2026 RGS-IBG Annual Conference


Call for session proposal – RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2026

The Geographies of Leisure and Tourism Research Group (GLTRG) would like to invite expressions of interest and proposals for sponsored sessions for the 2026 RGS-IBG Annual International Conference to be hosted at the Royal Geographical Society in London and online from Tuesday, 1st to Friday, 4th September 2026. More information about the conference can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/RGS2026

Professor Peter Hopkins (Newcastle University) will chair the conference. The theme will be centred around Geographies of Inequality. The conference theme encourages conveners and presenters to reflect on the nexus between Geography and inequality, inequality in relation to accessibility and international mobility and, above all, a timely reflection on barriers that exacerbate space inequalities. Refer to the Chair’s Theme and the GLTRG Committee research expertise for suggested theme topics and details.

The GLTRG (https://www.gltrg.org/) has the capacity to sponsor up to 12 sessions. Themes which engage directly with this year’s theme of Geographies of Inequality, as well as others focusing on all areas of leisure and tourism geographies, are welcome. We particularly encourage the running of co-sponsored sessions with other RGS research groups to enhance interdisciplinary engagement as well as international collaboration. Each session is limited to 2 time slots in the programme. Each timeslot is 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Sessions can either be in person or online. Sessions may take the form of presented papers, panels, practitioner forums, discussions, workshops, or something else. As per Conference instructions, delegates will be limited to 1 paper presentation and 1 panel/workshop contribution OR 2 panel/workshop contributions. Further guidance for proposing and organising a session can be found here: https://www.rgs.org/research/annual-international-conference/call-for-sessions-papers-and-posters

✒️ Session proposals (max 250 words) seeking GLTRG sponsorship should be sent directly to Dr Alberto Amore (GLTRG Conference and Event Co-ordinator, alberto.amore@oulu.fi) by no later than Monday 15th of December 2025 at 5.00 pm (GMT) for consideration. Proposers are encouraged to submit proposals before the deadline if they wish to post and share their calls for papers ahead of time. Please let us know if you would prefer the session to be held in person or online. Please also indicate if you are applying or intend to apply for co-sponsorship with other RGS research groups. Once the GLTRG committee has confirmed the sponsorship of sessions, sessions will need to be finalised with the full-text version of session proposals (containing the details of all the papers included in the session) submitted directly along with registration to the conference as instructed on the RGS website.

📩 You can contact Dr Alberto Amore at alberto.amore@oulu.fi if you have further questions.