NETTRA 2026 Annual Conference: Call for Proposals
Showcasing the Northeast through Special Events

The Northeast Chapter of the Travel & Tourism Research Association (NETTRA) aims to engage tourism academics, practitioners, and vendors ​located in or with interests in the Northeast region of the United States. Each year, NETTRA hosts a conference to share key tourism insights with a focus on the Northeast US. This is an excellent opportunity for students, professionals, and academics to come together and learn from each other. Inspired by the United States' hosting of the FIFA World Cup this year and the Olympics in 2028, the conference will focus on the intersection between tourism and events with the theme of “Showcasing the Northeast through Special Events.”

Date: October 8, 2026
Time: 8:30am - 12:00pm ET
Location: Virtual 

Call for Proposals: Open until August 14, 2026
Student poster submission deadline: Extended to September 7th

During the conference, NETTRA will have a keynote address, roundtable discussions, and a student poster presentation competition. The Call for Proposals Form is now open for all three types of conference sessions and will close on August 14, 2026. 

Details: 

• Keynote Proposals: The keynote address will occur at the beginning of the conference and ideally highlight the importance of events and tourism with a focus on the Northeast region of the United States. This presenter will be given a maximum of 45 minutes to discuss their topic, with an additional 15 minutes of Q&A. Please submit a 250-word abstract for this proposal. 
• Roundtable Discussions: Conference participants will have the opportunity to attend one of several roundtable discussions during the conference. These discussions will be conversational and allow discussion leads to take a deeper dive into specific topics over the course of 60 minutes. Please submit a 250-word abstract for this proposal.
• Student Poster Presentation Competition: This is an excellent opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to showcase their travel and tourism research and gain experience presenting at a professional conference. All poster submissions should 1) come from scholars based in the NETTRA region and/or 2) reflect research that directly pertains to the Northeast US or the special events theme. All posters should be submitted as PDFs designed to meet the dimensions of 24” W x 18” H (4:3 aspect ratio).  ​A review committee will choose the top five posters from all entries. These five students will have 5 minutes to present their poster during the final hour of the conference, followed by 2 minutes of Q&A and a final vote from all attendees to choose the best presentation. The winner of the competition will receive a free 1-year TTRA (NETTRA Chapter) Student Membership. All submitted posters will be displayed on the NETTRA website. Participants will have the opportunity to make final updates to their submitted drafts prior to the conference date. Please submit a drafted poster for this session in PDF format. 

If you have questions about any of the proposals or about the conference in general, please reach out to Tanner Knorr, Ph.D.