirit of Japan will now never leave me.   I started my PhD journey in 2022, with the first couple of years being hectic with other work, I only started to work fulltime on my dissertation from the beginning of 2024. I always found it difficult to find conferences that would be a perfect fit for my topic, which is about inclusive tourism in the case of sexual and gender minorities, rainbow individuals. I study the topic from both individual (traveler) and business perspectives. I have participated in conferences before and made some great connections, but I always felt that there was something missing from those conference experiences. Hence, when I found out about the ISA RC50 (International Sociological Association, Research Committee 50) Interim Conference on Human Rights , I was immediately interested. That seemed like a good ...

  (Text: Muqiu Du | Photos: Muqiu Du) In June 2025, I had the great privilege of attending FAMAC 2025, Finland’s leading marketing conference held in Tampere. As a first-year PhD student, it was my very first academic conference, an important milestone in my doctoral journey. I presented my research on Work Exchange Tourism and gained valuable insights and inspiration from experts in the field. In this blog post, I would like to share my experiences and key takeaways from FAMAC 2025. My PhD research focuses on Work Exchange Tourism, a niche sharing economy model where travellers exchange their labour for accommodation. Drawing on 16 months of fieldwork, I am passionate about exploring the dynamics of this sustainable and alternative form of tourism. Both my research and the themes of FAMAC 2025 address important questions related to the evolving marketing landscape shaped by digitalisation and sustainability. Presenting my proposal allowed me to engage with experts and refine my re...

Miksi tehdä asiat helposti, jos ne voi tehdä mahdollisimman vaikeasti? (Teksti: Sini Kauhanen | Kuvat: Sini Kauhanen) Kauppatieteen alan väitöskirjatyöni ravintola-alan kehittämiseksi etenee ja pääsin vihdoin siihen vaiheeseen, jossa haastattelen ravintola-alan yrittäjiä ympäri Suomea. Valitsin tutkimukseen eri tyyppisiä ja -kokoisia ravintoloita, mutta nimenomaan yrittäjävetoisia. Sellaisia ravintoloita, joissa myydään sekä ruokaa että alkoholijuomia, eli yökerhot, pubit, kahvilat ja lounasravintolat jäivät ryhmän ulkopuolelle. Halusin kerätä aineiston ehdottomasti laadullisena, päämääränä saada paljon syvällisempää tietoa yrittäjien näkemyksistä ja kokemuksista, lisäksi ravintola-alan aiemmat tutkimukset ovat olleet enimmäkseen määrällisiä tutkimuksia. Otsikko tuli mieleen monta kertaa matkan varrella. Tiesin kyllä, että tällä tavoin aineiston keräämiseen menee valtavasti aikaa, mutta silti oli yllättävää, että tähän menee näin paljon aikaa! Ymmärrän nyt, miksi niin monet tutkijat...