ABOUT TEFI
Tourism Education Futures Initiative
In 2006, the TEFI network was formed and the first conference was convened at Modul University in Vienna a year later. Since this time, TEFI has gained both momentum and a reputation for being the leading-edge network for innovation in tourism education.
Our Journey
2006 Beginnings
TEFI was born in a conversation between Professors Pauline Sheldon and Dan Fesenmaier
2008 Honalulu, Hawai'i
An Academy of Hope
2007 Vienna, Austria
Tourism Education Futures
Professors Pauline Sheldon and Dan Fesenmaier convened the first conference at Modul University, Vienna, with a focus on the need for change in tourism education.
2010 San Sebastian, Spain
Tools for Change
2009 Lugano, Switzerland
A Values-based Tourism Curriculum
2011 Philadelphia, USA
Activating Change in Tourism
2011 India
Vision, values and principles in tourism education
2012 Milan, Italy
Transformational Leadership
2013 Oxford, UK
Global Citizenship, Lives of Consequence
2014 Guelph, Canada
Transformational Leadership
2016 Kamloops, Canada
The Disruptive Power of Caring
2014 Nepal Walking Workshop
Tourism and Social Entrepreneurship
2016 Nepal Walking Workshop, Nepal
Tourism and Social Entrepreneurship
2017 Nepal Walking Workshop, Nepal
Tourism and Social Entrepreneurship
2017 Copenhagen, Denmark
Building our stories, co-creating tourism futures
2020 Vietnam Walking Workshop, Vietnam
Tourism and social enterprise
2018 Rovaniemi, Finland
Knowing with Nature: Tourism and the Anthropocene
2020 Virtual Conference
Re-purposing tourism
Amid global disruption, this online gathering reimagined tourism’s role in a post-pandemic world.
2022 - Virtual Conference
Intentionally co-creating holistic caring spaces (For post-graduate students and early career researchers)
2025 - 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: 𝗥𝗲-𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆
2023 - Virtual Conference
Slowing Down Tourism Practice and Scholarship in the era of the Anthropocene (Virtual)
3rd Symposium: Slowing Down to Re-Humanize the Tourism Academy partnered with Tourism RESET, Critical Tourism Studies, Leisure Studies Association, and the Geographies of Leisure and Tourism Research Group (GLTRG).
Gallery
Over the years, our friends and colleagues have laid out the foundation for what TEFI is today. We are incredibly grateful for their work.
Our future relies on a diverse, robust, flourishing community of learners who believe passionately in a different future for tourism. So we call all learners, educators, coaches and mentors to stand up, join our community, and take action to secure a sustainable, responsible and inclusive future for tourism.
 3rd Symposium: Slowing Down to Re-Humanize the Tourism Academy held on 6–7 July 2025 at York St John University (UK) and online. |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
 TEFI Walking Workshop | Tourism & Social Entrepreneurship | Vietnam 2020 |  TEFI Lugano |  TEF17 Guelph CANADA 2016 |  EuroTEFI | Copenhagen DENMARK | 2017 |
 |  Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, 2016 |  Kamloops, Canada, 2016 |  |
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 Oxford Brookes University, 2013 |  |  |  Oxford Brooks University, 2013 |
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 |  San Sebastian, Spain, 2010 |  |  |
 Hawai'i, USA, 2008 |  Rovaniemi, Finland, 2018 |  |  |
 |  Copenhagen, Denmark, 2017 |  |  |
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 Nepal Walking Workshop, 2016 |  |  Nepal Walking Workshop, 2016 |  |
 |  |  Hawai'i, USA, 2008 |