The UP National Center for Transportation Studies (UP NCTS) congratulates Dr. Marie Danielle Guillen, Associate Professor at the UP Asian Institute of Tourism (UP AIT) and Head of the NCTS Inclusive Transportation Group, for receiving the Kelsian Award for Best Paper with a Sustainability Theme of Thredbo19 Conference. The awarding was held during the Conference Dinner at Bacchus Restaurant, Mdina, Malta last 16 September 2026.
The paper is entitled “Monitoring Sustainable Transportation in a Rural Island Destination: The Case of Batanes, Philippines” by Dr. Guillen and Dr. Edieser dela Santa, both from AIT and Dr. Carl Michael Odulio from Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute, College of Engineering.
The Kelsian Award (established in 2022) is presented to the best paper with a sustainability focus presented at the 19th International Conference Series on Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport (Thredbo Conference) which was held in Valletta, Malta. It is sponsored by Kelsian, Australia’s largest integrated multi-modal transport provider and tourism operator. The award was presented by Samuel Rebeiro Managing Director Tower Transit, the UK bus operating subsidiary of the Australian-listed Kelsian Group and Professor David Hensher, Co-founder and International Chair of the Thredbo Series.
The Thredbo Series is one of the most important international forums for analysis and debate of competition and ownership issues in land passenger transport held every two years. The conference provides an international venue to examine passenger transport competition and ownership issues, reporting on recent research and experience and developing conclusions on key issues. The focus is on determining the effects of different forms of competition, ownership and organization for land-based passenger transport on operators, users, governments / funders and society. The conference series is directed towards a broad audience of policy makers, planners, decision makers on infrastructure and service operators, consultants, researchers, academics and students.
This year, two delegates representing the Philippines, Dr. Guillen of AIT and Mr. Mark Angelo Tacderas of NCPAG’s supported start-up SafeTravelPH, presented their papers at this important conference.
A major output of the Thredbo 19 conference is a special issue in the Research in Transportation Economics journal which contains selected papers. The special issue will also include a full report from each workshop detailing the outcomes in terms of recommendations for future policy and further research. The conference was hosted by the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development at the University of Malta in conjunction with the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies at the University of Sydney Business School.
More information about the Thredbo 19 conference here: https://thredbo-conference-series.org/
