Events Highlights
See photos and videos of events, workshops and project progress that our GIFT members and students participate in.
Upcoming Event: Zafigox – Women Empowerment and Travel 29-31 August
The first event in Asia dedicated to Women Empowerment and Travel, where women come together to discover, to learn, to meet and to be inspired. In conjunction with the George Town Festival 2017, one of the most exciting festivals in Southeast Asia, comes a one-of-a-kind event for women seeking to go beyond borders and boundaries. Attendees from all over the world will converge over three days for inspiring talks and panel discussions by international and Malaysian speakers, workshops on life and travel skills, an open-to-public bazaar showcasing women artisans and services geared towards the woman traveller and to meet with other women who share similar passions. Griffith Institute for Tourism member Dr. Catheryn Khoo-Lattimore will share her insights in a keynote speech.
Head to the website for more details on speakers, schedule and how to register for the event!
UNWTO World Conference on Tourism and Future Energy: Unlocking low-carbon growth
Professor Susanne Becken was the moderator of the Panel on ‘Sustainable Transport and Mobility in Tourism, Astana, Kazakhstan 26–27 June 2017. The conference brought together industry leaders and policy makers to discuss the contribution of the tourism sector to reducing carbon emissions and to explore new opportunities and innovative solutions for future energy in the global tourism sector.
Economic Workshop
What is the economic impact of events? It is not straightforward to measure and model how much an event is worth to the local economy, region or country. An expert workshop held at GIFT with representatives from State Government, Tourism Events Queensland, Gold Coast Tourism and Study Gold Coast discussed ‘good practice’ and issues to be considered for a evaluation standard for Queensland. The workshop was led by Dr Tien Pham, supported by Prof Larry Dwyer and Mr Nigel Smith (City of Gold Coast).
Sustainable and Social Tourism Summit 2017
The Sustainable and Social Tourism Summit 2017, held in Mexico included conference and panels dedicated to exchanging knowledge on matters of sustainability and social responsibility in tourism. Director of GIFT Dr Susanne Becken joined the event as a key speaker presenting on “Climate change and tourism: priorities for Mexico”.
Stage 1 of Charleville Cosmos Centre
Stage 1 of the refurbishment to Charleville Cosmos Centre is now complete! Dr. Brent Moyle from GIFT was at the opening of the refurbished Charleville Cosmos Centre & Observatory. Brent has worked with the Murweh Shire Council who own the attraction and Focus Productions from the Gold Coast to complete this project. Special thank you to all those involved including Noel Scott, Ali Bec, Meredith Wray and Charlee Moyle.
The third biennial Donald Getz Awards for Outstanding Research
On Friday April 7 2017, Dr Michelle Whitford celebrated the third biennial Donald Getz Award for outstanding research, held at Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC). This year Dr Michelle Whitford and Dr Dianne Dredge from Copenhagen received the awards for their research excellence.
Mentor Revolution Launch
Dr Sarah Gardiner has launched videos/podcasts featuring five of Queensland’s successful entrepreneurs in tourism, sport, events and hospitality. Produced by Me Media and funded through a Queensland Government Advance Queensland Young starters’ Fund grant, these stories aim to inspire young Queenslanders and university students to start a business in one of these high growth sectors. These photo’s take place at the official launch of Mentor Revolution.
CAUTHE 2017
Several GIFT members and PhD students attended the annual The Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE) Conference for 2017 from 7 to 10 of February in Dunedin, NZ. Congratulations to Ambrozio Queiroz Neto for winning the Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE) PhD Scholar Bursary and the Best PhD Scholar Paper “Rethinking destination competitiveness: The investigation of customer value in scuba diving tourism.”
Consumer Behavior in Tourism Symposium 2016
Professor Noel Scott gave a keynote speech at the combined Consumer Behavior in Tourism Symposium 2016 and Consumer Psychology of Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure Research Symposium 2016 in Bruneck-Brunico, Italy on the 15th of December. Professor Scott gave a presentation entitled “Experiences, Emotions and Memories: A cognitive psychology approach.”
Yugambeh Museum launches Didgeridoo Orchestra
Rory O’Connor, GIFT Advisory Board member, and CEO of the Yugambeh Museum, Language and Heritage Research Centre, launched the formation of a Didgeridoo Orchestra at Burleigh Heads on 5 December. The orchestra will bring together didgeridoo players from around Australia and will perform during the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Professor Noel Scott attended the launch which involved a welcome and smoking ceremony by the Jellurgal people, the traditional owners of the land around Burleigh Heads. Mayor Tom Tate attended the launch and welcomed this initiative.
COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco
Professor Susanne Becken and PhD Candidate Christopher Warren attended the Conference of Parties in Marrakech from 8 to 12 of November. Professor Susanne Becken along with Lucas Bobes, Environemtnal Group Office, Amadeus took part in the the tourism side event ‘Advancing Sustainable Tourism in a Changing Climate’ presenting their paper on ‘Carbon Reporting in Travel and Tourism’.
Three years of GIFT celebration!
Last week members and PHD students of Griffith Institute for Tourism got together to help celebrate three years GIFT. Key collaborators from other Research Institutes also came along help celebrate our institutes achievements and partnerships that we have created.
APEC Tourism Working Group Meeting
See photos from the APEC Tourism Working Group Meeting which our members took part of. Read more about the event here.
Australia Awards Indonesia program on Sustainable Tourism for Regional Development
From the 8th to the 13th of August, members of GIFT including deputy director of GIFT, Dr Noel Scott along with Sunshine Coast University delivered an Australia Awards Indonesia Pre-course Workshop at the event. See photo highlights of the successful workshop. To read more about the event click here.
Second East West Dialogue, Shanghai
Griffith Institute for Tourism at Griffith University held the Second East West Dialogue on Tourism in the China Dream on the 24th and 25th of September 2016. Read Professor Noel Scott’s recap of the event here.
UNWTO World Tourism Day, Bangkok
GIFT Adjunct Professor Steve Noakes attended the recent official UNWTO World Tourism Day conference in Bangkok, under the theme ‘Tourism for all … Promoting Universal Accessibility’ read more…
