Flagstaff, Arizona, USA - June 27, 2007 - This summer at NAU's School of Hotel & Restaurant Management, three dozen tourism scholars and practitioners assembled to explore the dynamics of sustainability and tourism and develop a cutting edge research agenda. The BEST Education Network's (BEST EN) seventh annual Think Tank convened from June 21-24.

Based in Denmark, BEST EN is an international consortium of educators committed to furthering the development and dissemination of knowledge in the field of sustainable tourism. To that end, each year, they bring together tourism scholars and industry participants for three days of knowledge creation and the sharing of best practices.

HRM Professor Dr. Claudia Jurowski, the conference chair, said, "Our conference attracted scholars from Sweden, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, England, Romania, Rwanda, England, Turkey, and from seven universities in Australia. We share a common goal of educating for sustainability and balance, so that the world's tourism destinations and cultures can be preserved and protected."

Some of the topics discussed during the Think Tank included:

• Tracking tourists' experiences via the Internet by examining their blogs, itineraries, and commentaries (keynote by Dr. Daniel Fesenmaier of Temple University)
• Rural adventure tourism
• Outfitting and guiding as sustainable tourism
• How local foods contribute to innovative tourism products
• How tourism organizations handle barriers to innovation

The final keynote, delivered by Dr. Alan Lew, professor of Geography, Planning, and Recreation at NAU, discussed how innovations in education can influence innovations in sustainable tourism.

The three-day conference culminated in an open research forum that mapped out a research agenda for innovation in sustainable tourism. The Think Tank outcomes will be posted on the BEST EN website www.besteducationnetwork.

The School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at NAU, is Arizona's only baccalaureate program in hospitality management. Nationally and internationally recognized, the school produces graduates for what many consider the world's largest industry; HRM is also known for its faculty's record of scholarship.