CATS will hold the Tourism Online Forum Series (TOFS) vol.57 on Tuesday, October 7. Anyone is welcome to attend. We look forward to your participation.
*This forum has been finished. Archived videos are available on CATS official YouTube.
▶ Tourism Online Forum Series (TOFS) vol.57
▶ Click here for other archived videos.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4z592IeJi3FNJ98VevfDYA
The Dynamics of Street Art (Murals) as Tourist Attractions
Abstract:
The semiotic landscape (e.g., symbols, images, texts) in tourist destinations influences visitors’ overall experience. In a similar vein, street art murals—visual pieces of art created in public spaces, often with permission and intended to communicate with a broad audience—have been promoted as creative tools for urban revitalization, beautification, placemaking, and branding of tourist destinations. Beyond their social, political, or aesthetic values, street art murals can also drive economic growth and cultural revitalization as creative tourist attractions in global cities such as New York, Paris, Barcelona, Porto, Breda, and Berlin. However, street art may also trigger challenges related to social comprehension, urban policy, and community displacement. In this workshop, we will discuss the dynamics of street art, and identify strategies for leveraging murals in city branding and tourism attraction, drawing on examples from around the world.
Keywords: Street art, murals, semiotic landscape, placemaking, alternative tourism
Hosted by: Center for Advanced Tourism Studies (CATS), Hokkaido University
Date/Time: Tuesday 7 October 2025 | 18:30-20:00 (JST)
Venue: Online (Zoom Webinar)
Language: English
Capacity: 50 persons
Participation fee: Free to join (pre-registration system)
Speaker: Dr. Mohamed Elbarbary
Bio:
Dr. Mohamed ELBARBARY (Mido-Sensei) is a lecturer at the Center for Tourism Research, Wakayama University. In 2022, he received a PhD in World Cultural Heritage Studies from the University of Tsukuba, Japan. Dr. Mohamed uses a mixed-methods approach in research published in international peer-reviewed journals. His interests cover tourism studies, cultural heritage, human geography, and linguistic landscape. Dr. Mohamed worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Art and Design, University of Tsukuba. There, he led a research project on ‘Graffiti as Catalyst for Sense of Place’ with researchers from Hamburg University, Germany. Currently, he leads a research project titled “Addressing Overtourism Issues in Global Cities: Street Art as an Alternative Tourism Product,” collaborating with research fellows from Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands.
Moderator: Dr. Meng Qu
Registration:
Please register at the URL below.
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tFgs_J1ITYSS5jobS23ikw
Contact:
Hokkaido University, Center for Advanced Tourism Studies (CATS)
online-forum(at)cats.hokudai.ac.jp
*Please replace the (at) part with @.
