Julian Reif

Prof. Dr. Julian Reif is a Professor of Tourism and Deputy Director at the German Institute for Tourism Research (Department of Economics) at the West Coast University of Applied Sciences. His research focuses on tourist demand analysis, digital visitor measurement, smart destinations, and urban tourism dynamics. He holds a PhD in Tourism Geography from the University of Bonn (2021) and has authored/co-authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications.

Research interests include Big Data applications in tourism, crowding perception, overtourism challenges, and the socio-spatial impacts of tourism. He leads projects like the AI-based Recommender for sustainable tourism and the Landesweites digitales Besuchermanagement (LAB-TOUR SH) in Schleswig-Holstein. His work bridges academic theory with practical destination management solutions.

Key achievements include the Best Paper Award 2020 (Journal of Destination Marketing & Management) and co-authoring the award-winning Tourismusatlas Deutschland (2021). He teaches modules on scientific writing, tourism geography, and digitalization in international business management. Current research explores spatial footprint analysis of urban events, business traveler behavior, and the role of nudging in sustainable tourism.

• Leading projects: AI-Basierter Recommender, CRUISE (cruise passenger analysis), and EMOBÜS (tourist emotion mapping)
• Coordinated 10+ research initiatives including GreY (Grey Market Analysis), PUNK (punk subculture tourism), and DIGIPARK (national park visitor tracking)
• Teaching portfolio includes 'Digitalisierung im Tourismus' and 'Tourismusgeographie' at undergraduate and master's levels