Preface

Ana María Munar (Copenhagen Business School, Denmark)

Tourism Education: Global Issues and Trends

ISBN: 978-1-78350-997-3, eISBN: 978-1-78350-998-0

ISSN: 1571-5043

Publication date: 23 September 2015

Citation

María Munar, A. (2015), "Preface", Tourism Education: Global Issues and Trends (Tourism Social Science Series, Vol. 21), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, p. vii. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1571-504320150000021016

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015 Emerald Group Publishing Limited


This volume of the Tourism Social Science Series was born out of the presentations that took place at the tribute to Professor Jafar Jafari. The tribute, entitled “Celebrating and Enhancing the Tourism Knowledge-based Platform: A Tribute to Jafar Jafari,” was organized by the University of the Balearic Islands (Spain) and Copenhagen Business School (Denmark). Over 100 delegates from 34 different nationalities met in Palma de Mallorca, 23–25 of October 2013, to celebrate and honor the life and work of Professor Jafari. For decades, Jafari’s entrepreneurial spirit, creative mindset, and personal commitment have resulted in the renewal and development of tourism scholarship. He has made immense contributions to tourism through his research and editorship of various academic publications, his founding and development of academic institutions, engagement with tourism organizations such as the UNWTO, and his teaching and his mentorship of students and emerging scholars worldwide.

The tribute provided an opportunity to revisit and analyze the legacy of Jafar Jafari in the area of tourism education, and the chapters included here are a reflection of the innovative academic contributions presented in Mallorca. This collection of studies offers a valuable global perspective and examines the need to integrate humanities, values, and multidisciplinary approaches into the tourism curriculum, rethink Western-centric and market-oriented approaches, explore the possibilities of experiential and transformational education, and adopt pedagogical innovations. Professor Jafari mentioned in his opening speech that what is special about academic journeys is that even when a person has completed the journey, what he leaves behind—the theories, the concepts, the methodologies—keeps the journey going. This book includes a series of important empirical and theoretical footprints, which will help to better understand the present condition of tourism education and guide the way forward.