In the June 2026 edition of the Geographies of Leisure and Tourism Research Group Newsletter, we highlight recent news, achievements, and upcoming activities within our community. This issue features the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Awards and information about the 4th edition of Slowing Down Symposium.
GLTRG News
GLTRG Undergraduate and Postgraduate Awards
The GLTRG Dissertation Award offers a prize of £60 for the best dissertation in the fields of leisure, tourism, and sports geographies. Applicants enrolled at or being awarded a Bachelor’s’ Degree (BA, BSc or BEd) or a Masters degree at a UK-based University are invited to submit their work for consideration. More information: www.gltrg.org.
Our new award deadline is: Undergraduate (BSc) award -22nd July 2026 (via RGS Submission portal).
Latest winner: Our current GLTRG Award winner is Bahram Rahmani, for the PG thesis titled:“Generative AI’s Role in the Pre-Trip Phase of Visually Impaired Travellers” Bahram submitted the dissertation as part of a MSc in International Hospitality and Tourism Management at Bournemouth University, UK.
Bahram shared: ”I am incredibly honoured to receive the GLTRG 2026 PGT Dissertation Prize for my dissertation. This topic was deeply personal for me, stemming from my own lived experience as a visually impaired person and driven by a passion to explore. I am profoundly grateful to my supervisor, Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, and all the participants who shared their insights, everyone was incredibly collaborative and constructive. This award means a great deal, as it highlights the vital importance of accessible tourism and motivates me to continue work on co-creating barrier-free experiences.”
Postgraduate News
We recently held the online webinar “Thriving (not only surviving) your PhD journey,” during which our PG member Christina Muhs shared some insights and reflections from her own doctoral journey and offered practical tools for navigating common challenges while maintaining well-being and a sense of self. Together, we explored topics such as burnout, impostor syndrome, blurred boundaries, and workload management. The aim of this session was not to optimise productivity, but to offer perspectives and strategies that can support a healthier, more sustainable doctoral experience. We had an engaged group of over 30 attendees, and received feedback that the session offered useful insights and motivation that participants can carry forward into their PhD research. We thank the attendees for their engagement and kind feedback and wish all PhD students in the research group continued success in their doctoral studies.
Christina Muhs says “Being a PhD student member on this international committee is an enriching experience that has supported my PhD experience and allowed me to foster relationships with experienced academics from universities in various geographical regions.”
GLTRG Member News
In March, GLTRG committee members Professor Brendan Paddison and Dr Jenny Hall hosted a panel on dark sky experts to rethink the way we use light, and the need for action against excessive artificial light, which negatively impacts wildlife, human health, and the environment. The event also saw the premiere of The Dark Matters film about people’s experiences of engaging in dark sky activities. Read more here and here.
GLTRG member Dr Choe published “Religious Tourism” in the Tourism Geographies Journal, which became the third most-read article within the journal in 2024. The article is now available via Open Access for anyone interested in reading it, HERE.
GLTRG Secretary, Dr Jen Hall is part of an academic and star-studded UK mountaineering team who are celebrating fifty years of the first woman to summit Everest – Junko Tabei. Find out more about it here & here.
GLTRG member Fiona Bakas is involved in an innovative project called PYROTuR coordinated by IGOT, University of Lisbon, that researches the effects of wildfires on tourism and aims to co-produce knowledge to design climate-resilient tourist destinations. In April 2026, two Living Labs were held in Manteigas, Portugal to co-produce knowledge on increasing adaptation and resilience to wildfires with tourism and community stakeholders, hosted by Estrela Geoparque. The project´s first policy brief is available HERE.
GLTRG Events
The GLTRG will also run their 4th edition of the Slowing Down Symposium: Geographies of slowing down, rehumanising and challenging inequalities in the leisure and tourism academy. This edition will take place on September 1st 2026 in London and is hosted by the University of Westminster. This is an event organised by the GLTRG with the sponsor and support of the IGU Tourism Commission, the Tourism Education Futures Initiative, the Leisure Studies Association and the Critical Tourism Studies. The programme will feature informal networking opportunities and discussion on key research, ethics, and wellbeing-related themes dear to tourism geographers. The final programme will be released in early July 2026 and shared on our website and social media channels.
The 2026 RGS-IBG Conference will take place in London from September 1 to September 2026. Professor Peter Hopkins (Newcastle University) will be the Chair of the Conference, on the theme of theme of Geographies of inequalities: toward just places. The GLTRG will be sponsoring 13 sessions this year covering a range of timely topics and perspectives on spatial inequalities, ethics, and development rhetorics around leisure, tourism and outdoor recreation from around the world. The final programme will be released by mid-July and circulated to the attention of the research groups and delegates.
GET INVOLVED
Why You Should Join the GLTRG
Whether it’s the quiet hum of a local park or the bustling corridors of a global tourism hub, the spaces where we play, rest, and travel are deeply geographical. For those of us dedicated to understanding these landscapes, the Geographies of Leisure and Tourism Research Group (GLTRG) serves as a vital anchor. Affiliated with the Royal Geographical Society, the GLTRG is more than just a research branch; it is a global community of scholars and practitioners exploring the intersection of space, place, leisure and the events industry. For more information.
Benefits of Joining
- Networking & Collaboration;
- Conference Sponsorship;
- Grants & Funding;
- Gain access to a dedicated mailing list.
How to Get Involved:
- Look out for our “Call for Papers” for the RGS-IBG Annual Conference;
- Follow our updates on social media and our official website;
- Participate in our Annual Meeting.
How to Join: Joining is straightforward and free for RGS members. For RGS-IBG Fellows and Members: Membership in the GLTRG is free. You can join by simply ticking the GLTRG box when you renew your Society membership or by updating your profile. For Non-Society Members: If you aren’t a Fellow of the RGS, you can still be part of our community. Simply contact our Membership Secretary to be added to our mailing: j.hall@yorksj.ac.uk
If you’re a postgraduate student, joining as an Associate Fellow of the RGS is a great way to access both the Society’s resources and our research group’s specialised network at a lower cost.
We look forward to welcoming you to the group and seeing how your research helps map the future of events, leisure and tourism!
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