The Future of Events & Festivals

Ian Yeoman is a specialist tourism futurologist who believes in Star Trek, an eternal optimist, Sunderland AFC mad and enjoys cooking. Ian is a Trainee Professor at Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand) who commutes and holidays around the world and studying towards a higher doctorate.

Martin Robertson is a Lecturer in Event Management at Victoria University, Melbourne (Australia). His research and publications focus on festivals and destination image, socio-cultural impact, development and evaluation, and event leadership and professionalism. He has co-edited several books and special issue peer-reviewed journals. He is a passionate about tourism and events.

Una McMahon-Beattie is Head of Department for Hospitality and Tourism Management in the University of Ulster (UK). Her research interests include tourism and event marketing, revenue management and tourism futures. She is an editor/author of a number of books, book chapters and journals articles in these areas.

Karen A. Smith is Associate Professor in tourism management at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Her research areas include event and tourism volunteering, event ticketing and distribution, and the future of events and festivals. Karen has also co-edited Event Volunteering in the Routledge Advances in Event Research Series.


Elisa Backer is a Senior Lecturer in tourism at Federation University, Australia (formerly called University of Ballarat). She previously lectured at Southern Cross University; and prior to academia worked in industry. Elisa is considered a leading world expert in the field of Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel.