Join us in Hiroshima, Japan - The City of Peace - for the Conference on Sustainable Tourism in Asia - held Thursday and Friday, January 4-5, 2018. Final submissions due by Friday, December 15, 2017. COSTA 2018 will be held at the KKR Hotel Hiroshima, Japan Thursday and Friday, January 4-5, 2018 Final Deadline for Proposals is Friday, December 15, 2017 Click Here to Submit Your Proposal Today Have a Question? secretariat(at)esdfocus.org The 4th Conference on Sustainable Tourism in Asia (COSTA 2018)» Welcome to the 4th Conference on Sustainable Tourism in Asia (COSTA 2018). This international, peer-reviewed weekend event will be held in partnership with the 4th Conference on Management and Sustainability in Asia (COMSA 2018). The unprecedented boom in tourism these days is well documented, with over 1 billion international travellers in 2015, accounting for over 9% of the world GDP, and numbers expected to reach 1.5 billion by 2020. Asia, too, has prospered from this trend with Bangkok claiming the coveted title of the most visited city in 2016. These staggering numbers, coupled with the economic benefits associated with them, often overshadow the inherent conflict between the needs of conservation management and tourism. The key to reconciling the differences resides in sustainable tourism, defined by the UN as “Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.” Viewed in the past as an ‘alternative’ or ‘fringe’ form of tourism, today it is widely accepted and plays an integral role in generating a green economy. Conventional tourism, especially in developing countries, is more vulnerable to the industry’s adverse effects from environmental risks like compromised ecosystems to socio-cultural conflicts arising from failure to respect, communicate and include local communities in the planning and benefit sharing. Sustainable tourism, on the other hand, reshapes the landscape by prioritizing the inextricable link between the welfare of people and the preservation of our natural and cultural heritage. The transition to sustainable tourism challenges all participants to respect host communities’ socio-cultural diversity, fairly distribute the socio-economic benefits between all stakeholders, and optimize the use of environmental resources, among others. Academics, researchers, students and representatives from industry, government and non-governmental organizations need to both share their findings and learn from each other, in order to facilitate the transformation in how economic activity is conducted, allowing human societies to be sustained and to thrive. Early registration is only 23,500 JPY. The final deadline for submissions of 250 words in English is due by Friday, December 15, 2017 on the following streams: SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Abstracts must be a maximum of 250 words and must be submitted through the online system. We encourage work that introduces new ideas and conceptualizations, research and understandings to the field, as well as analysis of both success and failure. Submission of an abstract carries with it the obligation to give a presentation in the designated manner assigned by the Review Committee. Permission to publish the abstract of the paper in the conference program is implied. An individual cannot present another person’s paper, if their name is not listed as an author on the abstract. Submissions derived from plagiarized or copyrighted research will automatically be rejected. If the submitted research paper or results have been previously published in another journal, it will not be accepted. ORAL PRESENTATION FORMAT Presenters will be allotted 25 minutes to present depending on the format and including time for comments and questions. Seating arrangement for oral presentations will be theater style with a table at the front. Computers, projectors and screens will be provided in each presentation room. Please prepare an extra copy of your presentation on a USB Drive. POSTER PRESENTATION FORMAT Posters must be size A0 (A Zero). Common dimensions for posters are A0 47 x 33 inches (118cm x 84cm). Poster boards mounted on stands will be provided with tape and tacks. Poster materials should include the title of the presentation and the list of authors. Bring all illustrations needed — figures, tables, color photographs, charts. Poster material should be well labeled and easy to read from a distance of one meter. Lettering should be bold. If you will be posting typed material, use a large font size (24 to 30 pt) on white, pale yellow or cream-colored non-glossy paper. Avoid use of non-standard fonts. Use 1-inch margins. Use upper and lower case letters. No audiovisual equipment is permitted for poster presentations. VIRTUAL PRESENTATION FORMAT In our effort to assist participants unable to attend because of funding problems, a schedule conflict, illness, etc., we will prepare a virtual panel to be shown during the event. The number of virtual panels and presenter slots is limited. Guidelines for virtual presenters are as follows, Prepare a 10 minute presentation using the video instructions we send to you. Please note that PowerPoint with an audio track is not acceptable. Upload your presentation file to our ‘Drop Box’ (details will be provided upon confirmation of registration) Virtual presenters are accorded the same inclusion rights in the schedule and proceedings as the other presenters. Virtual presentation data files must be sent to the Secretariat one week prior to the conference. PROCEEDINGS GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS The abstract is scored using a rubric that assessed areas such as originality, clarity/organization, spelling/grammar and suitability for the event. Please note that only the abstracts undergo a peer-review and that full papers are not peer-reviewed. The Proceedings are not peer-reviewed, only the abstract review for participation in this event. The Proceedings will be available shortly after the conclusion on the event. Full Papers are not peer-reviewed nor required; however, if you would like to submit a paper it must be less than 2500 words and sent in Word format (PDF is not accepted) with a maximum file size of 1.5 MB by the deadline. Correct spelling, grammar and punctuation is the responsibility of the author. Use of the Full Paper Template is absolutely required. Papers submitted differently will be rejected