SITCON 2024 Keynote Speaker - prof. Marko Koščak, PhD

Marko Koščak, an associate professor at the University of Maribor, Faculty of Tourism, Brežice, Slovenia, has research interests in sustainable and responsible tourism, the geography of tourism, and the management of local tourism destinations. Since 1986, he has worked intensively in the field of integrated rural development, both in Slovenia and abroad.

His research papers have been published in magazines such as Tourism Management, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Anais Brasileiros de Estudos Turisticos (ABET), Turizam, Informatologia, and in scientific and professional monographs by publishing houses such as Routledge, Pearson, CABI, and others. Between 1996 and 2009, he led the Dolenjska and Bela Krajina Heritage Trails project under the Novo Mesto Chamber of Commerce. From 1986 to 2001, he served as a consultant at the Ministry of Agriculture for rural development, and from 1999 to 2001, he also worked as a consultant to the Slovenian government in the Department for Structural Policy and Rural Development.

For the past 30 years, he has worked as a consultant for UNDP and other public and private clients in the field of sustainable development of local communities in the South-Eastern Balkans. He has also participated in numerous projects and development initiatives for sustainable tourism in various countries in Europe and Asia. He is a founding member of the Slovenian Rural Development Network, which is part of the European network "PREPARE".