Call for Papers

The Faculty of Communication at Akdeniz University is pleased to announce the 6^th International Media Studies Symposium (IMS), a well-established academic event that has been organized five times previously and has become a recognized platform within the field of media and communication studies. The symposium will be held in a hybrid format on 22–24 October 2026.

Held biennially, the International Media Studies Symposium has consistently brought together scholars from journalism, public relations, advertising, new media, and audiovisual studies to critically engage with the changing dynamics of media, communication, and society. Each edition of IMS has focused on a timely theme reflecting major transformations in communication studies, while preserving its interdisciplinary and critical media studies tradition.

Building on this academic legacy, IMS 2026 marks an important milestone by further strengthening its international dimension. This year’s symposium is organized in collaboration with Faculty of Tourism at Akdeniz University, as well as University of Sousse (Tunisia), University of Bucharest (Romania), and the University of Sannio (Italy), reflecting IMS’s expansion into a truly international academic platform.

Against this background, the theme of the 6^th International Media Studies Symposium is Tourism Communication and Digital Technologies. The symposium adopts a balanced perspective that places tourism communication at the center of discussion while firmly grounding it within core debates of media and communication studies.

Tourism today is shaped not only by destinations and mobility, but also by media representations, digital platforms, algorithmic systems, and networked communication practices, within an increasingly fragile and uncertain global context marked by geopolitical tensions, crises, and shifting mobility patterns. Digital technologies influence how destinations are imagined, narrated, promoted, and contested, while communication processes mediate relationships between tourists, local communities, institutions, and global audiences.

From this perspective, IMS 2026 invites critical engagement with tourism communication as a media phenomenon, examining how journalism, public relations, advertising, new media, and audiovisual storytelling intersect with tourism industries and experiences. Particular attention is given to Mediterranean tourism, cross-cultural communication, and perspectives from the Global South, highlighting issues of representation, power, sustainability, and digital tourism narratives.

By bringing together scholars from different geographical and cultural contexts, IMS 2026 aims to position tourism communication not merely as an applied field, but as a vital area of inquiry within contemporary media studies, contributing to broader theoretical, empirical, and critical debates in communication sciences.

We warmly invite scholars and practitioners to join us in Antalya for the 6^th International Media Studies Symposium to engage in critical dialogue and collaborative exploration of Tourism Communication and Digital Technologies within the broader field of media and communication studies.