The University of La Laguna (ULL) has secured two distinctions at the XXXVII International Marketing Congress, AEMARK 2026, which took place at the University of Malaga from September 9th to 11th. The Canary Islands institution has also been designated as the host for the 2027 edition.
The congress of the Spanish Association of Academic and Professional Marketing is a key event for the discipline in Spain. This year's edition brought together approximately 404 participants from various universities, featuring around 275 scientific communications, a doctoral colloquium, a plenary lecture by Professor V. Kumar, a meeting with editors of international reference journals, and a panel discussion on marketing and digital transformation.
The ULL presented twelve papers, authored by fourteen researchers, highlighting its significant presence in the scientific program. Two of these research projects received awards at the closing ceremony.
“"We hope to resolve it soon."
The Award for Business Relevance of Marketing Research recognized the work titled 'Competition or warm treatment? Keys to customer satisfaction with a chatbot'. This study, conducted by Lucía Moreno Rodríguez and Ricardo Díaz Armas (ULL), along with Andrés Fernández Martín (University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), examines the importance of efficiency and warmth in customer service via virtual assistants, offering practical insights for tourism and cultural businesses.
The second award, the Best Work in Progress Award, honored research on the language of voice assistants and its effect on consumer responses. This project involves ULL professor Jano Jiménez Barreto and other researchers from the Autonomous University of Madrid and the Università di Bologna. This award acknowledges ongoing projects with significant scientific potential.
The University of La Laguna's participation in the congress underscores its established research focus on tourism marketing and consumer behavior. ULL teams presented work on the adoption of conversational artificial intelligence in travel information search and complaint management, the acceptance of service robots in hotels, and the use of virtual reality to stimulate destination interest.
Other research lines explored the persuasive language of tourism influencers, resident attitudes towards tourism growth in the Canary Islands, and the consumption of local products, particularly wine, among residents and visitors. University researchers also chaired scientific sessions at the congress.
The designation of the University of La Laguna as the host for the 38th edition of the congress in 2027 is a recognition of its trajectory. This event will make Tenerife a meeting point for academic and professional marketing, attracting hundreds of researchers and showcasing the university's research in areas such as tourism, customer experience digitalization, and destination sustainability, while also strengthening collaboration with the islands' business sector.
