About Think Tank X
The BEST Education Network is holding Think Tank X, entitled “Networking for Sustainable Tourism”, in Vienna from June 27 - 30, 2010 in conjunction with MODUL University Vienna, Austria.

The BEST Education Network is an international consortium of educators committed to furthering the development and dissemination of knowledge in the field of sustainable tourism. At a BEST EN Think Tank, research is presented, sustainable tourism topics are addressed, and research and educational materials for use in undergraduate education are developed. The BEST EN Think Tank is about more than presenting papers, it is an opportunity to work with others to create new knowledge.

The focus of Think Tank X is “Networking for Sustainable Tourism”. This theme highlights the importance of networking in creating and disseminating knowledge on sustainable tourism as well as in promoting and implementing more sustainable practices in tourism. BEST EN, being a network of tourism educators from around the world, wants to use this tenth anniversary to establish and strengthen ties to other organizations and networks focusing on sustainable tourism.

Vienna has always been a hub for organizations and businesses from all over the world and offers a great opportunity not only to discuss theoretical concepts on networks but to actually make use of the networking opportunities, which will be available at MU Vienna.

The Think Tank is relevant to academics from tourism and related disciplines including PhD students and practitioners like tourism planners and destination managers with an interest in contributing to better sustainable tourism practices.

For participants who wish to present at the BEST EN Think Tank X, potential topics for both conceptual and empirical papers include:

• Networks and their spatial dimensions
• Psychological, ethical and cultural dimensions of networks
• Social networking theory and analysis
• Innovation through networks
• Social platforms and technologies supporting networks
• Collaborative knowledge systems
• Good governance through networking
• Inter- and Intra-organizational networks, political networks, community networks
• Networking across the value chain
• Case studies
• Other issues related to sustainable tourism.

We invite authors to submit either an abstract or a full paper. Papers submitted by the due date will be peer-reviewed and published in the proceedings.

Early submission of abstracts and papers is encouraged and will expedite the review process for those needing advanced notification of the status of their submission.

Abstracts should be approximately 1,000 words with a title page containing full name and contact information. Deadline for submission of abstracts is March 1, 2010. Authors will receive feedback by April 6, 2010.

Alternatively, authors can submit full papers for blind review. In this case please submit a 15 page (double-spaced) paper in APA format. The deadline for full paper submissions has been extended to March 15, 2010. The author will receive notification of acceptance by April 15, 2010. Full papers should include a title page with author name and affiliation; introduction; methods; findings; application of results; conclusions and references. The author’s name should appear only on the title page. The submission of a paper or abstract requires that at least one author attends the Think Tank to present the paper.

The BEST EN Outstanding Paper Award is open to all full papers that reflect the theme of Think Tank X. Selected full papers are published in a special issue.

Please submit your electronic abstract or paper (as an attachment) to: anja.hergesell@modul.ac.at