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ArgumentSport tourism has become the fastest growing sector of the tourism industry and is still thriving. What's more, even if, mega events (Olympic Games, FIFA World Cups) or other largescale events (World Championships in some sports, major tennis tournaments, etc.) had been drawing attention for a long time, it now seems to be obvious that small-scale events carry diverse benefits for their host towns too. The cost of their organization is lower, the required facilities are less expensive to construct and also to maintain after the event, and these can then be used by the local residents. Over the last few years, we have observed a growing demand from TV channels for big sporting events, but also an increasing interest from cities for hosting sporting events. A distinction needs to be made here between primarily financial objectives which are typical in the USA, and social interests which are typical in Europe, even if this trend is gradually changing with the emergence of private organizers replacing associations and volunteers.However, sport tourism does not only include participating in or attending sporting events. It also includes outdoor, nature sports, which are not about competition but about personal achievement and enjoyment. Sports tourists also visit sports sites or museums; doing so without necessarily planning in advance and yet in doing so, taking an active part in the 'sports movement'. Local stakeholders seek to attract this clientele by boosting existing events with additional activities to make them more appealing; by creating new events, sometimes from scratch, often demonstrating a lot of innovation or by promoting sites of natural beauty, etc. Each of these activities are sources for business activities which are directly involved with the movement: transportation, hotels, restaurants, and many others are subsequently invigorated through the increase of demand in other sectors. It also creates (seasonal or steady) jobs, it increases spending and thus income which indirectly leads to improved education and training in a region.Sport tourism contributes, thus, to local development.Participants or spectators, project developers, those who provide goods and services to tourists, those who find a living in sport related activities or sporting events, residents of towns where social and economic activities are enhanced by these: these are all positive signs that have an effect on the quality of life of the individuals concerned.Sport tourism contributes, thus, to the quality of life.To develop synergies between the stakeholders of a town or a region so that sport and its facilities can be included in the local assets, it is necessary for decision makers at all levels - as part of their responsibilities - to understand their potential and agree to work together to set up sustainable development strategies. Sport tourism contributes, thus, to set up local development strategies.The 5th IRNIST conference will aim to highlight three dimensions of Sport Tourism: its contribution to local development, to the quality of life and the creation of cooperation among local decision makers to achieve the best possible socio-economic results.This conference is organized together with the International Society for Comparative Physical Education and Sport (ISCPES). A half-day workshop will be scheduled to discuss the implementation possibilities of a methodology for the international researches. Our joint considerations will complete the experience acquired through the study of half-marathons carried out during the last two years and will be under the shape of a workshop.Keynote SpeakersHeather Gibson, University of Florida (USA)Mike Weed, Canterbury Christ Church University (GB)Sean Gammon, Lancashire School of Business and Enterprise (GB)Mathieu Stievenard, Director of the Velodrome of Roubaix (Fr.)Expression of interestPlease send proposed communication title, name of author/s and an abstract of no more than 3000 characters to the president of the scientific committee, Claude Sobry (claude.sobry@univ-lille2.fr)by 15 December 2017.Time line1 st October 2017 &#8211; Opening of the call for proposals15th December 2017 &#8211;Expression of interest31st January 2018 &#8211; Answer about status of work4 th February 2018 &#8211; End of early booking10th April 2018 &#8211; Submission of full texts by authors (communications received after the deadline won&#8217;t be included in the conference proceedings)Please use our template. On the site you will find all the needed details concerning schedule, registration, hotel, etc. All presentations will be held in English, 15 minutes and will be followed by 10 minutes of questions. The best communication among Ph.D. candidates will be rewarded.Scientific committeePresident: Claude SobrySorina Cernaianu,Ricardo Melo,Irena Slepickova,Derek van Rheenen,Malek Bouhaouala,Kristina Bucar,Xijia Liu,Nicolas Lorgnier,John Saunders,Fabien Wille,Patrick Bouchet,Pedro Guesdes Carvalho,Sarah Mischler,Guillaume Penel,Christophe Pecout,Arnaud Waquet,Yann Carin,Barbara MazzaOrganizing CommitteePresident:Claude SOBRY (claude.sobry@irnist.com)Vice presidents:Philippe CAMPILLO (philippe.campillo@univ-lille2.fr)Orsolya CZEGLEDI (orsolya.czegledi@irnist.com)Members:Alessandro Porrovecchio,Guillaume Richard,Ziad Rahal,Sarah Mischler,Alexandra Torero-Ibad