Cultural Sustainable Tourism: A Selection of Research Papers from IEREK Conference on Cultural Sustainable Tourism (CST), Greece 2017 (Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation)

This book includes research papers submitted to and presented during the first international conference on Cultural Sustainable Tourism (CST) that was held in Thessaloniki, Greece in November of 2017. Discussing complex relations between Culture, tourism, and the role of planners and architects in their maintenance, this conference was jointly organized by IEREK –International Experts for Research Enrichment and Knowledge Exchange- and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The conference was an attempt to shed a light on the significance of Culture and Heritage as two important factors attracting tourists and promoting economic growth and convey civilizations through tourism. Themes covered in this book give an overview on current research and topics of discussion that focus on Cultural sustainable tourism through several sections. The first section, titled “Art, Architecture and Culture”, discusses urban regeneration as a road to the preservation of cultural and tourist destinations and the importance of understanding and benefitting from our heritage to allow for modern day improvements. “Heritage Tourism”, the section 2 of the book, is more focused on offering nontraditional solutions and management plans to sustain cultural tourism and improve quality of life around historically significant areas. The third section on the “City and Rural Tourism” follows by providing sustainable strategies to attract tourists and promoting the use of existing resources. The last and final section with the title of “Sustainable Tourism, Development and Environmental Management” maneuvers around the different yet common environmental issues existing today and proposes new and innovative solutions for their elimination. Presenting a wide range of topics in chapters, this book provides the scientific community with a collection of unique and enlightening literature.

Professor Ugljesa Stankov is a professor in the field of tourism and hospitality, with a special interest in GIS and technology. In his thesis, Professor Stankov discussed the relationship between Web Marketing, Geographic Information Systems and Tourism. He is a member of the Geographical Society of Vojvodina, the DGHT's Cultural Tourism and Rural Tourism Research Group, and the Center for Spatial Information of Vojvodina PMF. Over his years of experience, Professor Stankov contributed with more than 40 publications, ranging from papers to book chapters, to his field.

Sofia-Natalia Boemi (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)

Doctor Sofia–Natalia Boemi has approximately 10 years of professional experience in both academia and industry. Currently she is a postdoctoral researcher in the department of Mechanical Engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. In addition, she was awarded a postdoctoral scholarship of excellence from the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY) for her work on the problem of energy poverty. Her research interests include energy efficiency, environmental certification, construction sustainability, and environmental energy performance. Dr. Boemi is an editor of the book “Energy Performance of Buildings – Energy Efficiency and Built Environment in Temperate Climates”, author of ten journal papers, four book chapters and twenty-three conference papers, in addition to being a reviewer at eleven scientific journals and researcher and deputy project manager of fifteen national or European projects.

Sahar Attia (Cairo University, Egypt)

Dr. Sahar Attia is a full Professor at the Faculty of Engineering at Cairo University, with a PhD in Urban Planning from the Urban Institute of Paris, University of Paris 12, France. She has more than 35 years experience in the practice of Urban Planning, Urban Design, and Architecture in both academic and professional roles. She was awarded the “2nd Arc Vision Prize – Women and Architecture” by the Society of Egyptian Architects (SEA). Professor Attia is currently serving as Chair of the Steering Committee for the “University Network Initiative – UN-Habitat (UNI)”, and representing research and academia in the “World Urban Campaign”. She is also a board member in “Ecocity Builders” (Oakland, USA), and in numerous national committees. She has several applied research activities, linking theory to practice and implementation. She co-edited 2 books, and supervised more than 50 theses and research projects. In 2012–2013 she was coordinating and teaching within the module “Documentation of Architectural Heritage” of the Master program “Cultural Heritage Management” at the French University in Egypt. Her specializations and fields of interest include Urban Design and Development, Strategic Planning, Community Development, Heritage Conservation, Urban Regeneration, and Upgrading Informal Areas.

Doctor Stella Kostopoulou is Associate Professor of Regional and Tourism Development at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. She has over 10 years of experience in the field of economics specializing in tourism economics. She has published more than twenty papers on regional economics and planning, tourism, cultural industries and local development in international scientific journals such as the International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, and International Journal of Sustainable Development.

Nabil Mohareb (Beirut Arab University, Lebanon)

Doctor Nabil Mohareb is Associate Professor with over 18 years of academic experience. He has worked for a number of distinguished universities in three different countries, with the most recent one being the Beirut Arab University, Lebanon. With more than 8 years as the head of faculty branch, Dr. Mohareb has had more than 15 papers published where his research focuses on the relationship between architecture and urbanism. He is also interested in social behavioral activities, the reciprocal effect on both spatial and economic variables in urban spaces, and their interrelationship with architectural design using digital simulation to forecast their movements and behavior. Furthermore, over the past four years he has made important contributions to the research community as a reviewer for a number of international academic journals and conferences.