Category: News

Maksim Godovykh, chair of the MPI Research Advisory Board, emphasizes the importance of integrating extensive research into the event planning process to better understand how people think, feel, and behave during live experiences. He believes that research-driven planning helps event professionals move beyond assumptions and intuition, allowing them to design experiences that are more engaging, meaningful, and effective for diverse audiences.

Dr. Godovykh’s perspective is grounded in his extensive background in designing and managing major international events, where he closely observed attendee behavior and decision-making. This practical experience, combined with his academic training in cognitive neuroscience, behavioral economics, and psychophysiology, enables him to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Through his leadership at MPI and ongoing international research projects, Godovykh advocates for embedding research into every stage of the event lifecycle—from concept development to evaluation. He sees this approach as essential for increasing the value events deliver to participants, partners, and destinations, while positioning the industry as innovative, evidence-based, and socially responsible.

Read more: https://www.themeetingprofessionaldigital.org/themeetingprofessional/library/item/june_2023/4111624/

Dr. Maksim Godovykh is the editor of the special issue Sustainable Tourism: The Impacts of Tourism Development on Destination Communities, published in the peer-reviewed journal Sustainability. The special issue addresses one of the most critical challenges in contemporary tourism research and practice: understanding and managing the complex effects of tourism development on host communities.

The special issue will focus on how tourism influences destination communities across economic, social, cultural, environmental, and psychological dimensions. It brings together international research that moves beyond traditional performance indicators, such as visitor numbers and revenue, to examine residents’ quality of life, perceptions, and overall well-being in tourism destinations.

Under Dr. Godovykh’s editorial leadership, the special issue promotes evidence-based and community-centered approaches to tourism planning and policy-making. By showcasing interdisciplinary perspectives and global case studies, it aims to support more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient models of tourism development that balance industry growth with the long-term interests of destination communities.

Read more: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/L32Y3635Z1

Maksim Godovykh was awarded the Order of Pegasus, the most significant and prestigious student honor at the University of Central Florida. The award recognizes exceptional academic achievement, leadership, and outstanding contributions to the university and broader community, placing recipients among the most accomplished graduates in UCF’s history.

During his time at UCF, Dr. Godovykh distinguished himself through interdisciplinary research, international projects, and active engagement in academic and professional communities. His work bridged research and practice, with a strong focus on understanding human behavior, experience design, and the societal impacts of tourism, hospitality, and events.

The Order of Pegasus reflects not only academic excellence, but also a sustained commitment to leadership and service. For Godovykh, the recognition underscores the value of combining rigorous research, real-world application, and global perspective in addressing complex challenges across industries.

Read more: https://graduate.ucf.edu/profile/maksim-godovykh

Maksim Godovykh was selected as a winner of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Global Hospitality Challenge, an international initiative aimed at accelerating the recovery of global tourism while promoting inclusivity and sustainability. The challenge attracted hundreds of innovative projects from around the world, which were evaluated based on criteria such as disruptiveness, project maturity, implementation potential, scalability, digitalization, sustainability, and investment attractiveness.

Dr. Godovykh’s project, the “Virtual Hospitality Research Platform,” was recognized for its innovative technological approach and strong practical relevance for the tourism and hospitality industry. The platform enables industry practitioners to pretest new interventions, programs, marketing campaigns, and policy solutions in virtual environments before implementing them in real-world settings, reducing risk and increasing effectiveness.

As a result of winning the UNWTO Hospitality Challenge, Dr. Godovykh was invited to collaborate with international researchers, tourism providers, and decision-makers on further development of the platform. Through this collaboration, more than a dozen virtual hospitality scenarios were created for hotels, tourist destinations, events, online travel agencies, and sharing-economy providers, reinforcing the project’s global impact and contribution to innovation in sustainable tourism.

Maksim Godovykh has received the Grand Prix of the National Russian Event Award, one of the country’s most prestigious honors in the field of event tourism and business events. The award is granted through an open national competition recognizing outstanding achievements in the development of event tourism, with more than 600 projects from over 60 regions participating each year.

Dr. Godovykh was awarded the Grand Prix in the category of top business-oriented projects for the organization of the annual international on-the-water “Volga Boat Show.” The jury highlighted the project’s innovative format, strong industry impact, and contribution to positioning the country on the international yachting and boat show map.

As the founder and director of the Volga Boat Show, Dr. Godovykh was subsequently invited to represent Russia within the International Federation of Boat Show Organizers (IFBSO) and to present at the International Congress of Yacht Show Organizers. This recognition further reinforced the Volga Boat Show’s status as a flagship international event and underscored Godovykh’s role as a leader in the global event and maritime exhibition industry.

The Volga Boat Show has grown into a recognized international forum, bringing together more than 130 manufacturers, dealers, and service providers from multiple countries. Its unique on-water format allows visitors to see vessels in action through live test drives, while also offering educational and family-oriented programming, including workshops, seminars, and demonstrations. This combination of business, education, and hands-on experience has made the show attractive to both industry professionals and the wider public.

Maksim Godovykh, owner and organizer of the Volga Boat Show, has positioned the event not simply as an exhibition, but as a strategic platform for developing the yachting and small-vessel industry. From its inception, the Volga Boat Show was designed to localize both national and international production, following extensive preparatory work that included presenting the project at major global exhibitions and engaging directly with manufacturers across Europe.

According to Godovykh, the project is guided by three long-term goals: the annual organization of the Volga Boat Show, the development of a dedicated yachting industry forum, and the hosting of the yacht design competition, which has already attracted dozens of high-quality project submissions. The success of this integrated approach has been recognized at the national level, with the Volga Boat Show receiving multiple prestigious awards in the events industry and being widely acknowledged as a flagship project.