Call for Contributions: (Co)Existence with Tourism: Beyond Sustainability? | Zadar, 21–24 April 2027
July 12, 2026
The Institute for Tourism and the University of Zadar invite researchers, academics, practitioners, and policymakers to the international transdisciplinary conference "(Co)Existence with Tourism: Beyond Sustainability?", held at the Falkensteiner Hotel Iadera, Punta Skala, in the historic Adriatic city of Zadar, Croatia, from 21 to 24 April 2027.
Sustainability has shaped tourism scholarship, policy, and destination management for decades, yet in many destinations the relationship between tourism, communities, and environments remains marked by tension rather than resolution. The conference begins from the premise that sustainability should not be taken for granted as a sufficient answer, but critically revisited: tested against outcomes, re-examined in relation to limits and justice, and opened to alternative ways of thinking about tourism's role in society. The title itself frames the enquiry. "(Co)Existence" treats coexistence as a question rather than an assumption, and "Beyond Sustainability?" is an invitation to think further rather than a dismissal of work done within the sustainability paradigm. Contributions are welcome that interrogate sustainability, refine or reconstruct it, or explore broader pathways including degrowth, steady-state thinking, justice-based approaches, regenerative perspectives, community-centred governance, and new models of public value.
Set in a city where many of the tensions shaping contemporary tourism are felt in concrete ways, the conference welcomes conceptual, empirical, comparative, methodological, and policy-oriented work from across the social sciences and allied fields, including environmental studies, planning, geography, economics, sociology, political science, cultural studies, and psychology. Keynote speakers are Prof. Stefan Gössling (Linnaeus University, Sweden), Prof. Stephen Pratt (University of Central Florida, USA), Dr. Melanie Kay Smith (Budapest Business University, Hungary), and Prof. Josip Mikulić (University of Zagreb, Croatia).
Conference streams
Original contributions are welcome across six streams, each with a range of indicative themes.
Six conference streams
Contributions may address these streams and their indicative themes, and are not limited to them.
- 1 Rethinking tourism growth: macroeconomic effects, costs, and distribution Tourism degrowth, steady-state economics, macroeconomic costs and inequality, tourism-induced inflation, and value chains and local multiplier effects.
- 2 Measuring tourism sustainability: indicators, capacity, and limits Sustainability measurement, limits of acceptable change, monitoring advances, carrying capacity, and early-warning frameworks for overtourism.
- 3 Climate change, spatial pressures, and resource use Climate-adjusted carrying capacity, heat stress and seasonality, carbon footprints, nature-based solutions, and spatial rebalancing of tourism.
- 4 Behaviour, choice, and digital tools in tourism governance Behavioural insights, digital nudging, demand management, real-time visitor flow management, and persuasive design for travel behaviour.
- 5 Communities, justice, and the conditions of coexistence Resident perceptions and tolerance thresholds, gentrification and displacement, distributional justice, co-governance, and tourism labour markets.
- 6 Reframing tourism: values, responsibility, and pathways of change Alternative pathways beyond sustainability, destination futures and everyday life, community wellbeing, place-based transformation, and regenerative net-positive change.
Key dates and fees
Key dates and fees
Registration fees are in euros. The full paper stage runs well after the conference, in autumn 2027.
- Abstract deadline31 January 2027
- Abstract acceptance28 February 2027
- Early-bird deadline15 March 2027
- Conference dates21–24 April 2027, Zadar, Croatia
- Full paper deadline30 September 2027
- FeesPhD students and accompanying persons €280; early-bird €350; regular €400; late €450.
For questions about the conference, the organising team can be reached at info@coexisting.hr.
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