Research Groups
The School of Tourism is one of Australia’s largest dedicated providers of teaching and research programs in tourism and is recognised for its research in tourism planning and policy and visitor behaviour.
The School continues to demonstrate the value of its research through the impact it has on government and industry in the planning and policy development for the tourism industry, both in Australia and internationally.
This area centres on sustainable management with particular emphasis on a number of critical areas for tourism.
Climate change, sustainability, and low carbon tourism
This research area examines the interaction of the environment and tourism. Araes of interest include ecotourism certification, sustainable festivals, green tourism development, impacts of wildlife tourism, sustainable luxury, and visitors’ learning for environmental sustainability. Researchers at the School wrote a paper on climate change and tourism destination sustainability for the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
Economic Research
Development of information and models to improve management of tourism in protected areas. This research stream looks at the costs of damage and management of protected areas for sustainable visitor use, the benefits of tourism in protected areas, and potentially the use of such areas as carbon sinks. It seeks to use economic analysis to inform tourism policy and planning. Previous research has estimated the value of tourism to National Parks in Queensland, the economic value of pandas at the Adelaide Zoo and World Heritage Areas as common pool resources.
China tourism
The Chinese tourism industry is expanding rapidly and is a key area for economic and social development in the People’s Republic of China. China outbound travel is also an important source of tourists for many countries including Australia. The School of Tourism has links to a number of key organizations and universities in China and is active in research on China related tourism policy and planning. In 2011 the School conducted a Symposia on China and produced a book comparing tourism research in
Destination management
One of the distinctive characteristics of tourism destination management is the importance of co-operative activity between individuals and organizations. School research has examined the inter-organizational characteristics of tourism destination using social network research and is currently examining themes in governance and collaboration.
New tourism product development
Food and wine tourism, World Heritage Areas, Medical Tourism and Whale-watching. All these tourism products represent niche markets that that are increasingly popular for tourists and new areas in which destinations compete. Researchers at the School of Tourism are active in new tourism product development both in Australia and overseas.
Tourism marketing
Researchers at the School of tourism are active in the strategic marketing of tourism. This area covers segmentation, targeting and positioning and examination of the effectiveness of tourism marketing. Research has been conducted for organizations such as ASEAN, Fiji and the Gold Coast.
Workforce development
In this area the School of Tourism is working towards creating hospitality and tourism workplace environments for the social and economic well-being of industry stakeholders, especially employees and organizations. Research includes service climate and service culture, employee attitudes, intra-organisational practices, Generation Y and labour mobility.
Generation Y as Hospitality Industry Employees
Generation Y as Hospitality Industry Employees
Event planning and development
Festivals and Events, from the Olympics to the Goondiwindi Olive Festival, are big business. Research in the School of Tourism focuses on management, marketing and planning. For the last two years students have also visited festivals in Venice to see how they are planning and managed.
Accessible Tourism and Leisure
The general view of tourism tends to marginalize people with disabilities. Tourism and leisure and can offer significant benefits to people from all backgrounds through therapeutic and inclusive recreation, leisure and tourism. Physical activity is a factor in the health related quality of life of older individuals and adolescents.
Tourism crisis and disaster recovery
Tsunamis, earthquakes, bushfires, floods and terrorism. Improving the strategic management of crisis and disaster in tourism is a critical area for destination mangers and governments and an area of active interest for school of Tourism researchers.
Associate Professor Brent Ritchie - Creating Smart Travellers
Visitor Research focuses on issues related to understanding the behaviour and experiences of visitors at tourism sites, activities and events. Areas of research strength include:
- Tourist/visitor characteristics and needs (e.g. motivations, perceptions, preferences and attitudes)
- Visitor free-choice learning (environmental and heritage interpretation, persuasive communication)
- Visitor experiences and behaviour in nature-based tourism, ecotourism, wildlife tourism, sport tourism, heritage and cultural tourism
- Visitor decision-making and consumer behaviour
- Visitor attractions and events
- Visitors’ and tourists’ use of technology in travel contexts
- Tourists risk perceptions
- Cross-cultural comparisons of tourist behaviour and experiences
- Benefits of travel for tourists and visitors
- Specialised visitor tourism experiences (e.g. food, wine, farm, cruising, adventure, sports events, festivals)
- Tourist/visitor expenditure and economic impact
Interpretive Signage Homepage
Report on Visitor Survey at AWM
