Call for Participation: Mediterranean Tourism Future Talent Competition & Hackathon 2026 | Malta, 24–27 November 2026
July 25, 2026
The Mediterranean Tourism Future Talent Competition and Hackathon 2026, held for the first time, takes place in Malta from 24 to 27 November 2026 as part of the Mediterranean Tourism Research Conference and the Mediterranean Tourism Forum. Hosted by the Mediterranean Tourism Foundation and chaired by Prof. Dimitrios Buhalis, it invites university teams from across the Mediterranean and beyond to shape the future of Mediterranean tourism.
The programme brings together students, academics, researchers, policymakers, tourism professionals, and destination stakeholders to explore new ideas under the themes of innovation, sustainability, research, and collaboration. Its aim is to give young people and emerging professionals the chance to develop practical, research-informed, and forward-looking solutions for tourism across the region. This is an ideal opportunity for supervisors to bring undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD students into an applied, international setting, and participation is subsidised to keep costs to an absolute minimum.
Two initiatives
Two ways to compete
A university-team competition and a cross-university hackathon, both focused on the future of Mediterranean tourism.
- MED Talent Challenge: university team competition An international student competition that attracts, connects, and showcases emerging talent from universities across the Mediterranean and beyond. Teams develop research-based, innovative, and actionable ideas for the future of Mediterranean tourism, moving beyond discussing challenges to proposing practical solutions. It is developed with the Mediterranean Tourism Foundation, academic partners, conference organisers, and members of the Foundation's wider network, including senators who help open doors, support participation, and contribute to evaluation.
- MED Tourism Hackathon: cross-university collaboration An international student hackathon where multi-university, multidisciplinary teams co-create practical solutions. Teams are formed in Malta and work intensively over two days on real tourism challenges spanning sustainability, heritage, technology, community resilience, and destination development, combining creativity, research, digital tools, and strategic thinking, and connecting with researchers, industry, and policymakers from different countries.
Programme across four days
Programme in Malta
The competition and hackathon run alongside the conference, the writing retreat, and the Forum plenary.
- Tue 24 NovMediterranean Tourism Research Writing Retreat
- Tue 24 – Thu 26 NovThe Mediterranean Tourism Conference (MTC26)
- Tue 24 – Thu 26 NovFuture Talent Competition and Hackathon 2026
- Fri 27 Nov11th Mediterranean Tourism Forum Plenary (MTF26)
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