Daniel Binder

Daniel Binder is a Senior Lecturer at FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Health and Tourism Management. He completed his degree in Health Management in Tourism and teaches in bachelor’s and master’s programs with a focus on marketing and business development, destination management, tourism sociology, and event and sports economics. He has supervised approximately 100 bachelor’s theses and more than 30 master’s theses and has been substantially involved in curriculum and module development processes at the institute. In addition, he has represented the university and the institute at numerous professional fairs and events in Austria and abroad and has coordinated the institute’s marketing activities for many years. From 2014 to 2019, Daniel Binder served as program director of the MBA program International Hospitality and Spa Management. Within his role at the R&D Transfer Centre, he acquired and led national and international funded and commissioned projects totaling approximately EUR 675,000, focusing on topics such as digitalization and sustainable tourism, health tourism, regional development, cycling tourism, senior tourism, and workforce development in tourism. He holds a PhD from the joint PhD program International Economics and Business Relations at the University of Sopron, with a dissertation focusing on enhancing residents’ quality of life in rural tourism destinations.

SAGE – Senior Traveller for Sustainability and Cultural Heritage (SIAT00235): Project Lead; development of a tourism offer for older travellers with a focus on cultural and sustainable tourism; funded by Interreg Slovenia–Austria (2024–2026).

TSSTrip – Tourism Security and Sustainability Training Innovations through Academia and Industry Co-operation (2023-1-LV01-KA220-HED-000159054): Project Lead; development of micro-credentials in sustainable tourism and security; funded by Erasmus+ (2023–2025).

KURT – Sustainable and Resilient Development in the Thermen- & Vulkanland Region: Project Lead; content-related project support for the implementation of a BMAW flagship project; commissioned by the Tourism Association Thermen- & Vulkanland (2024).

MOOC4Tourism – Digital Education in Styrian Tourism: Project Lead; design and implementation of a Massive Open Online Course to develop basic digital competencies in tourism; funded by the Austrian Chamber of Labour (AK Project Fund 2.0) (2022–2024).

ATLAS Annual Conference 2023: Project Lead; acquisition, budget planning, project development, and overall management of the international conference; funded by the Styrian Provincial Government and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy (2023).

Tourism Concept “Gleichenberger Bahn”: Project Lead; development of a tourism concept for a regional railway line; commissioned by the Regional Management of Steirisches Vulkanland (2021–2022).

Digi-T – Digital Literacy in Styrian Tourism: Project Lead; basic research at the interface of education, digitalisation, and tourism; funded by the Future Fund Styria (2019–2020).

WelDest – Health and Well-Being in Tourism Destinations (527775-LLP-1-2012-1-FI-ERASMUS-ECUE): Project Lead; development of a handbook for health tourism destination development, including project management, empirical research, and dissemination; funded by Erasmus+ (2012–2014).

ILIS – Innovations and Learning in Spa Management (142759-LLP-1-2008-1-FI-ERASMUS-ECUE): Project Lead; development of teaching materials on innovation in spa management, project management, empirical research, and dissemination; funded by Erasmus+ (2008–2010).


SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Binder, D., Gutounig, R. & Phillips, B. (2024). Digital Literacy im Tourismus: Perspektiven – Modelle – Potentiale. Verlag der FH JOANNEUM Gesellschaft mbH.

Binder, D., Friedl, H. & Miller, J. (2023). The ethics of sufficiency: The Edelsbach Tulip Festival as a best practice example of sustainable event culture. In O’Rourke, T. & Koščak, M. (Hg.). Ethical & responsible tourism: Managing sustainability in local tourism destinations. 2nd ed. Abingdon: Taylor & Francis.

Binder, D. (2022). Impact of an integrated tourism concept to strengthen the perceived quality of life in rural destinations (Dissertation). Soproni Egyetem, Sopron.

Macher, S., & Binder, D. (2022). Digital Customer Journey. D. Buhalis (Ed.), Encyclopedia of tourism management and marketing. Cheltenham, England: Elgar Online. ISBN: 978 1 80037 747 9.

Gutounig, R., Phillips, B., Radkohl, S., Macher, S., Schaffer, K., & Binder, D. (2022). Leveraging Social Media to Enhance Customer Value in Tourism and Hospitality. In R. P. S. Kaurav & D. Gursoy (Hrsg.), Handbook on Tourism and Social Media. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800371415.00020.

Koščak, M., Knežević, M., Binder, D., Pelaez-Verdet, A., Işik, C., Mićić, V., . . . Šegota, T. (2021). Exploring the neglected voices of children in sustainable tourism development: A comparative study in six European tourist destinations. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2021.1898623.

Binder, D., & Miller, J. W. (2021). A Generations' Perspective on Employer Branding in Tourism. In V. G. Costa, A. A. Moura, & M. d. R. Mira (Eds.), Advances in Hospitality, Tourism, and the Services Industry. Human capital and people management in the tourism industry (pp. 152–174). Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-4318-4.ch008.

Binder, D., Friedl, H. & Miller, J. (2019). The ethics of sufficiency: The Edelsbach Tulip Festival as a best practice example of sustainable event culture. In O’Rourke, T. & Koščak, M. (Hg.). Ethical & responsible tourism: Managing sustainability in local tourism destinations. Abingdon: Taylor & Francis.

Binder, D., Lukas, Ch. & Szabó Z. (2017). The impact of user-generated content on Facebook on travel destination choices: A comparison of Austrian tourism students and non-tourism students. Forum on Economics and Business 20(131), 56-77. ISSN: 1582-1986.

Tuominen, T., Saari, S. & Binder, D. (2017). Enhancing the competitiveness of a wellness tourism destination. In M. Smith & L. Puczko, (Eds.). Handbook of Health Tourism. Vol. 2. London: Routledge.

Binder, D., Faix, N. & Miller, J. (2016). Well-Being and Employment in Tourism. ATLAS Tourism and Leisure Review, Volume 2016-1.

Bielanski, M., Saari, S. Wilkonska, A., Tuominen, T., Mora, I., Binder, D. et al. (2011). Challenges for the European Spa Management. Results of the ILIS Project. Polish Journal of Sport Tourism 18(2), 160–165, ISSN: 1899-1998.


PRESENTATIONS AT SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES
Binder, D. (2023, 12. Oktober). Cycling in Winter: a multi-disciplinary approach [Konferenzpräsentation]. ATLAS Annual Conference 2023, FH JOANNEUM Bad Gleichenberg, Austria.

Macher, S., & Binder, D. (2022, 19. Mai). Harnessing The Digital Future Of Tourism [Konferenzpräsentation]. International Conference on Tourism Research (ICTR), Mini Track “Digital Literacy in Tourism”, Porto, Portugal

Binder, D., & Anderle, L. (2021, 4. November). Destination Resilience: Bridging theory and practice for destination management strategies [Konferenzpräsentation]. International Scientific Conference: Pandemic, sustainable management, environmental awareness, University of Sopron, Sopron, Ungarn.

Miller, J., Binder, D., & Friedl, H. (2019, 4. Juni). Developing a culture of sustainable events: The Styrian initiative “Gscheit feiern” [Konferenzpräsentation]. Tourism Naturally Conference, Buxton, United Kingdom.

Binder, D., Lukas, Ch., & Szabó, Z. (2017, 27. Oktober). Influence of User Generated Content on Facebook on choices of travel destinations: A comparison of Austrian tourism students and non-tourism students [Konferenzpräsentation]. 3rd International Conference on Economics and Business Management, Cluj, Romania.

Binder, D. (2017, 15. Mai). The unattractiveness of apprenticeships in tourism: An approach to solving current and future challenges [Konferenzpräsentation]. IFITT Doctoral Summer School @ ISCONTOUR 2017, Salzburg, Österreich.

Binder, D. (2017, 19. April). Gesundheitstouristische Destinationsentwicklung in der Lehre: Evaluierung der Lehrveranstaltung Destinationsmanagement [Konferenzpräsentation]. 11. Forschungsforum der österreichischen Fachhochschulen, Krems, Österreich.


PROFESSIONAL LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS
Binder, D. (2025, 17. Oktober). Regionsexpert:innen als Multiplikator:innen im Biosphärenpark Unteres Murtal. Impulsvortrag und Workshop-Moderation, Biosphärenpark Unteres Murtal, Bad Radkersburg, Österreich.

Binder, D. (2025, 17. Oktober). DRP Inclusive Border Cycling. Vortrag AG Radtourismus, Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft, Energie und Tourismus (BMWET), Online.

Grasser, G., & Binder, D. (2025, 3. September). Integriertes Mobilitätsmanagement für vitale Tourismus- und Lebensräume. Vortrag bei VCÖ: Erfolgreiches Mobilitätsmanagement im Tourismus, Online.

Binder, D. (2025, 26. Juni). Naturschutz, Tourismus und Nachhaltigkeit im Einklang. Vortrag im Lehrgang Biosphärenpark-Botschafter:innen, Halbenrain, Österreich.

Binder, D., & Pfeifer, J. (2025, 3. Juni). Die 12 Thermen-Tour. Vortrag beim Radgipfel 2025, Saalfelden, Österreich.

Binder, D. (2024, 11. Juni). Klimawandelanpassung und Kulturtourismus. Vortrag bei der Generalversammlung „Schlösserstraße“, Bad Radkersburg, Österreich.

Binder, D. (2023, 7. Dezember). How to promote Sustainability in a Tourism Destination. Presentation at the ECOVIP 2023 online seminar for tourism managers in Vietnam and Philippines, Online.
Binder, D., & Macher, S. (2022, 21. Juni). Gästeerwartungen im Thermen- und Vulkanland. Vortrag bei der Vollversammlung der Thermen- & Vulkanland, Feldbach (Im Zentrum), Österreich.

Binder, D. (2021, 15. Dezember). Measuring and Monitoring Destination Quality of Life of Population. Training of the Trainers, CESTour – Sustainable Tourism Knowledge Transfer, Online.

Binder, D. (2020, 30. Jänner). Digital Customer Journey im Tourismus. Präsentation bei ARGE OptIn „Der digitale Gast“, Know-Center, Graz, Österreich.

Binder, D. (2018, 25. September). Wine Events in Austria: Best Practises. Presentation on invitation of the International Wine Marketing Academy, Budapest Business School, Budapest, Ungarn.

Binder, D. (2017, 15. November). Selling Wellness Tourism in Austria. Keynote Speech at the 1st Health and Medical Tourism Conference, auf Einladung des Ministry of Tourism und der Bulgarian Health and Medical Tourism Association, Sofia, Bulgarien.

Binder, D., & Dvorak, D. (2014, 16. September). WelDest. Health and Well-being in Tourism Destination. Presentation at the Well-being Conference, Turku University of Applied Sciences, Turku, Finnland.