Griffith Institute for Tourism

13/10/2026

Taking GIFT all the way to Mexico, Professor of Practice Daniel Gschwind was a speaker at EarthCheck's Inner Circle Forum at Riviera Maya, reflecting on the importance of effective community engagement to achieve true tourism sustainability.

This year’s Inner Circle brought together more than 125 leaders from across Europe, Australasia, the Americas and Asia, alongside a strong contingent of local representatives from Mexico. Inner Circle is a platform for international collaboration, connecting industry leaders, government representatives and sustainability experts to explore the future of sustainable tourism.

Griffith Institute for Tourism (GIFT) and the Griffith Business School (GBS) are proud of their partnership with EarthCheck and its associated international partners. ✨

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12/10/2026

📢 New Research | Exploring the Future of Innovation in Tourism and Hospitality
What can tourism and hospitality learn from the broader field of management about innovation?

In their new paper, Dr Truc Le and Professor Sarah Gardiner examine how innovation has been studied across tourism and hospitality and the wider management literature, identifying shared themes, important connections and opportunities for future research.

📊 The study maps key areas of innovation, including customer service, employee learning, communication, sustainability, data use and innovation policy. It also identifies five directions for future research, highlighting opportunities to better understand how people, businesses, technology and policy interact to support innovation.

💡 The research provides useful insights for academics, tourism and hospitality businesses, and policymakers seeking to understand how innovation can be developed, supported and translated into practice.

📖 Read the full open-access paper:
https://ow.ly/FRa050ZW9a8

This study establishes an agenda for research on innovation in tourism and hospitality (T&H) through a systematic comparison of studies on innovation in the T&H literature with mainstream managemen...

12/10/2026

Researchers from GIFT are partnering with the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) on the development of a Regional Climate Change and Tourism Action Plan. Participating at the UNFCCC pre-COP31 climate summit was hugely beneficial in understanding how to better position tourism in climate policy, and where the key gaps and opportunities lie.

We look forward to launching the final plan next year and thank everyone who has contributed so far through the stakeholder consultation process.

📷 Christina Leala-Gale (SPTO) and Professor Susanne Becken at the UNFCCC pre-COP31 climate summit.

01/10/2026

We are pleased to share that Hera Oktadiana, GIFT Adjunct Associate Professor, has been invited to contribute to several international academic events, including as a keynote speaker at the 9th International Conference on Applied Sciences, Engineering, Technology and Management 2026.

She was also given the opportunity to share her insights on Halal tourism and sustainability at the 2nd International Islamic Tourism Conference, where she was the only participant speaking online.

Hera also contributed to SCoT (Smart Community Tourism) by supporting the coordination of Webinar Vol. 82 and serving as moderator for the session, “Muslim Women in Academia: Bridging Higher Education and Community-Based Tourism.”

24/09/2026

From influence to empowerment: Can social media influencers do more than influence?
What if the impact of social media influencers goes beyond inspiring where people travel, what they buy, or the lifestyles they follow?

New research by Zara Zarezadeh and Ulrike Gretzel published in Tourism Management, explores how virtual communities can become spaces for learning, capacity building and women’s empowerment.

The article, “From influence to empowerment: Unpacking capacity building and social learning in virtual communities,” examines Iranian women travel influencers and reveals a more complex relationship between influencers and their online communities.

Rather than viewing followers simply as audiences, the research highlights how role modelling, mentoring, knowledge sharing and social interaction can create opportunities for women to learn from one another, build capabilities and negotiate new possibilities.

The research also challenges us to think differently about what “influence” means online. Beyond follower numbers, likes and engagement rates, could the value of an influencer also lie in their capacity to create communities that support learning and empowerment?

Congratulations to Dr Zara Zarezadeh on this exciting publication in Tourism Management!

🔗 Read the article: https://ow.ly/a7ie50ZQQa3

15/09/2026

📢 Join us for the next Research on Volunteering Affinity Group Webinar.

Developing a National Spatial Map of Rural Volunteering Shortages: Evidence from Australia

This webinar will showcase the development of a world-first spatial mapping tool that highlights vulnerability to volunteering shortages across Australia. The Rural Volunteering Vulnerability Explorer presents indicators of volunteer supply and demand by postcode and town, identifying communities that are marginally, moderately and most vulnerable to volunteer shortages.

🗓 Monday 21 September 2026
⏰ 16:00 AWST ● 18:00 AEST ● 17:00 JST

💡 Presented by project chief investigators
Professor Leonie Lockstone-Binney, Griffith University
Professor Kirsten Holmes, Curtin University

🔗 Registration link: https://ow.ly/up4A50ZNCn6

Learn more: https://ow.ly/G2iL50ZNCn7

15/09/2026

🌿🎶 GIFT was well represented at the annual Quandamooka Festival on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) over the weekend.

Local First Nations culture was on display through music, dance, arts and crafts, alongside inspiring discussions on economic, social and cultural opportunities, including through tourism and the lead-up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Griffith University is proud to support and celebrate these important conversations and connections. 🌏✨

Left to right: Daniel Gschwind, Rhonda Appo OAM, Sarah Gardiner, Vanessa A. Taveras-Dalmau,

Cameron Costello
Redland City Council
Queensland First Nations Tourism Council - QFNTC

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08/09/2026

🌊 Opportunities in Coastal and Marine Tourism Education: Hello Universities!

Coastal and marine tourism accounts for at least half of the global tourism sector, so why are universities largely ignoring it?

GIFT Adjunct Professor Jeff Wilks, explores this important question in his recent article, Opportunities in Coastal and Marine Tourism Education: Hello Universities!, published on the Good Tourism Blog on 24 August.

In the article, Jeff discusses the opportunities for higher education institutions to develop coastal and marine tourism education and training programs for those keen to contribute to the growing Blue Economy. As coastal and marine tourism continues to play a vital role in destinations worldwide, the article highlights the need for universities to better align teaching and training with emerging industry needs and opportunities.

The article has already attracted significant interest, receiving more than 700 impressions on LinkedIn.

📖 Read the full article here: https://ow.ly/uutE50ZJegU

07/09/2026

👏 Congratulations to GIFT member Dr Vanessa Taveras-Dalmau, on having her book chapter published in The Routledge Handbook on Regenerative Tourism and Hospitality.

This timely and innovative handbook presents an up-to-date, critical, and comprehensive overview of established and emerging themes relating to regenerative tourism and hospitality and offers a deep dive into the operational, strategic, and policy dimensions of regenerative strategy and practices.

Vanessa's study explored regenerative tourism in a policymaking context, a significant gap in regenerative tourism scholarship, particularly in relation to local governments.

Her study compared Noosa Council's and adjacent councils' (like the Sunshine Coast Council) tourism policies with policies from international 'regenerative' destinations to understand how governance, discourse, and metrics shape policies across three main tourism approaches:

1. Traditional: Economic growth as the main imperative.
2. Sustainable: Reducing tourism's harm.
3. Regenerative: Contributing net-positive benefits for people, place, and nature.

The chapter concludes with a policy agenda with six actions to embed regenerative principles into tourism policymaking for the Shire.

You can access Vanessa's and other contributors chapters here: https://ow.ly/A8j150ZJe4c

07/09/2026

Dr Johanna Loehr represented GIFT at the 75th AIEST conference in St. Gallen. Her presentation on embedding climate justice into national tourism and climate change policy, co-authored with Dr Raymond Rastegar and Dr Vanessa Taveras Dalmau was awarded the Peter Keller Award for best contribution uniting theory and practice, and runner up for the AIEST Best Contribution Award.