Calll for Pap
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Internattional Ge
eographiccal Unionn Regiona
al Congreess 2013
3Pree‐Confeerencee Meetting
TTourissm between Tradition and Moddernityy
Beppuu/Miyajima/Okaayama (Japan)
July 31‐AAugust 42013

Orrganised by:
IGU Commission on Touurism, Leisure andd Global ChangeandAsso
ociation ofo Japane
ese Geoggrapherss Study Group on Tourism
m andLeisureTourism between Tradition and Modernity
The past is a foreign country, David Lowenthal once wrote so famously. Indeed places of heritage,
history and culture have formed important attractions since the beginning of modern tourism. Today
globalization and improved mobility have entailed new geographical patterns and tourist flows. Still
the interest for cultural tourism remains and moreover, it is increasingly identified as potential tool
for facilitating local and regional development. This is supported by various conservation programs,
among those most prominent the UNESCO World Heritage designation. Tourism also plays animportant role in preserving or reviving traditions, while at the same time it is criticized astransforming them. New media and forms of communication create new images of the past and its
places and transfer them to an ever wider audience. These developments are not without impacts
and challenges. Hence, visits to heritage places, indigenous peoples and other sites related totraditional and modern cultures have to be managed carefully in order to sustain their base ofattraction. At the same time, interpretation of tradition and heritage also has evolved as a contested
topic, raising questions of who manages places, creates traditions, interprets heritage and transfers
images in the tense field between tradition and modernity.
Against this background the IGU Commission on Tourism, Leisure and Global Change in cooperation
with Geography of Tourism and Leisure Study Group of the Association of Japanese Geographers isusing the occasion of the IGU 2013 Regional Conference in Kyoto to address these issues during aPre‐Conference Meeting. The overall aim of the conference is to discuss geographical dimensions oftourism in a changing world where tradition and modernity meet in time and space. We particularly
welcome papers addressing the following topics;
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Motives for cultural tourism
Globalization and cultural tourism
Dark tourism and heritage sites
Historical geographies of tourism
Spa and health tourism
Commodification and authenticity
Planning and managing cultural and heritage tourism
Cultural and heritage tourism as tool for local and regional development
Tourism and indigenous people
Event tourism in urban and rural destinations

The conference is organized as a combination of scientific paper sessions and a field trip with thefollowing schedule:
July 31: arrive in Beppu (by plane from Tokyo/Osaka to Oita, or by train)
August 1st: Guided tour of Beppu and Yufuin hot spring resorts; paper presentations at Ritsumeikan
Asia Pacific University; evening: dinner at Hitparade Club
2nd: Transfer to the shrine island Miyajima near Hiroshima; paper presentations; walk around
Miyajima
3rd: Guided tour of Miyajima; transfer to Okayama; paper presentations
4th: Art island Naoshima or Teshima; transfer to Kyoto

Call for Papers: Submission and Review Process
The symposium language is English. Abstracts (limited to 300 words) should be send to1) Carolin Funck (funckc@hiroshima‐u.ac.jp) and2) Dieter Müller (dieter.muller@geography.umu.se)by 31 January 2013.
The abstracts will be reviewed. Because of time and room restrictions the conference
committee (the Commission Board and Local Organisers) is only able to accept a limited number ofpaper presentations.
Important dates:
Abstract submission 31 January 2013
Notification of acceptance 15 February 2013
Registration and payment 1 April 2013
Abstract format: please follow the format− Abstracts can only be submitted in English− Abstracts should contain no more than 300 words− Font: Times New Roman, size 12pts with single spacing− Title should be typed in in upper and lower case letters in bold and left aligned− Author/s names and institution/s and full address should be in upper and lower case
− Presenting author's name should be underlined− Include four to eight keywords− No endnotes, references or frames/tables/figures are acceptable− Please note: Faxed abstracts will not be accepted

Publication
Based on the presentations at the conference, we will select papers for publication.

VenuesThis meeting will be held as a combination of excursions and presentations. The reason is that wewant to offer an opportunity to study about tourism in Japan on the spot, while at the same time
promote academic discussion. Since Japan in August has a very hot and humid climate, we will limit
our outdoor time to half a day and spent the rest indoors with presentations.
We will start with two nights in the famous spa of Beppu, where we will have an opportunity tocompare the mass tourism spa resort of Beppu with the more fashionable, high‐end resort of Yufuinin the nearby mountains. We will also walk through Beppu’s old town and see some of theentertainment facilities, especially the Hitparade Club. Paper presentations will take place at
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, which commands an excellent view of the whole town.
http://www.city.beppu.oita.jp/02kankou/english/index.html
From Beppu we travel to the island of Miyajima, which is famous for its red shrine gate almost
floating on the water. Staying overnight in a Japanese style ryokan will allow us to walk through town
in the evening when most tourists have left. We will also learn about efforts do diversify tourism
through the promotion of nature based tourism and the revitalization of the old townscape.
Presentations will take place in our hotel.
http://visit‐miyajima‐japan.com/flash/english/welcome.html
http://www.miyajima.or.jp/english/index.html

The third station of our trip will be Okayama prefecture with the famous Kenrakuen Garden, where
we will stay and present in a city hotel in the centre. We will then cross over to Naoshima or Teshima,islands that have received attention for high‐grade art tourism based on museums designed by thefamous Japanese architect Tadao Ando and art projects integrated into the old towns. FromOkayama it is less than two hours by Shinkansen to Kyoto.
http://www.okayama‐kanko.net/sightseeing/index.php?lg=en
http://www.benesse‐artsite.jp/en/Access
Beppu can be reached easily by air (Oita Airport), train or ferry (night ferry from Osaka). If you also
attend the main conference in Kyoto, it is easiest to fly in and out Kansai International Airport andtake the train to Beppu (about 4 hours). From Fukuoka Airport it is about 2 hours by train. If you fly
into Tokyo, try to get a connecting flight to Oita. Tokyo has two airports, Haneda and Narita, so you
might have to change airports.

ClimateJapan in August is usually hot with day temperatures of 35C and nights of 25C and a high humidity.
However, all transportation and buildings are air‐conditioned, sometimes to the brink of freezing.

Rates / Conference fee:
We expect the final price to be around 60.000 Yen per person, and 55.000 for accompanying persons
who take part in the excursions but not the presentation sessions.
We are currently applying for conference support; registration will open as soon as we have set theprice, probably in December, and will be announced on the mailing list.
Important: These fees do not include travel by train/ shinkansen to and between the venues. We
recommend that you buy a JR Rail pass, as singular tickets are very expensive. Rail passes have to beobtained in your country of residence before departure; they can not be bought after arriving inJapan. The JR Sanyo Shikoku Northern Kyushu 5 Days Rail pass will cover the whole pre‐conference
trip for 22.000 Yen. See the link below for other options:
http://www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en001.html
We only have a limited number of single rooms, especially on Miyajima, so we might have to ask you
to share a room at Miyajima even if you have booked the single option. Double bedrooms in Japan
have separate beds (or futons if Japanese style).

Organisers
IGU Commission on Tourism, Leisure and Global Change
The Commission’s specific is to examine the geographical nature of tourism, leisure and globalchange and related modes of mobilities. The Commission also aims to stimulate a deeper integration
between discussions in tourism and leisure geographies in order to understand the current processes
and outcomes of human mobilities and globalization. The purpose is to encourage geographicaltourism research that would be influenced by the current development, mobility and sustainability
discussions in human geography. The Commission has over 650 corresponding members from over
80 countries. The Commission has a web‐site and mailing list IGUST, see:www.tourismgeography.com and http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/TourismGeography/)
Association of Japanese Geographers Study Group on Tourism and LeisureThis research group is founded for communications between tourism geography researchers.
Particularly communicating with overseas researchers is one of the major purposes of this group.
Research of tourism and leisure is gaining interest not only in Japanese geography but also otheracademic disciplines. Discussions and exchanges of information take place with other disciplines aswell as in geography. Major activities are holding session at AJG meetings, holding excursions at AJG
meeting, attending research congresses around the world, communicating with other researchgroups and commissions of tourism geography and organizing research symposiums and congresses.
Prof. Dieter K. Müller
Chair, IGU Commission Geography of Tourism, Leisure and Global Change
Department of Geography and Economic HistoryUmeå University, Sweden
Dr.Carolin Funck
Association of Japanese Geographers Study Group on Tourism and Leisure
Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan