School of Hospitality and Tourism

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https://hdl.handle.net/10292/686
Research in the AUT School of Hospitality and Tourism not only informs the global academic community, they also focus on developing practical research outcomes. Their research is targeted at improving the tourism industry and the people that depend on its success.

The School also works closely with the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute to develop funding to support research initiatives and to provide graduate students with opportunities in research activities.

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Browsing School of Hospitality and Tourism by Subject "1604 Human Geography"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Advancing a Social Justice-Orientated Agenda Through Research: A Review of Refugee-Related Research in Tourism
    (Taylor and Francis Group, 2023-04-13) Bazrafshan, S; McIntosh, Alison Jane; Cockburn-Wootten, C
    Scholars have called for more critical considerations of social justice and tourism that align with the tenets, values, and practices for sustainability, transformation, and social change. The aim of this research was to map and critically assess the status of refugee-related research in tourism, particularly with regards to the extent to which it adopts, or extends, a social justice-oriented agenda. A systematic literature review of existing studies was conducted. Content analysis assessed three aspects of 37 studies, namely, (1) the topics covered, (2) the extent to which the research aligns with social justice research practices, and (3) the extent to which the research furthers the social justice agenda for transformation. The review revealed a body of work that does not demonstrate social justice research practices; mostly because the refugee-related research topics of focus do not exhibit a social justice-oriented agenda. Our review illustrated that existing tourism research tends to frame refugees negatively and as a threat to destinations, and neglect critical considerations of epistemologies, reflexivity, and research processes. We conclude by highlighting alternative approaches that could contribute to a social justice-oriented agenda, using tourism as a bridge for creating change within structures, discourses, and practices in refugee-related research.
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    Advancing Critico-Relational Inquiry: Is Tourism Studies Ready for a Relational Turn?
    (Taylor and Francis Group, 2023-05-10) Pernecky, Tomas
    This paper advances relational thought in tourism studies as a means for facilitating greater scrutiny of the relational matrices that have rendered possible the continuity of unjust, oppressive, and discriminatory relational patterns, particularly when these become detrimental to individuals, communities, other species, and the environment. Amid the growing determination to build more ethical, just, and sustainable futures, it contemplates whether critical scholarship has arrived at a relational turning point, whereby certain manifestations of tourism are increasingly deemed undesirable and problematic, and that transformation is needed in areas such as unsustainable growth, persistent colonial domination and racial conditioning, continued disregard for the environment, ongoing gender inequality and gender violence, and enduring injustices. The paper explains how relationality is interconnected with sustainability and critical scholarship and outlines the premise of critico-relational inquiry in the field. New conceptual vocabulary is offered to emphasise the critical vitality that can be injected into the examination of relations including: relational programming, relational reprogramming, relational hacking, meta-relational concerns, and relational thriving. Critico-relational inquiry is delineated as a viable strategy for transitioning towards sustainable alternatives, and as an integral part of future sustainability cum critical studies.
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    Foreign Aid, Human Agency, and Self-Reliance in the Pacific: Lessons from the Pandemic
    (Wiley, 2023-07-05) Teaurere, Rerekura; Latu, Siulua Tokilupe; de Waegh, Roxane; Orams, Mark; Lück, Michael
    Motivation Amidst the highly polarized discourse on development aid in Pacific Islands, few studies explore the perspectives of local people. Missing from the literature is how the subjective experiences of Pacific Islands people responding and adapting to a sudden global disruption influence their perceptions of foreign aid. Faced by sudden shutdown of export markets, tourism, and labour migration, the COVID-19 pandemic offered an opportunity to investigate how disruptions from international events affect Pacific Island peoples’ perception of foreign aid. Purpose We investigated how the lived experiences of people in the Cook Islands and Tonga during COVID-19 may have influenced their perceptions of foreign aid. Methods and approach Semi-structured interviews guided by open-ended questions were conducted with 25 persons in the Cook Islands and 24 persons in Tonga. Interviewees were purposively selected from staff in government ministries and environmental NGOs; from people working in tourism and private enterprise; from members of youth empowerment groups; and from among traditional leaders, faith leaders, high school teachers, fisherfolk and farmers. The interviews explored their subjective experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and the meanings they attributed to them. Findings The pandemic closed down tourism and interrupted labour emigration in both countries. In response, people switched to farming and fishing, and found ways to redeploy their skills. The pandemic saw increased local innovation, strengthened traditional practices, increased local agricultural output, and enhanced collaboration between foreign donor partners and recipient countries to develop local human capacity. Policy implications Rather than repeating history by integrating Pacific Island societies into the globalised economy, or providing bail outs through economic restructuring, donors should strive to support the agency and self-determination of Pacific Islands people. They should start by recognizing the resourcefulness and capacity to adapt shown by participants during the pandemic.
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    On the Gender Imperative in Tourism Geographies Research
    (Taylor and Francis Group, 2023-12-08) Yang, Elaine Chiao Ling; Schänzel, Heike
    This discussion provides a critical review of gender issues in tourism geographies. It maps historical and contemporary developments and provides a future research agenda that suggests moving beyond binary and Western gender discourses.
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