Griffith Institute for Tourism

Griffith Institute for Tourism Griffith Institute for Tourism | Griffith University
Tourism Research
Australia's Number 1 Tourism Research University

Building on a long history of tourism research at Griffith University, and the success of the Centre for Tourism, Sport and Services Research, the International Centre of Ecotourism Research and previous partnerships, such as the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism, the Griffith Institute for Tourism (GIFT) will further broaden and deepen Griffith University’s expertise and researc

h performance in tourism. Through its strategic partnerships, GIFT’s structure and research programs are designed to ensure high industry and policy relevance. Following the triple bottom line concept, the key areas of impact of research undertaken at GIFT reflect economic, social and environmental dimensions:

- Business, Destination and Organisational Viability (Economy);
- Health, Quality Experience, and Well-being (Individuals); and
- Environmental Resilience and Nature Conservation (Environment)

🏦 GIFT at Tourism in the HouseLast Thursday, tourism took centre stage at Queensland Parliament House as industry, gover...
02/09/2026

🏦 GIFT at Tourism in the House

Last Thursday, tourism took centre stage at Queensland Parliament House as industry, government and tourism leaders came together for the Queensland Tourism Industry Council - QTIC event, Tourism in the House.

Representing the Griffith Institute for Tourism (GIFT), our team had the opportunity to connect with senior government leaders and discuss the opportunities and challenges shaping Queensland’s tourism future. Events like this provide an important space to strengthen connections between research, industry and government, ensuring that evidence and industry realities inform the decisions shaping the visitor economy.

📸 From left to right: GIFT Director Professor Sarah Gardiner, Professor of Practice Daniel Gschwind, Dr Truc H. Le, Andrew Powell MP – Minister for the Environment and Tourism and Minister for Science and Innovation, and Professor Charles Arcodia.

If you are looking to engage in the discussion of mindful, ethical, and responsible tourism in Asia Pacific, don't miss ...
02/09/2026

If you are looking to engage in the discussion of mindful, ethical, and responsible tourism in Asia Pacific, don't miss the TTRA APAC Annual Conference happening from 4–7 December 2026 in Sapporo, Japan, hosted by Hokkaido University! 🌏✨

📢 Registrations for the conference are now open, with early bird rates available until 15 October 2026.

📝 If you are thinking of submitting a paper, the working paper submission deadline has been extended to 14 September.

For more details, check out the attached poster, as well as the conference website: https://ow.ly/RbA050ZI1rq

✈️🌿📚

📢 TTRA APAC WebinarReal Industry Engagement: How ECRs Can Initiate and Lead Industry-Engaged ResearchHow can early caree...
02/09/2026

📢 TTRA APAC Webinar
Real Industry Engagement: How ECRs Can Initiate and Lead Industry-Engaged Research

How can early career researchers move beyond simply participating in industry-engaged research to actively initiating and leading meaningful collaborations?

Join TTRA APAC for a practical panel discussion bringing together researchers from across the Asia-Pacific region to share their experiences, strategies and lessons learned in building industry partnerships, developing collaborative projects, and translating research into real-world impact.

Panellists:
A/Prof. Sho Kashiwagi — Kanagawa University, Japan
Ms Anudari Bayarjargal — Iowa State University; TTRA Asia Pacific Chapter
Dr Roshis Krishna Shrestha — The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Prof. Sarah Gardiner — Griffith University, Australia

Facilitated by: Dr Yawei Jiang — Griffith University, Australia

📅Tuesday, 6 October 2026
⏰ 2:00–3:00 pm Brisbane (AEST) | Auckland: 5:00–6:00 pm (NZDT) | Singapore: 12:00–1:00 pm (SGT) | Dubai: 8:00–9:00 am (GST) | London: 5:00–6:00 am (BST) | Los Angeles: 9:00–10:00 pm (PDT, Mon 5 Oct)

🌏 Online Free Registration: https://ow.ly/1Tru50ZI1pr

What if you could microdose a holiday? 🌴🥽Could short bursts of virtual tourism become part of workplace wellbeing?Griffi...
01/09/2026

What if you could microdose a holiday? 🌴🥽

Could short bursts of virtual tourism become part of workplace wellbeing?

Griffith University PhD researcher Minh Nhan is exploring this intriguing concept through his research into Virtual Tourism Microdosing.

Read more about the idea - and the emerging research behind it 👇

https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/tourism-research-news-7109702966311342080/

Research Supervisors:
Assoc. Prof Anna Kralj
Prof Brent D. Moyle
Assoc Profes Sebastian Filep (Bond University)

Griffith Business School
Griffith Business School Research


📣 Call for Papers: Authenticity, Cultural Heritage and Technology-Mediated Tourism ExperiencesDr Truc H. Le from the Gri...
27/08/2026

📣 Call for Papers: Authenticity, Cultural Heritage and Technology-Mediated Tourism Experiences

Dr Truc H. Le from the Griffith Institute for Tourism (GIFT) is chairing the featured track “Authenticity, Cultural Heritage and Technology-Mediated Tourism Experiences” at the TTRA Europe 2027 Annual Chapter Conference.

This track explores how authenticity, cultural heritage, and technology shape contemporary tourism experiences, with a focus on identity, meaning, representation, and innovation. It welcomes research examining how AI, immersive technologies, digital storytelling, and experience design transform authentic and meaningful tourism experiences.

Indicative topics include:
• Authenticity, meaningful and transformative tourism experiences
• Existential, constructive, performative, relational, and co-created authenticity
• Place identity, memory, emotional connection, and visitor wellbeing
• Cultural heritage interpretation, storytelling, and digital heritage
• Indigenous knowledge, cultural stewardship, and community voices
• Destination branding, identity, and representation
• Ethical issues in staging, commodifying, and digitising culture
• Co-creation of tourism experiences with communities and visitors
• AI, XR, VR, and immersive cultural and heritage experiences
• Technology-mediated, hybrid, phygital, and immersive tourism and event experiences
• Smart tourism and meaningful visitor engagement
• Social media, influencers, and perceptions of authenticity
• Technology adoption and transformation of visitor experiences
• Creative tourism and experiential innovation
• Innovation and authenticity in tourism experience systems
• Human-centred design in tourism and hospitality
• Future cultural and heritage experiences towards Tourism 2040
• Innovative methods for examining lived and technology-mediated experiences

The track welcomes conceptual, empirical, methodological, and industry-oriented research, including critical perspectives, comparative studies, methodological innovations, interdisciplinary research, and academia–industry collaborations.

Researchers across tourism, hospitality, events, heritage studies, marketing, consumer behaviour, sociology, psychology, human–computer interaction, media and communication, cultural studies, and related disciplines are encouraged to submit.

Please share this call with colleagues, research students, and your wider networks who may be interested. Submissions exploring the intersection of authenticity, cultural heritage, technology, and tourism experiences are particularly welcome.

Looking forward to receiving your contributions and connecting with colleagues in Bournemouth in 2027.

Read more:
https://ow.ly/jXvw50ZFsf1

📣 New research from GIFT!How can community sport organisations create volunteer roles that work better for both voluntee...
24/08/2026

📣 New research from GIFT!

How can community sport organisations create volunteer roles that work better for both volunteers and the organisation?

GIFT researchers Mohsen Loghmani, Associate Professor Popi Sotiriadou, and Associate Professor Jason Doyle have published a new study in the Journal of Sport Management introducing the Job Co-Crafting Process—a collaborative approach that brings volunteers and organisational representatives together to redesign volunteer roles.

Rather than relying solely on top-down job design or asking volunteers to independently reshape their roles, Job Co-Crafting involves three key stages:
💡 Generate ideas – volunteers and organisational representatives openly share their expectations, goals and ideas.
🤝 Elaborate together – both parties discuss, refine and align these ideas.
🎯 Set mutual goals – they develop shared goals and translate them into a Customised Work Plan (CWP).

The study found that this approach can foster volunteer engagement, volunteer–club fit, job satisfaction and psychological ownership, while also strengthening volunteer management systems.

Importantly, Customised Work Plans can support volunteer recruitment, training and retention by capturing both the formal responsibilities of a role and the individual experience, skills and interests of the volunteer.

For community sport organisations facing volunteer turnover, burnout or unclear role expectations, this research offers a practical way to create volunteer roles that benefit both people and organisations.

📖 Read the full article: https://ow.ly/Bv5a50ZEnOJ

🎉 🎉🎉Congratulations to GIFT member Minh Nhan on an outstanding achievement, placing second in the Griffith University 3 ...
21/08/2026

🎉 🎉🎉Congratulations to GIFT member Minh Nhan on an outstanding achievement, placing second in the Griffith University 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) Final!

Representing Griffith Business School, Department of Tourism and Marketing, and GIFT, Minh delivered an impressive presentation that showcased not only the quality of his doctoral research but also his exceptional ability to communicate complex ideas with clarity and impact.

Please join us in congratulating Minh on this fantastic achievement! 👏🎓

21/08/2026

What does "research impact" means in practice? Who holds responsibility for translating research into change? How can researchers better connect with the people and organisations positioned to implement findings?

These questions were explored at the CAUTHE Workforce & Employment SIG's Open Conversation About Research Impact. GIFT Director Professor Sarah Gardiner shared practical insights on how researchers can maximise real-world impact through early stakeholder engagement, strong partnerships, and research designed with implementation in mind.

Key takeaways from the discussion:

💡 Get industry involved early. Research impact starts before a project begins. Attend industry events and listen to their challenges, have coffee with industry people to discuss and develop your research idea, and build relationships. Listening and conversations will help shape relevant and meaningful research.

💡 Know your audience. Impact is about more than explaining your findings. Consider who needs the information and choose the most effective channels to reach them. That might be presenting at an industry conference, submitting responses to policy and strategy consultation or through videos, podcasts, or social media.

💡 Be patient. Meaningful impact often develops over time rather than happening immediately.

💡 Build strong networks. Develop trusted partnerships, co-design research with stakeholders, and work together to share findings more broadly. Recruit industry to be champions in their organisation to disseminate and implement your research findings in practice.

💡 Give back. Research is not only about collecting data. Look for opportunities to share knowledge and insights that benefit industry and the wider community.

Great to see GIFT Director Professor Sarah Gardiner representing Australian Regional Tourism (ART) as a panel speaker at...
20/08/2026

Great to see GIFT Director Professor Sarah Gardiner representing Australian Regional Tourism (ART) as a panel speaker at the City Nation Place Australasia x Mainstreet Australia Conference on the Gold Coast.

Sarah shared insights from ART's work on measuring and understanding tourism's social impacts, highlighting how tourism can contribute to stronger communities, greater wellbeing, and more sustainable destinations.

🌿💡 Can green training really improve service quality, or does it take more than training alone?How green training works ...
13/08/2026

🌿💡 Can green training really improve service quality, or does it take more than training alone?

How green training works in mid-scale hotels: A mixed-methods approach

Published in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management (JHTM), the official journal of CAUTHE, new research by Nhung Trinh, Dr Mai Nguyen, Phuong Duong, Associate Professor Ba Phong Le, and Yanzhe Yuan explores how green training translates into better employee and service outcomes in mid-scale hotels. 📚✨

Using a mixed-methods approach combining survey data from 312 hotel employees and in-depth interviews, the research shows that green training encourages active learning, which strengthens both organisational commitment and environmental commitment. These, in turn, lead to higher service quality, greater job satisfaction, and more environmentally responsible behaviour. 🌱🏨

The paper also finds that employees' environmental values and management support amplify the impact of green training, highlighting when training can be more effective. 🤝💚

Implications for hospitality practice:
🔹 Design green training around employees' day-to-day roles and encourage active learning, not just knowledge transfer.
🔹 Reinforce training with strong managerial support through feedback, recognition, and opportunities for peer learning.
🔹 Align sustainability initiatives with employees' environmental values to build long-term commitment.
🔹 Integrate sustainability into performance management to sustain employee engagement and service excellence.

Read more: https://ow.ly/vIWo50ZyOlM

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