Smart solutions, human-scale travel – our university hosted an international conference

Back to news16/03/2026

Smart solutions, human-scale travel – our university hosted an international conference

The Travel in Science conference was organised for the ninth time by the Corvinus Mobility and Tourism Centre of the Institute for Sustainable Development. As in previous years, the main organisers were Professor Melinda Jászberényi, head of the Centre, and András Munkácsy, head of department at the Institute for Transport Sciences. Márk Miskolczi, assistant professor at Corvinus University of Budapest, also played a key role in organising the event. Since its launch, the conference has aimed to provide a platform for presenting research related to transport, tourism, and the links between the two fields.

In 2026 the conference focused on the theme “Smart solutions, human-scale travel.” In his opening remarks, Professor Lajos Szabó, Vice-Rector of Corvinus, highlighted several connections between the topic and the university’s strategic goals. The professional programme began with three thought-provoking plenary lectures. Professor Dirk Totzek (University of Passau) spoke about artificial intelligence, Professor János Csapó (University of Pécs) addressed smart tourism, and Olivér Csendes, CEO of Visit Hungary, presented innovative domestic approaches to collecting and analysing tourism data.

The plenary programme then continued with two parallel Plenary Session II blocks. In the English-language session, moderated by Attila Jámbor, director of the institute, researchers from Spain and Asia shared their findings. Scholars from the Catholic University of Murcia discussed current international issues in tourism, while Professor Xiang Li, professor of tourism management at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, joined online to analyse the relationship between tourism and digital innovation. The Hungarian-language plenary session was chaired by Professor Melinda Jászberényi, where Domokos Esztergár-Kiss (Budapest University of Technology and Economics) and Patrik Tóth (Budapest Transport Centre) presented on current issues in mobility and transport policy.

The event attracted around 150 participants. Across fifteen Hungarian- and English-language sessions, researchers discussed the latest findings and forward-looking ideas related to travel and mobility. The Hungarian-language sessions covered topics including tourism development, cultural tourism, local economic development, smart solutions and regional mobility. Participants in the session titled “The Travelling Human” also celebrated the 80th birthday of transport expert János Berényi.

The conference had a strong international character. In several English-language sessions, international researchers and Hungarian professionals discussed current issues affecting tourism businesses, changes in consumer behaviour, transport-economics models, and innovative and disruptive technological solutions in mobility and tourism. Researchers from several European and overseas universities – including institutions from Spain, Montenegro, Slovenia, Germany and Hong Kong – took part in the programme, further strengthening the conference’s international academic profile.

This year the conference was supported by the Transport Research Arena (TRA). The 2026 TRA conference will take place at Hungexpo between 18 and 21 May. More information about the programme and registration is available at: http://traconference.eu.

The event was also supported by funding from the Corvinus University of Budapest Research Support Programme, which contributed, among other things, to the conference’s catering services and photographic documentation.