
MDPI 2025 World Tourism Day Session One
26 September 2025, 08:00 (CEST)

Climate Migration, Sustainability, Social Responsibility
Welcome from the Chair
To mark World Tourism Day 2025, MDPI will host a series of webinars bringing together tourism professionals, researchers, and industry stakeholders from around the world. These sessions aim to facilitate the exchange of expertise, showcase innovative approaches to sustainable and responsible tourism, and highlight the sector’s pivotal role in fostering cultural exchange, community development, and global economic growth. By sharing insights and best practices, the events seek to strengthen international collaboration and inspire forward-thinking strategies that will shape the future of tourism.
Keynote Speakers

Professor; School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand
Climate compatible and oriental tourism
Dr. Vilas Nitivattananon is currently a professor of Department of Development and Sustainability, and a former Dean of School of Environment, Resources and Development, at Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). He has academic background in engineering, economics and systems management, with a PhD degree from University of Pittsburgh, USA. His areas of specialization and research interest include systems approach and management, urban competitiveness and resilience, sustainable tourism, climate change and urbanization, waste recycling and circular economy, strategic and sustainable infrastructure development, and sustainability and impact assessment.

Monika Kuffer is Professor of Sustainability of Rural-Urban Systems at the University of Twente. Her research focuses on sustainable development (SDGs), poverty (deprivation), living quality, and economic development in urban/rural environments using remote sensing, GIS, AI, and Citizen Science methods. She (co) lead several research projects on urban deprivation and environment, e.g., IDEAtlas, SPACE4ALL, ONEKANA, IDEAMAPS Data Ecosystem, and CityNext. She co-chairs an international network on deprivation area mapping, IDEAMAPS, and co-leads several research projects on deprivation, urban dynamics, and environment. She is part of the Steering Committee of the Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event (JURSE), the Bureau of European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories (EARSeL), and SIG chair for the Global South.
Registration
This is a FREE webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information on how to join the webinar. Registrations with academic institutional email addresses will be prioritized.
Certificates of attendance will be delivered to those who attend the live webinar.
Can’t attend? Register anyway and we’ll let you know when the recording is available to watch.
Program
Speaker/Presentation |
Time in CEST |
Time in CST Asia
|
Introduction |
8:00 - 8:10 am |
2:00 - 2:10 pm |
Prof. Dr. Monika Kuffer (Speaker 1) Tourism and Urban Deprivation: Pathways to Sustainable Improvement on Social Exploitation? |
8:10 - 8:20 am |
2:10 - 2:20 pm |
Prof. Dr. Vilas Nitivattananon (Speaker 2) Climate Compatible and Oriental Tourism |
8:20 - 9:40 am |
2:20 - 2:40 pm |
Q&A |
9:40 - 9:55 am |
2:40 - 2:55 pm |
Closing of Webinar |
9:55 - 10:00 am |
2:55 - 3:00 pm |
Relevant Special Issues
Moving beyond Sustainable Tourism Rediscovery through Regenerative Travel
Guest Editors: Dr. Umer Zaman & Prof. Dr. Stuart Barnes & Prof. Dr. Jerome Agrusa
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025
Advancements and Innovation in Tourism Management and Strategic Management: Sustainable Development Perspective
Guest Editors: Dr. Christos Papademetriou & Dr. Dimitrios Belias & Dr. Konstantina Ragazou & Prof. Dr. Sofia Anastasiadou
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 26 February 2026
Urban Trends: Cities, Housing Markets, Regional Dynamics and Tourism
Guest Editors: Prof. Dr. Marinela Krstinic Nizic & Prof. Dr. Golem Silvia & Prof. Dr. Tea Golja
Deadline for manuscript submissios: 31 July 2026
Urban Planning, Heritage, and Tourism: Pathways to Sustainable Cities
Guest editors: Dr. Isabel Vaz de Freitas & Dr. Makhabbat Ramazanova
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 October 2026