Promoting and managing national parks into the 21st century. National parks protect two thirds of Australia's biodiversity. If society does not regard parks as important, biodiversity loss through neglect is inevitable. This project aims to improve our understanding of the place of parks in society. Methods from marketing research, assessing and shifting the 'market position' of parks and managing the quality of visitors' experiences in parks to increase visitor loyalty, will be refined and appl ....Promoting and managing national parks into the 21st century. National parks protect two thirds of Australia's biodiversity. If society does not regard parks as important, biodiversity loss through neglect is inevitable. This project aims to improve our understanding of the place of parks in society. Methods from marketing research, assessing and shifting the 'market position' of parks and managing the quality of visitors' experiences in parks to increase visitor loyalty, will be refined and applied in two Australian states; Victoria and Western Australia. The project will build on and improve theories, methodologies and instruments for positioning and managing parks and visitors to parks in these two states and beyond, to achieve better knowledge and support for parks in 21st century society.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101072
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Photos of the past: the negotiation of identity and belonging at Australian tourism sites. This project will explore the way visitors construct and express identity at a range of tourism sites in Australia. Focussing upon the practices of photography, the research will provide a detailed analysis of negotiations of belonging, which in turn may be used to facilitate debate over the pressing contemporary issue of national cohesion.
Transforming Tourists' Antarctic Experience. With the Antarctic tourist industry currently growing and diversifying, the project aims to discover how cruise operators can foster positive and culturally informed relationships with the region among visitors of different national backgrounds. Through extensive in-situ fieldwork with partner Intrepid Travel, the project expects to generate new understandings of how operators' active mediating role combines with multisensory experience of Antarctica ....Transforming Tourists' Antarctic Experience. With the Antarctic tourist industry currently growing and diversifying, the project aims to discover how cruise operators can foster positive and culturally informed relationships with the region among visitors of different national backgrounds. Through extensive in-situ fieldwork with partner Intrepid Travel, the project expects to generate new understandings of how operators' active mediating role combines with multisensory experience of Antarctica to forge human connections with this extreme but fragile place. Anticipated outcomes include protocols for best practice in designing and implementing tourist experiences. By encouraging diverse visitors to value Antarctica, the project should benefit both operators and the polar environment.Read moreRead less
Persuading tourists to use fewer natural resources when on holidays. This project aims to bring sustainable reductions in resource use to mainstream tourism, one of the world’s largest, most resource-intensive sectors. The project challenges the view that pro-environmental attitudes are a pre-requisite for pro-environmental behaviours, and in doing so promotes redesigning social practices in accommodation to achieve greater sustainability outcomes. Using an experimental design, this project will ....Persuading tourists to use fewer natural resources when on holidays. This project aims to bring sustainable reductions in resource use to mainstream tourism, one of the world’s largest, most resource-intensive sectors. The project challenges the view that pro-environmental attitudes are a pre-requisite for pro-environmental behaviours, and in doing so promotes redesigning social practices in accommodation to achieve greater sustainability outcomes. Using an experimental design, this project will provide empirical evidence on the efficacy of combining smart technology and interpersonal communication into a smart-service intervention to change guest resource use. The desired outcomes will be less resource consumption, greater guest satisfaction, and an evidence-based approach to a greener mainstream economy.Read moreRead less
Human-animal relationships in zoos: Optimising animal and visitor experiences. Extensive research on human-animal relationships in agricultural and domestic settings shows that human-animal interaction affects animal behaviour and welfare, which in turn affect human attitudes to animals. As conservation and welfare organisations, zoos aim to provide visitors with opportunities to closely interact with animals to improve visitor experience and conservation outcomes, whilst maintaining good animal ....Human-animal relationships in zoos: Optimising animal and visitor experiences. Extensive research on human-animal relationships in agricultural and domestic settings shows that human-animal interaction affects animal behaviour and welfare, which in turn affect human attitudes to animals. As conservation and welfare organisations, zoos aim to provide visitors with opportunities to closely interact with animals to improve visitor experience and conservation outcomes, whilst maintaining good animal welfare. Some visitor interactions may be stressful for some animals creating conflict between animal welfare and visitor experience. By determining visitor effects, this project aims to provide zoos with practical animal management and educational strategies to optimise both animal welfare and visitor experience.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100385
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$366,000.00
Summary
Cyberactivism, tourism and trophy hunting ethics 2.0. This project aims to analyse the effectiveness of anti-trophy hunting cyberactivism at hunting destinations. After the 2015 shooting of Cecil the Zimbabwean lion, trophy hunting tourism and its ethical ambiguities re-entered the public consciousness globally. Australian tourists have been implicated in the controversial practice, and Australia has recently had to reconsider its laws in this respect. At the same time, cyberactivist movements i ....Cyberactivism, tourism and trophy hunting ethics 2.0. This project aims to analyse the effectiveness of anti-trophy hunting cyberactivism at hunting destinations. After the 2015 shooting of Cecil the Zimbabwean lion, trophy hunting tourism and its ethical ambiguities re-entered the public consciousness globally. Australian tourists have been implicated in the controversial practice, and Australia has recently had to reconsider its laws in this respect. At the same time, cyberactivist movements in social media have taken a stance against trophy hunting. This project aims to improve the effectiveness of cyberactivism to protect endangered species in trophy hunting destinations, particularly Southern Africa, and to guide Australian policy frameworks.Read moreRead less
Consumer preferences for voluntary carbon mitigation in the aviation sector. The demand for aviation is rapidly adding to carbon emissions. Little is known about consumer preferences for aviation carbon offsets and how they evolve over time. This hinders the expansion of voluntary schemes at a crucial period in history. This research will investigate consumers offset preferences and their willingness to pay for aviation carbon mitigation using a novel time series methodology. The project aims to ....Consumer preferences for voluntary carbon mitigation in the aviation sector. The demand for aviation is rapidly adding to carbon emissions. Little is known about consumer preferences for aviation carbon offsets and how they evolve over time. This hinders the expansion of voluntary schemes at a crucial period in history. This research will investigate consumers offset preferences and their willingness to pay for aviation carbon mitigation using a novel time series methodology. The project aims to inform government policies and to help industry to develop carbon offset programs which are more likely to be supported by consumers, thus helping to reduce carbon emissions in the long term. It also aims to profile carbon offsetting groups to support communication activities to increase the size and value of offsets.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200977
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$256,800.00
Summary
Revitalising Country: The Lurujarri and Tjilbruke Walking Trails. This project aims to expand Australian tourism to include more Indigenous walking trails. With two Indigenous partner communities, the project expects to generate new knowledge for intergenerational knowledge transfer, reciprocal care, and tourism research using Indigenous theory and methods. Expected outcomes include a national trail map, a walking trail template, a proposal for a new trail with local councils, a conference of In ....Revitalising Country: The Lurujarri and Tjilbruke Walking Trails. This project aims to expand Australian tourism to include more Indigenous walking trails. With two Indigenous partner communities, the project expects to generate new knowledge for intergenerational knowledge transfer, reciprocal care, and tourism research using Indigenous theory and methods. Expected outcomes include a national trail map, a walking trail template, a proposal for a new trail with local councils, a conference of Indigenous trail leaders, academic articles, and a monograph. This should provide significant benefits to Indigenous communities, with revitalised knowledge of Country, business opportunities and the development of a new Australian tourism product.Read moreRead less