|
|
|
|
|
Tourism News—December 2019
Kia ora tātou colleagues, students, alumni and friends,
In this edition, we highlight some recent staff and student success, including;
-
Professor Karen Smith made Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
-
Excellence awards for Dr’s Ina Reichenberger and Christian Schott
-
New advisory group members
-
In the news about overtourism and the future
-
Tourism Education Forum Aoteraoa
From the Tourism Management group: Christian, Doug, Karen, Ian, Ina, Mondher, and Luisa.
|
|
|
Dr Ina Reichenberger receives Early Career Teaching Excellence Award
 |
|
As part of this year’s staff excellence awards, Ina Reichenberger was awarded an Early Career Teaching Excellence Award. At the core of Ina’s teaching philosophy sits the concept of community, and her teaching practice aims to create a sense of belonging within the classroom as well as the programme and wider university. She focuses especially on establishing a sense of trust through personalised support and inclusive student-led learning.
|
|
|
|
Dr Christian Schott awarded Sustainability Excellence Award
Dr Christian Schott was awarded this year’s Victoria University of Wellington Staff Sustainability Excellence Award which celebrates excellence in sustainability across leadership, research, teaching, and engagement. The University awards this recognition in the individual and team categories and Christian was awarded the individual award. “It is a great honour to receive this award and recognition of my ‘work’ in this space over the last 15 years. But in the end it is more passion than work,” says Christian. The award ceremony will take place in the new year.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Farewell to Dr Eerang Park
 |
|
Our colleague, Dr Eerang Park has moved to Edith Cowan University in Perth on a Vice-Chancellor Research Fellowship. The position builds upon her success at Victoria University of Wellington with her early career research excellence award that she received in 2019. Eerang joined the School in mid-2016, taught across a range of our Tourism Management programmes, contributed to the re-design of the Bachelor of Tourism Management as a major in the Bachelor of Commerce as well as serving as the Master of Tourism Management Director. Eerang was an excellent teacher and researcher, who just about tolerated Ian’s witty jokes.
|
|
|
|
VR project led by Dr Christian Schott wins bronze in Reimagine Education Awards
|
 |
|
The concept behind the VR education projects for sustainability education in Fiji and Peru led by Christian won the bronze award in the Oceania section of the the 2019 Wharton-QS Stars Reimagine Education Awards. The project which started with the virtual Fijian island several years ago was recently expanded through CAPE LatAm funding and now includes a virtual Machu Picchu Pueblo located in the high Andes of Peru. The Awards Ceremony took place in London in early December. Many people have contributed to the project over the years, including the communities of Yasawa-i-Rara and Machu Picchu Pueblo; and they were acknowledged at the awards.
|
|
|
Dr Mondher Sahli and colleagues awarded grant from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
Dr Mondher Sahli, Dr Sylvain Petit (University of French Polynesia) and Dr Matthieu Bunel (University of New Caledonia) have recently been awarded a €25,000 Pacific Fund Grant from the French Embassy in New Zealand in support of their research project on the economic impacts of tourism in French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Vanuatu. During his research and study leave from 1 January - 30 June 2020, Mondher will visit his collaborators in Nouméa and Papeete to start working on this new two-year research project in the Pacific.
|
|
|
New members join Tourism Management Advisory Group
We recently welcomed three new members to the Tourism Management Advisory Group: Cristine Angus, Managing Director at Angus & Associates; Janet Tang, Research and Insight Advisor at WellingtonNZ; and Danielle McKenzie; Programme Director for Responsible Camping at the Ministry for Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE). Learn more about Cristine, Janet, and Danielle below.
|
|
|
Cristine Angus
 |
|
Who are you and what is your role?
Cristine Angus, Managing Director of tourism research and strategy specialists, Angus & Associates.
What do you love the most about New Zealand’s tourism industry?
From a professional point of view, it’s satisfying to work in such a complex and rapidly-changing industry—there is always a challenge, or an opportunity, to tackle. From a more personal point of view, I love working in an industry that’s characterised by people who are passionate about what they do and always happy to share ideas and to collaborate.
Why is a tourism education important?
Change is constant, tourism markets are highly competitive, and trends sometimes difficult to predict. A tourism education provides an understanding of tourism consumers and industry ‘drivers’, and the essential skills needed to anticipate and deal with the challenges faced by those in the industry.
|
|
|
|
Janet Tang
Who are you and what is your role?
I’m the Research and Insight Advisor at WellingtonNZ, my role is to gather data and insight to assist with planning, reporting and story-telling.
What do you love the most about New Zealand’s tourism industry?
I love how the industry lives and breathes Manaakitanga and Kaitiakitanga. We strive for the best, but without losing sight of what’s important—looking after our visitors, our own people, land and resources, and trying continually to strive for that balance.
Why is a tourism education important?
All education is important. Tourism Education is important for both future and current leaders to gain a comprehensive understanding on all the moving parts. Then being able to share that knowledge with others to enable a more sustainable future for not only the industry but for overall economy and society.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Danielle McKenzie
 |
|
Who are you and what is your role?
Tēnā koutou, I’m Danielle McKenzie and I work in the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Tourism Branch as the Programme Director for Responsible Camping. I’ve worked in tourism my whole career in New Zealand and the Pacific since I graduated from the University with a Bachelor of Tourism and Services Management over twenty years ago.
What do you love the most about New Zealand’s tourism industry?
Tourism is about people and I love working in an industry that is positive and collaborative and striving to bring benefit to New Zealand.
Why is a tourism education important?
Tourism is New Zealand’s largest export earner and many communities have identified tourism as an opportunity for growth. Tourism education is one way to both inform the sector through research and insight as well as to provide the sector with a skilled workforce. My tourism education has provided an excellent foundation for my career in tourism in the private sector, local and central government roles.
|
|
|
|
Graduation
In May and December we welcomed a number of new Toursim Management students to our alumni community.
|
|
 |
|
Grace Greensill, Jade Cocurullo, Adele Lonergan, Diana Kham, Tawny Baker, Hannah Evans, and Freyja Fuller.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Professor Karen Smith, Fraser Oram, Jade Cocurullo, and Adele Lonergan.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Dr Ina Reichenberger, Christina Grindrod, Courtney Fairbank, and Diana Kham.
|
|
|
 |
|
Xindi Wang and Yanming Jiang.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Saicuoji A and Ina Reichenberger
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tourism students help Zealandia engage with locals
Students have helped staff at Zealandia Ecosanctuary better understand locals’ awareness and perception of Zealandia as well as provide them with insights into how to better engage with the Wellington community.
Read more
|
|
 |
|
|
|
TOUR 301 Best Essay
|
 |
|
Drew Cox-Sundman briefing paper to the Minister of Tourism won the best essay competition sponsored by MBIE for tourism policy. Drew’s briefing paper set out a strategy for New Zealand tourism in 2039 focusing on the decisions to address the challenges of climate change and a mechanism to protect natural resources using green technologies. Briefing papers are used in TOUR 301 Tourism Policy and Planning in which the students take on the role of a public servant and write a document outlining a particular strategy which captures the essence of arguments, main facts, implications, political considerations, risks, evaluations and recommendations.
MBIE’s Head of Tourism Policy Richard Davies stated that Drew’s briefing paper showed the ‘most strategic coherence between the Sustainable Development Goals, stakeholder analysis and the proposed actions. It was also easy to read and well laid out’
Left to right. Course Co-Ordinator for TOUR301 Dr Ian Yeoman. Drew Cox-Sundman and MBIE’s Richard Davies.
|
|
|
Emerging Trends in Tourism: Dr Ian Yeoman speaks to the UNWTO
|
 |
|
Dr Ian Yeoman recently spoke at the World Tourism Conference hosted by UN World Tourism Organisation and the Ministry of Tourism of Malaysia on 26 August as part of a panel of speakers about emerging trends in tourism.
As tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, we need to understand the economic, social and environmental impacts of technology and innovation in order to realise the benefits for community and business.
Ian spoke about hobbies transcending into tourism and experiences. Using Airbnb Experiences as an example, it is important for business to observe what people are doing in there leisure time.
Speaking to 1,440 delegates, Ian explained the success of Boston University Knitting Club and the associated trends of authenticity, shared experiences, social networks, urban tribes and crafts as an example.
Other panellists included, Xu Jing - Regional Director of the Asia and Pacific, UNWTO, HE Ms. Özgül Özkan Yavuz - Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey and Mr. Con Apostolopoulos - Senior Vice President, National Geographic Partners for Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
Download a copy of Ian’s presentation.
|
|
|
A lead role in founding the Tourism Education Forum Aotearoa
The Tourism Educators Forum Aotearoa (TEFA) formed as the result of two meetings hosted by Victoria University of Wellington. This is the first time tourism, hospitality and event educators from across New Zealand’s secondary schools, universities, polytechnics and private training providers have come together. The TEFA is a platform for connections between training and education educators and the New Zealand tourism industry and its representative bodies.
Professor Karen Smith has been appointed Inaugural Chair of TEFA and says this is an exciting opportunity for cross-sector collaboration. “The tourism industry struggles to attract workers and is often not seen as a viable career option, despite being New Zealand’s largest foreign exchange earner. The TEFA will work with the industry to help change perceptions of the education and career paths in this sector”.
TEFA will be formally launched in the new year, with representatives from universities, polytechnics, private training providers and the Tourism Teachers Association - New Zealand.
|
|
|
Voluntary sports clubs in collaboration with the tourism sector
 |
|
Bo Villumsen has spent three months at Victoria University of Wellington as part of his PhD studies at The Institute of Sociology, Environmental and Business Economics at the University of Southern Denmark. His research concerns cross-sector collaboration between the tourism industry and voluntary sports clubs as a potential way to develop tourism destinations and activities for tourists. Bo has been hosted by Professor Karen Smith and has spent his time in New Zealand working on his data analysis.
|
|
|
|
New PhD student: Naji Gharibi
After receiving her Bachelor’s degree In English Language and Literature from Yazd University in a touristic city in Iran, Naji became interested in tourism and decided to pursue her studies in this field. This led her to start her Master’s in Tourism Management during which she has published some articles on topics of tourist’s attitudes prior to coming to New Zealand. Naji has been working as a tour guide and a photographer in Tehran, the capital city of Iran for years. Her PhD is involved with technology and future of tourism as that is her main interest.
Qualifications:
BA, English Language and Literature, Yazd University, Iran
Ma, Tourism Management, MUN, Iran
Interests:
Virtual Tourism, Future of Tourism, Online Tourist’s Behaviour, Decision-Making, Using VR and AR in Tourism.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Solmaz Nazari finishes PhD study
 |
|
I have just finished my PhD programme in Tourism Management on travel behaviours of travellers with mobility impairments. My PhD journey at Victoria University of Wellington was challenging and rewarding at the same time, with many ups and downs from the start all the way through to the oral examination. The complexities and nuances of disability research required an in-depth exploration of both disciplines of tourism and disability. This equipped me with the knowledge to better understand disability and how it can be conceptualized in different ways. As an individual with lived experience of disability, my study helped me grow both individually and academically. As such, PhD research was a milestone in my life. It was a learning experience with many personal and intellectual impacts on me. Conducting research from an insider perspective directed me to a path which I am motivated to
continue following with a hope to achieve better outcomes for myself and other individuals with disabilities.
|
|
|
|
2019 International Association for Tourism Economics conference
|
|
|
In September, Dr Mondher Sahli attended the 2019 International Association for Tourism Economics conference hosted by the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina). While the economic significance of inbound tourism is unquestionable and the economic benefits and costs of tourism have been extensively documented in the literature, there still remains relatively little research on the economic impacts of tourism expansion in developing countries, and whether the reallocation of factors of production (capital, land, labour, water, and so on) into tourism-related activities can give rise to adverse short and long-term effects on other traded sectors as well as the national welfare of host-countries. Mondher and his colleague Jean-Jacques Nowak (Université Lille, France) presented a new study on the emerging literature on tourism and Dutch disease by considering certain elements designed
to better reflect the current characteristics of tourism activities in developing countries. The 2019 IATE conference attracted more than 100 participants from 35 different countries. Mondher will continue his role as the Secretary-General of the IATE until 2021.
|
|
|
Noodles and Rice—Food tourism in Asia book launch
|
 |
|
Dr Eerang Park and Associate Professor Ian Yeoman (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand) with Associate Professor Sangkyun Kim (Edith Cowan University, Australia) successfully launched their edited book, Food Tourism in Asia (Springer, 2019) during the Wellington on a Plate festival. The event, Noodles and Rice, was the only event in the festival where there were discussion and enjoyment of Asian food and culture with the editors themselves and through which an academic research publication becomes more approachable to various end-users, especially food-enthusiastic Wellingtonians.
The event theme, Noodles and Rice is a symbolic metaphor for Asian’s foodways and food culture. Noodles and rice are the staple food across wider Asian countries, and its versatility from the main meal to dessert and even to beverage is beyond conception. Noodles and Rice showcased intellectual but multisensory interaction of Asian food tourism research with the audience while sampling custard sticky rice (Thai rice dessert) and Pad Thai (stir-fried Thai rice noodle), sponsored by School of Management.
Editors shared the depth of view on the key concepts (i.e., food for tourism and tourism for food, eating otherness, street foods in the Asian and Western context) and research experiences on food tourism and the authentic tourist experience. There were free books lucky draw sponsored by Springer.
|
|
|
Explore five holidays of the future
According to Associate Professor Ian Yeoman, ‘one in two people globally will take an international holiday in 2050, compared with one in seven now. That estimate, from futurology book 2050 — Tomorrow’s Tourism, would mean not far off 5bn travellers on the move every year’. Ian featured in a story published in the Financial Times about holidays of the future.
|
|
|
Tourism industry engagement with indigenous peoples as rights-holders
|
 |
|
The Tourism Group, through Dr Christian Schott, partnered with the World Indigenous Tourism Alliance (WINTA) to co-host Henok Alemneh working on indigenous peoples as rights holders. Henok of the Oromo Nation, Ethiopia, is a student of Master’s in Development Practice: Indigenous Development at the University of Winnipeg, Canada. He worked as an intern with WINTA through the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship. His time in Wellington was very fruitful as illustrated by the packed public seminar on 18 July co-presented by Henok, Johnny Edmonds (WINTA), John Barret (Kapiti Island Nature Tours) and chaired by Christian. The seminar entitled ‘ Tourism industry engagement with indigenous peoples as
rights-holders' was at capacity with an audience of 40 people and triggered excellent discussion. The work Henok conducted in Wellington as part of this partnership was presented the Best Paper Award at the 7th Annual International Conference on Sustainable Development in New York.
|
|
|
Latin America links
 |
|
Emeritus Professor Doug Pearce has had a busy time in Latin America this year. In April, Doug was a keynote speaker at the national Societur conference in Punta Arenas, Chile and at an international colloquium in Porvenir, Tierra del Fuego; the most remote location he has ever spoken at. While in Punta Arenas he caught up with Dr César Guala, a former PhD student now on the staff at the Universidad Austral de Chile (UACH) in Valdivia. Doug also contributed to a workshop at UACH on scientific tourism. In August/September Doug spent a month at the Universidade Federal de Parana as a Visiting Professor under the PRINT internationalization programme giving a series of seminars on frameworks for
tourism research. He was also the keynote speaker at the annual conference of, ANPTUR, the Brazilian tourism research association, sharing his experiences ‘on reaching out with your research’. In both Chile and Brazil there was a lot of interest in tourism in New Zealand and in our approaches to tourism research and a desire to strengthen links with Victoria University of Wellington.
|
|
|
|
What is the future of tourism? A problem-based learning approach
|
 |
|
Looking to the future, what will tourism in Wellington look like? What is a sustainable future for tourism? Where will it come from? What will be the product mix? What will change? How will external factors and drivers influence the future of WellingtonNZ? All of these factors represent a series of uncertainties. Using the process of scenario planning as part of TOUR 405 Tourism Futures Project, Master of Tourism Management students examined the future of tourism from a product development and sustainability perspective developing five
scenarios.
Scenario 1 “Food Beyond Reasonable Doubt”, examined the future of culinary tourism from a technology perspective focusing on the experience, food supply chain and cooking process. Scenario 2 “More than Haka, Hongi, and Hāngi” focused on the future of Maori tourism through stories, representation and societal changes. Scenario 3 “A Vibrant Downtown” envisaged a future vision of community, tourism and play in the central business district of Wellington. Scenario 4 was a dystopian future about “Nature” and a warning that the future will be worse than you think. Scenario 5 “A revolution in the way people meet” took a science fiction perspective to represent transformation change too Wellington’s new conference and event centre.
As Jo Heaton (Tourism and Visitor Economy Manager for WellingtonNZ) said:
"It was a pleasure for WellingtonNZ to work with Ian Yeoman’s students this year on the Wellington Scenarios Project. The biggest talking point in tourism globally this year has been sustainability. We were delighted to have the opportunity to have five enquiring minds delve into what Wellington’s sustainable future might look like using the UN World Tourism Organisation’s sustainable development goals. The performance of our student team under Ian Yeoman’s guidance was excellent. They were committed, enquiring and they undoubtedly all have great careers ahead—hopefully in tourism! The final presentation engaged, tested and provoked fierce discussion and the research will continue to inform our thinking as we grapple with these big issues.
The student team was Adele Lonergan, Diána Kham, Gayan Edirisinghe, Joe Cheung & Mercury Yang.
|
|
|
Recent seminars
Explore an overview of some of our recent seminars.
22 Nov. Bo Villumsen, Visiting PhD student, University of Southern Denmark. Voluntary sports clubs in collaboration with the tourism sector: Beneficial or a dead end?
24 Sept. Dr Valentina Dinica, Associate Professor, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington. CSR 2.0 - do tourism businesses promote sustainability through policy design?
3 Sept. Dr Alfio Leotta, Senior Lecturer, School of English, Film, Theatre and Media Studies, Victoria University of Wellington. “This isn’t a movie… it’s a tourism ad for Australia”: The Dundee Campaign and the Semiotics of Audiovisual Tourism Promotion
18 July, Henok Alemneh, Masters student, Tourism and Development from University of Winnepeg, Canada. Tourism Industry Engagement, with Indigenous Peoples as Rights-Holders
9 July, Karen Fifield, CEO Wellington Zoo. What will a zoo look like in 2119?
3 May, A/Prof Ian Yeoman, Victoria University of Wellington. Overtourism: Finding the answers?
15 Mar. A/Prof Sylvain Petit, Université de la Polynésie Française, Papeete, French Polynesia. Measuring the effect of Revealed Cultural Preferences on Tourism Exports
|
|
|
|
|
