BU Research Blog

Dr Svetla Stoyanova-Bozhkova was invited to deliver the keynote address at the Sustainability and Competitiveness Conference on 25 January 2024 at St Regis, Abu Dhabi, UAE . The conference was organised by the Department of Economic Development (DED) and the Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation Academy.

The theme of the conference was “Advancing Destination Competitiveness through Strategic Leadership, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Sustainability”. The conference objectives were to showcase successful practices and strategies, facilitate networking and collaboration among industry professionals and organisations and inspire participants to contribute to the development of competitive and responsible tourism destinations.

Dr Svetla Stoyanova-Bozhkova delivered  the keynote address on “Strategic Leadership and Development for Competitive Destinations”. In her address, Svetla discussed the role of sustainability in enhancing destination competitiveness, the need for responsible practices and shared effective strategies for developing human resources within the tourism sector.

Svetla also contributed to the panel discussion on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity alongside H.E. Hareb Al Mheiri, Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Residents Office, AD Department of Economic Development (DED), H.E. Saeed Ali Al Fazari, Strategic Affairs Executive Director, DCT and Ammar Anwar Sajwani, Director of Tourism Development Department, Ministry of Economy- UAE.