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The purpose of this paper is to explore the notion of scholarship and develop research and scholarship strategies among Private Higher Institutions delivering Tourism and Hospitality degree programs in Australia. In doing so, this paper confronts the traditional view of research publications as the only form of scholarship by traditional universities. This paper argues that the purpose of scholarship should be focused towards improving a teacher's teaching and learning process. This new knowledge need not be limited through peer reviewed journals only, but can be achieved through less formal means of communication such as fieldtrips to industry and attending conferences. This paper utilizes the six Scholarship key points as defined on P. 19 of the National Protocols for Higher Education Approval Processes in Australia by MCEETYA to investigate methods to capture scholarship beyond traditional research publications.

This paper builds on some ideas recently presented by Boyd et al. (2010). In that paper, the focus was on the ways in which experienced academic staff articulate the teaching-research nexus. By presenting six short case accounts, this paper describes how a reflective narrative activity enabled some "new to academe" teachers to identify the teaching research nexus in their own work. For each of them, there was some particular reason or stimulus that led to them articulating the teaching-learning nexus in their work. Given the effectiveness of this method for enabling staff to consider the teaching-research nexus, this paper speculates on ways of drawing all academic staff to encounter the "concept" of the teaching-research nexus. (Contains 1 footnote.)

In this final, collaborative paper in the "Learning to be drier" edition, we reflect on and draw together some of the key threads from the diverse narratives in our four site papers from across the southern Murray-Darling Basin. Our paper title, "Wicked learning", draws on a recent body literature (Rittel & Webber 1973) about messy or "wicked problems" as characterised by Dietz and Stern (1998). It picks up on our identification of the difficulty and enormity of the learning challenges being faced by communities, associated, at best, with a decade of record dry years (drought) and severely over-committed rivers. At worst, drought is occurring in combination with and as a precursor to recent, progressive drying of the Basin associated with climate change. Our research is suggestive of a need for much more learning across all segments of the adult community about "... the big picture, including the interrelationships among the full range of causal factors ..." (Australian Public Service Commission, APSC 2007: 1) underlying the presenting problem of drying. We conclude that solutions to the messy or wicked problem of drying in an interconnected Basin will lie in the social domain. This will include building a wider knowledge and acceptance of the problems and likely future risks across the Basin including all parts of communities. The problem of drying as well as its causes and solutions are multidimensional, and will involve comprehensive learning about all five key characteristics of other "wicked" policy problems identified in previous research in the environmental arena. The narratives that we have heard identify the extreme difficulty in all four sites of rational and learned responses to being drier as the problem has unfolded. All narratives about being drier that we have heard involve a recognition of a combination of the five characteristics common to wicked problems: multidimensionality, scientific uncertainty, value confect and uncertainty, mistrust as well as urgency. All narratives identify the importance of social learning: to be productive, to be efficient, to survive, to live with uncertainty, to be sustainable and to share. Combating the extent and effects of drying, causality aside, will require new forms of learning through new community, social and learning spaces, apart from and in addition to new technological and scientific learning. (Contains 1 figure.)

Study abroad programs provide an excellent opportunity for students to accelerate their language learning and acquire cultural capital (Byram & Feng, 2006). Research into returnees from a variety of study abroad programs, however, has revealed that this is not always the case (e.g., Kinginger, 2011; Sato & Hodge, 2015; Yoshimitsu, 2009). To promote a more positive academic and culturally-inclusive study abroad experience, one recommendation is for language teachers to focus on students' digital literacy (Kinginger, 2011). Given the reported poor levels of digital literacy among Japanese freshman students (see Lockley 2011; Murray & Blyth, 2011), the researchers in this current study were attempting to determine if this wider trend also applied to students at their private university in Tokyo. The authors surveyed first-year College of Tourism and Hospitality (cth) students preparing for a year-long study abroad program. This paper will report on student responses to two sections of a computer literacy questionnaire created by Son, Robb and Charismadjiri (2011). The first section considers students responses to the digital self-assessment items, and in the second section, student results in a 10-item digital skills knowledge test will be reported on.

An increasing emphasis on university internationalisation, global citizenship education and outbound mobility experiences (OMEs) has seen international study travel become a key staple of tertiary education. University students undertake learning experience for academic credit overseas for a period shorter than a semester under the guidance of an academic staff member. With student participation increasing, greater consideration needs to be given to the ability of OMEs to deliver high quality learning outcomes to students, particularly within an intensive shortterm format. A majority of existing literature relays the experiences of academic staff in designing and facilitating OMEs (Brokaw, 1996; Gordon & Smith, 1992; Koernig 2007; Schuster, 1993), but an emerging literature also considers student experiences (Downey, Gothard & Gray, 2012; Evans, Finch, Toncar & Reid, 2008; Weaver & Tucker, 2010). While these evaluations are insightful, the observations may not be relevant to all of the wide variety of OMEs now being offered. This paper promotes a reconstructed Jafari (1987) tourism model as a framework to understand the various components of the student and staff travel experience while participating in an OME, especially short-term overseas study trips.

Assessment in work integrated learning (WIL) programs typically involves workplace supervisors rating student performance against criteria based on employability skills. Yet investigations of differences in employer ratings that may impact on student outcomes are rare. This paper reports on a pilot study that examined supervisor evaluations of the performance of tourism and hospitality management students undertaking a mandatory capstone internship, either paid or non-remunerated. The descriptive and exploratory statistical analysis examines data derived from over one hundred supervisor evaluation forms. A few significant differences in supervisor ratings of performance in paid and unpaid groups and in the relative importance of skills were found. Overall, the study affirmed that supervisors generally rate students highly on all skills. The skills that students are prepared for and assessed on in our WIL program were found to be of high value to local hosts. Implications for debates regarding supervisory input into assessing student performance are explored.

This paper explores how the socio-cultural milieu of a community may foster a sense of environmental stewardship among children and young people. Ethnographic fieldwork, carried out in a popular tourist destination in Australia, revealed that the overt impacts of tourism activity such as littering provoke negative feelings among children and young people; these perceptions can in turn translate into a sensitivity towards the environment. While debated in some circles, a Significant Life Experiences (SLE) lens is useful in understanding children and young people's lived experiences of -- and sensitivity to - environmental issues in the communities where they are raised. SLE is employed in this article to explore how a sense of stewardship towards the environment is developed among children and young people growing up in a tourist destination. Findings suggest they actively contribute to protecting the environment in a variety of ways from regular beach clean ups and educating visiting tourists to participating in rallies and anti-development protests.

Study tours abroad are important arenas for post-compulsory education. This paper focuses on how personality affects students' learning on study tours abroad. The research involved 66 learners from one higher education institution in Taiwan on tours to the UK, the USA and Australia. Data were gathered using questionnaires and learning journals, and informed by participant observation of the first author as tour leader. Findings can be only indicative as the study was limited to a relatively small sample from one institution and the tours were short term. The paper illustrates how study tours are a special example of experiential education. Data reveal notable, self-reported improvements in English language ability and cultural knowledge, supporting findings of other researchers. They also indicate, in terms of type theory, that extraverts and sensates derive the most benefit from study tours. The findings hold important implications for study tour leadership and organisation. (Contains 8 tables.)

This paper argues the need for the providers of ecotourism and other free-choice environmental learning experiences to promote the adoption of environmentally sustainable actions beyond their own sites, when visitors return to their home environments. Previous research indicates that although visitors often leave such experiences with a heightened awareness of conservation issues and intentions to adopt environmentally responsible behaviours, only a minority translate these intentions into real actions. Building on research and theory in relation to visitor experiences in free-choice learning environments, the paper identifies three different stages in the educational process and proposes a strategy for facilitating the translation of visitors' behavioural intentions into the adoption of sustainable actions through the provision of post-visit action resources. (Contains 3 figures.)

This paper compares four work-integrated learning (WIL) streams embedded in a professional Development course for tourism, hospitality and event management students. Leximancer was used to analyze key themes emerging from reflective portfolios completed by the 137 students in the course. Results highlight that student learning outcomes and experiences differed depending on the WIL stream chosen. Aristotle's notions of episteme, techne and phronesis are used as a broad framework for situating the key themes that emerge from students' reflections.

The study provides an in-depth perspective of the Journal of Convention and Event Tourism (JCET). It presents the journal's evolution and development since 2005 by evaluating the research papers retrieved from the Scopus database. Additionally, it also shows the changing trends in MICE tourism. With the help of the Bibliometrix tool, the study analyzes and visualizes the descriptive, conceptual, social and intellectual structure of JCET. For this purpose, thematic, co-citation, and co-authorship analyses have been conducted. The results revealed that USA and Australia are the leading countries, and Fenich GG is the leading author. The following keywords appear frequently in the journal: convention, meetings, event, meeting planner, satisfaction, and convention centers. The knowledge presented in this analysis provides strategic information on scientific studies that will help researchers develop and plan their future studies in the field of event tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to share the authors' initial insights into tourism industry capacity building via flexibly delivered online skilling and knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach: An online research survey approach was employed, involving a sample of 64 micro tourism operators. Findings: The paper finds that the major benefits perceived by operators across the pilot region, were the time saving aspects demonstrated in the smart form concept. Operators were also drawn in by the best practise examples and direct links to the online resources to bring and keep them up to date with industry information and developments. Research limitations/implications: The data presented in this paper represent initial findings of the pilot project. The project has since been completed. Practical implications: The model used for the pilot in this paper has been adopted by the Tourism Accreditation Board of Victoria and is now being considered for national rollout across Australia. The model is a practical and replicable capacity building model for micro tourism operators anywhere. Originality/value: The paper adopts a collaborative learning network approach to micro business capacity building and training. (Contains 1 note.)

This article explores notions of learning in the niche market sector of educational tourism, with a focus on organised recreational tours that promote a structured learning experience as a key feature. It analyses the qualitative findings of surveys and interviews with a cross-section of educational tourism providers in Australia, their lifelong-learning client markets and Australian academic scholars participating in this sector. The paper examines the differing perceptions of providers, participants and academics to what they expect from such tours, what constitutes learning within them and how particularly adult learning occurs through them.

Our paper explores how and what adults living and working in the Alpine region of Victoria understand and are learning about the changes to water availability, in a time when the response to water availability is subject to extensive debate and policy attention. Interviews for this study were conducted in the towns of Bright and Mount Beauty, with participants drawn from across the Alpine region. The interviews focused on what local stakeholders from the Alpine region understood about water availability in the region and how and what they had learned about living and working with climatic changes in their local area. The findings of our study see that there was evidence of a strong understanding of the direct and indirect impact of climate change on participants' local community area. The study also sees evidence of learning through a community "frames of reference" as outlined by Berkhout, Hertin and Dann et al.

This paper addresses the practice of professional development within the Vocational Education and Training (VET) arena. The study object was to gain the perceptions held by a selected group of VET educators in the tourism and hospitality sector of the professional teaching/training competencies required for effective practice. The study was conducted utilising narrative inquiry, a qualitative research technique. The investigation concentrated on a case study context of educators currently working within a department of tourism and hospitality at a VET registered training organisation. Interviews were conducted with 10 front-line teaching educators and 4 management Heads of Department. Findings indicated that there was a breadth of professional teaching and training competencies required by VET educators to assist with effective delivery of teaching and learning strategies in the VET sector. (Contains 1 table.)

Research on professional socialisation in higher education has been conducted in nursing, pharmacy, teaching and law, but there is a lack of studies on professional socialisation in tourism and hospitality education. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by revising the professional socialisation framework 'Conceptualising Graduate and Professional Student Socialisation' through the findings of a broader study on the professional socialisation of Chinese international students enrolled in tourism and hospitality degrees at a particular Australian university. The study examined diverse stakeholders' perceptions of attributes needed by Chinese graduates with Australian university qualifications in tourism and hospitality management entering the Chinese hotel industry. The revised framework, 'Higher Education Students' Professional Socialisation Framework', suggests different processes for enhancing the socialisation and career development of Chinese international students with an Australian tourism and hospitality management degree through work-integrated learning; language learning and communication; teamwork and mentoring; and interactions among different stakeholders. Furthermore, workplace socialisation emphasises mentoring and recognises different approaches to career development. Finally, the revised framework explains how the different stakeholders impact on the professional socialisation of students and graduates. The revised framework, which has a cross-cultural dimension, is generic and can be applied to other fields of study and to both international and domestic students in higher education.

The importance of cross-cultural experiences in teacher education has become more pressing than ever. The composition of schools across Australia is increasingly more diverse, therefore it is pertinent to examine and develop pre-service teachers' worldview and culturally sensitive dispositions critical for teaching in predominantly multicultural classrooms. This paper examines whiteness and otherness within the notion of "tourist gaze" and its implication in the development of racially aware teachers in cross-cultural teaching programmes and mostly in retrospect, a programme that could dismantle the naturalisation of privilege identities and structures. It presents students' dispositions and observations about cultural and pedagogical practices different from their own. The fragmented journal accounts of participants were juxtaposed using the active methodology of bricolage and represented through critical reflection and racial understandings. This enacts a provocative stance between the personal and analytical towards becoming white teachers by turning one's gaze of the non-white other towards the self-as-white.

Geographers are increasingly grappling with the theoretical and practical implications of integrating an ethics of reciprocity into undergraduate learning and teaching. This paper draws on the unexpected experiences of a third-year human geography research methods fieldtrip to examine the process of balancing undergraduate student learning and assessment outcomes, with tangible outputs often-desired by Indigenous tour operator partners. Reflections from students and academic staff highlight the challenges of realizing ideals of reciprocity within the complex and ever shifting cross-cultural research context.

Featuring research cases in Australia, China, Japan, Switzerland and the United States, from cosmopolitan New York to the American wilderness, this Special Issue reviews the ways in which popular media can be engaged through tourism across the globe. In this introduction, we set the scene for the six papers that follow, which collectively demonstrate the diversity of touristic, cultural and societal engagement with different forms of popular media through travel and tourism. The qualitative research papers present rich theoretical analysis and diverse and deliberate methodological approaches to critically examine a range of theoretical themes and constructs, including more amorphous concepts such as mediatised mobility, nationalism, gendered narratives and inter- and intra-personal authenticity, to more practical demonstrations of destination choice, contents tourism, placemaking and fandom. Each paper features a different popular media, including music, film, television series, animation, advertising and social media, and contributing authors critique the manifold uses of these mediums in tourism as well as their theoretical, managerial and operational implications. Also presented in this introduction is a brief explanation of the mentoring process in which some of the contributors participated to develop their scholarly practice and reflections with the support of a ‘critical reader’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper advances scholarship on "lesbian and gay rural idylls". A growing literature examines how "lesbian and gay rural idylls" are not only produced in opposition to the urban, but are themselves urban constructs. We extend these contentions by exploring the processes of idyllisation suffusing lesbian and gay festival tourism in Daylesford, a town in non-metropolitan Victoria, Australia. We find that Daylesford's idyllisation by the lesbian and gay tourism industry blurs the urban/rural binary, and instead hybridises rurality and urbanity in the tourism images and practices of "cosmopolitan country" associated with the town. Research findings from Daylesford are analysed to examine how the dynamics of tourism marketing and festival attendance help produce and articulate this hybrid variant of the "lesbian and gay rural idyll". We utilise two sets of mostly qualitative data for this inquiry: travel commentaries in the news media, and a survey conducted in Daylesford at the 2006 ChillOut Festival, Australia's largest lesbian and gay rural festival. (Contains 4 figures and 2 tables.)

Since 2002, The Central Queensland Conservatorium of Music (CQCM) has maintained a partnership with Hamilton Island Enterprises (HIE). Within this partnership the Bachelor of Music (Jazz & Popular) students visit Hamilton Island (HI), an island resort located off the Australian east coast, 4-6 times annually to engage in 3-10 days of performance and educational activities. During each visit, students within the degree present daily performances in the HI's entertainment zones. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the CQCM/HIE partnership on the development of students' adjunct professional skills, working with band equipment, time management in the set-up process and interacting with venue management.

Many developed countries have issues with the movement of populations away from rural areas. There has been an active move towards "value adding" in rural areas, and in particular, the development of tourism activities, to counter this trend. The purpose of this paper is to document the curriculum development process that was engaged in, in the design, delivery and outcomes of a programme designed to encourage and equip rural entrepreneurs to extend into the tourism and hospitality industries. These entrepreneurs operate in Hedmark Region of Norway and the training took place in Brisbane, Australia. The development and delivery of the training programme took place in Norway and Australia. The methodology is qualitative and it is hoped the research will lead to a longitudinal study of the impact of lifestyle entrepreneurs on local economic development in rural areas. The action research process that was engaged in means that the entrepreneurs are active participants in the research, and the quality of their feedback and willingness to discuss their changed behaviour are critical to both evaluating the impact of the programme and the potential for further study on the economic impact of their activities. The development process and the nature of the curriculum used for these entrepreneurs may well provide insights into effective training for lifestyle entrepreneurs in other contexts. The participants were asked to evaluate the programme immediately on its conclusion and six months after the programme when they were interviewed in their place of operation.

This paper addresses the practice of professional development within the vocational education and training (VET) arena. The study objective was to explore appropriate education qualifications for Australian VET practitioners in the tourism and hospitality sector required for effective teaching practice. The study was conducted utilising qualitative research techniques. The investigation concentrated on a case-study context of VET practitioners currently working within a department of tourism and hospitality at a number of Australian VET registered training organisations. Interviews were conducted with 10 front-line teaching practitioners and four management heads of department. Results of the study indicated that a career VET practitioner should demonstrate a commitment to professionalism by completing a higher education qualification.

The northern Wet Tropics rainforest of Australia was declared a world heritage site in 1988 and now supports an extensive tourism industry that attracts an estimated 2.5 million local and international visits annually. As part of the visitor experience, many sites include both environmental and cultural interpretation experiences, which range from static displays to one-on-one guided tours. This paper identifies visitor demand and level of satisfaction with the static signage and displays used at rainforest sites throughout the Wet Tropics. The research involves visitor surveys conducted in 2007 and 2008 and observations at a number of rainforest sites. The results indicate that visitors consider the level of interpretation to be adequate, but appear to use it poorly. While higher at commercial sites, visitor interest in reading the interpretation is very low at public sites. Overall, this article seeks to address whether the aims of nature-based interpretation, including education and the influencing of attitudes and site behaviour, are being achieved. (Contains 3 tables.)

The role of the non-Indigenous educator and researcher in education on Indigenous issues is becoming the subject of critical scrutiny. Indigenous academics are successfully turning the gaze on non-Indigenous peers and practices. This paper narrates some of the experiences of a non-Indigenous educator teaching an undergraduate elective Indigenous tourism course. The educator has attempted to respect the principles of an evolving Indigenist paradigm in the development, running and review of the course. In particular, the educator consulted with Indigenous academics and leaders in the development of the course and its curriculum; privileged Indigenous voices throughout the curriculum (in readings, audio-visuals, guest lectures and tutorial exercises); and facilitated student interaction with the local Indigenous community and land. My work as a non-Indigenous educator in the new academic field of tourism studies is currently pivotally important because Indigenous academics are not yet asserting their claim to this field. In my attempts to adhere to an Indigenist paradigm I aim to create important opportunities to ensure appropriate discourse and encourage Indigenous academics into the field. In relation to appropriate discourse and learning, student feedback so far indicates important transformations in consciousness are occurring. However, the problematic of the non-Indigenous educator speaking for Indigenous peoples as "essentialised Others" remains a key concern. While the tensions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous in the conduct of Indigenous education are real and important, this work in the teaching of Indigenous tourism suggests that the resolution of tensions require alliances and shifts in power. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

Higher education, particularly in the area of international education has exhibited significant growth since the mid-1980s. Whilst it is beginning to attract research from both educational and tourism industry perspectives, the current body of knowledge regarding this market is still quite limited. This is particularly the case in the area of associated visiting friends and relatives' travel patterns and expenditure. The findings of a research project on international students at a leading university in Western Australia are presented in this paper. The importance of tourism arising from visits by family and friends of international (higher education) students within WA is estimated at between A$10.3 million and A$17.4 million per annum. This represents between 1.0% and 1.7% of international tourist expenditure in WA in 1999. The significance of international student family and friends' travel behaviour within WA is presented, followed by a discussion regarding marketing implications, based on conclusions arising from this research. (Contains 9 tables.)

Since the 1970s, Tamworth has become well known as Australia's "country music capital". Its annual Country and Western Music Festival has become the leading event of its type in Australia, attracting over 60,000 visitors every year. The festival, and country music more generally, have become central to the town's identity and tourism marketing strategies. This article discusses the social constructions that have surrounded Tamworth's transition to "country music capital"-of the "rural", and of "country"-within the context of debates about the politics of place marketing. Textual analysis of promotional material and built landscapes reveals representations of rurality (or "senses of the rural"). In their most commercial form, representations of rurality converge on a dominant notion of "country", quite different from the "countryside" and "rural idyll" in England. This dominant, or "normative" "country" forms the basis of imagery for the festival, the Town's marketing strategy, and associated advertising campaigns by major sponsors. It is predominantly masculine, white, working class and nationalist. But links between musical style and discourses of place are complex. Colonial British histories, Celtic musical traditions and North American popular culture all inform "country" in Tamworth, dissipating nationalist interpretations. Normative constructions also contrast with other, heterogeneous ruralities in Australia, that include the lived experiences of rural Australians, and on stage-in country music-where multiple "ruralised" identities are performed. Even those who stand to benefit from place promotion have been uncertain about country music and "the country", because of associated discourses of Tamworth as "hick" and "redneck". In the final section of the paper, reactions of residents to constructions of Tamworth as country music capital are discussed, via the results of a simple resident survey. In contrast to previous studies of the disempowering politics of place marketing, Tamworth residents were on the whole supportive of the new associations and images for the town, despite "hick" connotations, as it has become a centre for "country", and for country music. Reasons for this are explored, and resistances discussed. The result is a complex and entangled politics of national identity, gender, race and class, where meanings for place are variously interpreted and negotiated.

The geological heritage of Australia's landscapes and World Heritage areas has generally been underpromoted to the public by the tourism industry. However, in 2008, the fledgling world of geotourism in Australia received a significant boost with two events: the Inaugural Global Geotourism Conference 'Discover the Earth beneath our Feet' held in Fremantle, Western Australia, and the declaration of the UNESCO Kanawinka Global Geopark, which linked volcanic regions in South Australia and Victoria. Simultaneously the Australian Federal Government launched the 'Australian National Landscapes' (ANL) program. However, this impetus was not sustained when the Kanawinka Global Geopark was deregistered as a UNESCO-branded geopark in 2012, and the ANL program faded within a decade. Despite these setbacks, as an outcome of the 2008 Fremantle conference, several productive lines of geotourism have developed across Australia. This paper reviews the history of Australian geotourism since 2008. It examines the impacts of the experiences, lessons learned, problems for geology as perceived by National Parks and the Environment movement, geological communication problems, and the subsequent evolution of Australian geotourism. From these issues, new non-government bodies and initiatives have arisen, including the Australian Geoparks Network, the Australian Geoscience Council, and the recent development of a National Geotourism Strategy. Strong elements emerging from these initiatives are the increasing development of geotrails (which suit the large Australian continent) and the new Australian concept of 'GeoRegions'. These are in response to an awareness that geotourism requires a flexible outlook to widen the appreciation and appeal of geological heritage and landscapes to the broader public. A further new direction is suggested: for Australian geotourism to combine with some elements of ICOMOS Cultural Routes. An outstanding example, the ICOMOS Overland Telegraph Line (OTL) Cultural Route that crosses Australia from south to north, is considered. For 2000 km, the construction of this line in the 1870s followed the regional geology and hydrology, relying upon the available biota but bringing about a clash of human cultures. The six colonies of Australia were finally linked to the world by wire, but the arrival of the OTL had a significant impact on the country's Indigenous inhabitants. In Australia and globally, geotourism is incorporating the A–B–Cs (abiotic, biotic and cultural elements) to more effectively encourage the public to value their landscapes and the associated stories. The OTL provides an example of a newly introduced fourth dimension for geotourism, which gives consideration to the socio-political context of landscape adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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There are many studies that have focussed on the different dimensions of employment in several industries during COVID-19. However, the impact of the pandemic on employment in the tourism industries has been underexplored. Moreover, we are not aware of any study that has considered the impact of the pandemic on employment in different sub-sectors within the tourism industries. This paper analyzes the effect of COVID-19 on employment in Australian tourism industries using fractional integration. Using quarterly data (2004-2021) and disaggregating data by sectors, we examine two samples, one ending in December 2019 and the other one in December 2021. The novelty of this study is the consideration of the effect of this pandemic on employment in different sub-sectors that constitute the tourism industry. Our results indicate that the current pandemic has not produced significant changes in the persistence of the series. The only significant changes take place for the retail trade industry that moves from mean reversion to lack of it, and the cafes and restaurants in the opposite direction. One of the implications of the results is that interventions before the pandemic, such as concerted marketing efforts, are useful to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on tourism related industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effects of economic and political uncertainties on tourism demand using the 'World Uncertainty Index' (WUI). This index is more a sophisticated and reliable measure of global uncertainty than previous indices used by the literature. The findings show that uncertainty shocks affect travels for business, holidays, and visiting friends/relatives purposes negatively. It is statistically significant for duration of stay of 1 week to less than one month in Australia. This effect dissipates for longer stays. This study provides insightful information to destinations on how consumers adjust their behaviour during period of political and economic uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an empirical case study of impacts of COVID‐19 on Australia's wine sector. Wine exports were subject to disruptions and, like domestic wine sales, were adversely affected not only by temporary declines in consumers' expected incomes but also by the social distancing measures and self‐isolation that led to closure of restaurants, bars, cafes and clubs plus declines in international travel and tourism. Partly offsetting this has been a boost to off‐premise and direct e‐commerce sales. We first estimate those impacts and their expected partial recovery in 2021 using a new model of global beverage markets. Then, we add results on regional effects, including through domestic wine tourism, using a new economy‐wide model with sub‐national regions. The paper concludes by drawing lessons on how this sector's resilience to future global shocks could be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workers' living standards have recently deteriorated in the service sector throughout the world, although a few decades ago, service was among the fastest growing sectors in industrialised nations. However, in recent years, in service sectors tourism especially has been drying up. This paper examines the symmetric and asymmetric effects of tourism, market capital, financial development, and trade on service sector employment in Australia from the period 1991-2019. The results of the cointegration tests, notably the ARDL and NARDL bound tests, reveal that the variables are related in the long run. The positive effect of tourist arrival on service sector employment in Australia is confirmed by long-run estimates from both ARDL and NARDL approaches. Similarly, both approaches also confirm the long-run positive relation of financial development. However, while ARDL shows long-run negative and positive associations of market capital and trade, respectively, the opposite is found in the case of the NARDL approach. As a result, policy proposals like planning and initiating tools for ensuring consistent international arrivals and easing of entry requirements have been recommended by this study to assist Australia in enhancing service sector employment, thus promoting economic development., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Geoparks in Australia have had a complex recent history. Following the demise of the former Kanawinka UNESCO Geopark in 2012, two potential UNESCO Global Geopark projects supported by local government agencies and embracing large areas were initiated in other Australian regions in 2016. These were for the Etheridge Geopark in Far North Queensland and the Warrumbungle Geopark in New South Wales, both featuring important volcanic phenomena. However, both proposals failed to proceed to the stage where they could be nominated by any Australian government as Aspiring UNESCO Global Geoparks. This paper focuses on the genesis of these issues and what steps have been undertaken, lessons learnt, and measures that are now being undertaken to obtain government support and broad community engagement for geopark projects. In essence, it has now been recommended that any future proposal should avoid reference to the word 'geopark' and focus instead on communicating, as a first step, the concept of a 'GeoRegion'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal-based experiences are a significant feature of the attractions profile of many tourist destinations. The koala is an iconic species that plays an important role in Australian tourism, both symbolically and materially. Due to the species being endemic to Australia and its human baby-like qualities together with numerous and long-standing representations in popular culture, the koala has become an integral component of Australia's destination identity and subsequently deployed by government and industry bodies to promote Australia as an international tourist destination. The koala continues to play a major role in a variety of tourist experiences, with captive presentations the predominant form of contemporary koala-based tourism. Drawing on Beardsworth and Bryman's (2001) four modes of engagement with wild animals and utilising a historical and socio-cultural analytical approach, the paper examines the involvement of the koala in tourism through (i) representation via texts and images, (ii) presentation through captive exhibits, (iii) quasification through museum exhibits, souvenirs and koala sculpture trails and (iv) encounters in the wild. Anthropomorphic renderings of the koala appear to have been important in the construction of the koala as a tourist attraction as well as in its continued symbolic and material involvement in tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of social media has created a new medium for administering surveys for tourism research. While social media has great potential for tourism researchers, several aspects need to be considered. In the case of backpackers, a traditionally "difficult-to-sample" group, destination-based surveys, email surveys, survey links posted in online forums, and social media sites such as Facebook have all been used to administer surveys. The purpose of this paper is to present the case for a mixed-mode dual-frame sampling procedure as an optimum for targeting backpackers. The sampling procedure discussed in this paper included self-administered surveys through backpacker-specific groups on Facebook.com and self-administered surveys at backpacker hostels in Cairns, Australia. This paper argues that for this particular group, combining offline and online sampling modes allows the research to minimize errors while maximizing the diversity. Additionally, this paper provides some insights and recommendations into administering surveys through Facebook for tourism researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many claims are made about the emergence of a 'leisure society', some focusing on the so-called 'leisure shock' and others on the 'end of work'. In much of this writing, definition of the core concept of 'leisure' is problematical. Many see leisure as 'time left over' after obligatory commitments have been met. From this perspective, leisure, recreation and tourism are viewed as components of 'leisure time', defined on the basis of the location of the activity in question (home, day trip, overnight stay). This actor-based approach to defining leisure is widely used but has drawbacks. The paper explores an alternative approach. It focuses on how leisure is socially constructed in the media. This is an enormous topic and the paper limits attention to a quantitative content analysis of the coverage of 'leisure' in the main 'news' section of a quality broadsheet (the Sydney Morning Herald) in 2004. Adopting the agenda-setting approach to media impact, the paper gives an insight into the aspects of leisure covered by Australia's largest selling broadsheet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]