Bylaw Review

By Bob McKercher

The world of tourism and hospitality education and research has changed significantly since the Academy was formed almost 30 years ago. Back in 1988, only a handful of tourism journals existed and fewer than 250 people contributed research to our field. Only 10 people authored or co-authored three papers that year. Fast-forward to 2007 and we have about 335 refereed journals, of which well over 200 are published in English. The most recent data set provided by Scopus indicates that more than 4000 individuals authored or co-authored papers last year alone and that at least 330 authored three or more papers.

Back in 1988, it was possible to identify most of the leading scholars in our field by scanning the editorial board of Annals of Tourism Research. Today that is impossible.

The charter meeting of the Academy was held between June 21 and 24, 1988 in Santander, Spain. The first set of bylaws was written shortly after, highlighting that "The objectives of the Academy shall be to further the scholarly research and professional investigation of tourism, to encourage the application of findings, and to advance the international diffusion and exchange of tourism knowledge." The bylaws also set the rules by which members could join and remain in the organization, as well as how it will be governed.

Much has changed in the intervening 30 years, with some revisions to the bylaws made to accommodate changes. However, it became clear at this year's conference that some of the bylaws were outdated, others were unclear or potentially contradictory, and gaps in the bylaws relating to management and governance of the Academy were recognized.

A motion was passed unanimously to form a committee to review the bylaws. Christian Laesser has agreed to chair this committee, while Alison Gill, Dianne Dredge, Alastair Morrison, Karl Wöber, Chris Ryan and David Airey have all agreed to serve on it.

The committee will undertake a full review of the bylaws and will report back to Fellows on a periodic basis. In accordance with Article VII of the existing bylaws, proposals will be put forward to fellows, and changes accepted if by two-thirds (2/3) affirmative vote of fellows who vote.