COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on society. In addition, climate change due to global warming, the increase in large-scale natural disasters, worldwide political instability, and the rapid development of information technology have made the future increasingly difficult to predict.
In this issue of Tourism Culture, we present a special feature in which our foundation’s expert committee members share their perspectives on the role that research and researchers should play in this highly uncertain world—often referred to as the VUCA era (short for “Volatility,” “Uncertainty,” “Complexity,” “Ambiguity”). We hope this will serve as an opportunity to reassess the role that tourism research can fulfill in society.