Freya Higgins-Desbiolles | University of South Australia (original) (raw)

Books by Freya Higgins-Desbiolles

Tourism in Palestine has been receiving an increasingly important profile given its economic and ... more Tourism in Palestine has been receiving an increasingly important profile given its economic and religious importance and the significant role it plays in Israeli-Palestinian relations, representation of Palestinian statehood and identity, and wider Middle Eastern politics. Nevertheless, Palestine, like much of the Middle East as a whole, remains extremely underrepresented in tourism literature. This title aims to fill this void by being the first book dedicated to exploring the significance of tourism in relationship to Palestine.

The book examines the role of tourism in Palestine at three main levels. First, it provides an overview of destination management and marketing issues for the tourism industry in Palestine and addresses not only the visitor markets and the economic significance of tourism but also the realities of the difficulties of destination management, marketing and promotion of the Palestinian state. Second, it provides a series chapters and case studies that interrogate not only the various forms of tourism in Palestine but also its economic, social, environmental and spiritual importance. This section also conveys a dimension to tourism in Palestine that is not usually appreciated in the Western mainstream media. The third section indicates the way in which tourism in Palestine highlights broader questions and debates in tourism studies and the way in which travel in the region is framed in wider discourses. A significant dimension of the book is the attention it gives to the different voices of stakeholders in Palestinian tourism at varying levels of scale.

This timely volume will offer the reader significant insight into the challenges and issues of tourism in this area now and in the future. It will benefit those interested in tourism, Middle East studies, politics, economics, development studies and geography.

Papers by Freya Higgins-Desbiolles

Routledge eBooks, Jun 29, 2020

Concerns with growth have steadily advanced since the Limits to Growth report due particularly to... more Concerns with growth have steadily advanced since the Limits to Growth report due particularly to human impacts on the natural environment. Since that time, neoliberal capitalism has become increasingly reliant on growth exacerbating these problems. The destructive outcomes of these strategies has led to a growing interest in degrowth. Analysts are examining how we can create economies that eschew a growth imperative while still supporting human thriving. Tourism as a key facet of capitalism is implicated in these issues and recent concerns with "overtourism" are only one symptom of the problem. This article presents a conceptual consideration of issues of degrowth in tourism. It examines current tensions in international mobility and argues just and sustainable degrowth will require greater attention to equity. This analysis suggests that essential to such an agenda is redefining tourism to focus on the rights of local communities and a rebuilding of the social capacities of tourism. This article argues for the redefinition of tourism in order to place the rights of local communities above the rights of tourists for holidays and the rights of tourism corporates to make profits.

John Wiley & Sons, Ltd eBooks, Apr 4, 2014

Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Oct 31, 2018

The United Nations released the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) following the 2012 Rio þ20 U... more The United Nations released the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) following the 2012 Rio þ20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development. This articulated 17 SDGs that balance the environmental, social and economic aspects of development, setting a timespan between 2015 and 2030 to end global poverty through sustainable development approaches. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the tourism industry as a critical component of the global economy can play an important role in influencing consumers to participate in sustainability through their food consumption choices. Research shows restaurants and caf es around the world have offered sustainability best practice initiatives drawing attention to the political consequences of personal eating habits. This article presents the findings from case study research of twenty Australian restaurants featuring sustainability in their business concept and in their practices. Findings indicate that restaurants make surprising and valuable contributions to the SDG agenda. These restaurants' efforts range from: implementation of specific SDGs; using food as a way to unite and empower people; educating their stakeholders about environmental and community impacts of sustainability practices; and modelling alternatives that in some cases address critical questions of how are we to live.

In Australia, a (re)emerging and hot trend is featuring native foods in restaurants, food tours a... more In Australia, a (re)emerging and hot trend is featuring native foods in restaurants, food tours and culinary arts. Based on the conceptual analysis for research undertaken for a pilot project examining the interface between restaurants and Indigenous Australian native foods providers, this paper argues that this emerging industry should be directed to ensuring Indigenous Australian benefit from the opportunities that are offered. Informed by an Indigenist philosophy, this paper takes a position that the Indigenous foods sector should serve Indigenous Australian economic, political, legal, socio-cultural and environmental interests. Such an argument is based on the values of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the preeminent status of Indigenous peoples and their knowledges and the imperative to address Indigenous Australian disadvantage. Acknowledging an Indigenous cuisine might offer: an authentic identity, nourishing and sustainable food sources, a path to reconciliation and most importantly, Indigenous Australian well-being.

Routledge eBooks, Apr 1, 2021

Research in the area of sustainable tourism continues to grow, however a lack of understanding re... more Research in the area of sustainable tourism continues to grow, however a lack of understanding regarding necessary action inhibits progress. McCloskey's (2015) critique regarding the failure of the MDGs, as a direct result of a lack of critical consciousness, and understanding of the structural contexts of poverty and under-development, provided the impetus for our work. McCloskey (2015) signals the important role of education in fostering transitions to sustainability. As such, we have applied our critical lens to the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Our paper offers tools for critically thinking through the potential for the SDGs to help shape the tourism industry for more sustainable, equitable, and just futures. We positioned six themes to serve as a conceptual framework for interrogating the SDG agenda in tourism; arising from our considerations of both reformist and radical pathways to sustainable transitions in tourism: critical tourism scholarship, gender in the sustainable development agenda, engaging with Indigenous perspectives and other paradigms, degrowth and the circular economy, governance and planning, and ethical consumption. We address these core themes as essential platforms to critique the SDGs in the context of sustainable tourism development, and highlight the cutting edge research carried out by our contributors in this special issue.

Degrowth and Tourism, 2020

the ability to re-imagine a food system that values farmers, animals, seasonality and our environ... more the ability to re-imagine a food system that values farmers, animals, seasonality and our environment. Chefs are our new rock stars; food venues, our new community hubs. This report details the incredible work being done by those who are at the forefront of recognising the role that the hospitality industry has to play in reducing its environmental footprint and acting as sustainability leaders. These cafés, restaurants and organisations lead by example; they value their people, they let the produce speak for itself and operate in a way that fosters social inclusion and treads more lightly on our planet. This report is an important read for anyone who eats out; actually, for anyone who eats. For those wishing to learn more about how to define sustainability in the context of a food business and about how ethically-minded organisations are working to shape a food culture that takes into account more than just price, then this report is for you. The road to sustainability is not always easy. It's not always immediately financially rewarding either. Yet what rings true from reading the case studies within this report is that it is always, always inspiring and it is always driven by a few committed people who are making a remarkable contribution to their field, to the environment and to the communities they serve.

Encyclopedia of Tourism, 2016

Aboriginal tourism is defined as special events (corroboree, dances, festivals, powwows), experie... more Aboriginal tourism is defined as special events (corroboree, dances, festivals, powwows), experiential tourism (guided hikes, interpretation, wildlife tourism, applied activities), arts and crafts, museums, historical recreations , restaurants, accommodations, and casinos that involve aboriginal cultures and are offered by or are located in aboriginal communities and/or lands (Getz and Jamieson 1997). It can also include memorials and commemorations at battlefields and contested terrains and opportunities derived from the comanagement of protected areas. Ownership (in part or whole) by aboriginal communities or businesses or by not-for-profit entities is an essential component of these tourism products (Kapashesit et al. 2011).

Tourism is one of the largest and fastest rising services businesses in the world. It has the pos... more Tourism is one of the largest and fastest rising services businesses in the world. It has the possible to create many works and create huge wealth. Tourism has become a human rights subject and tourism rights means recognising and addressing the multiple human rights effects and topics related with tourism. It effects on the survival, the environment of original people, the welfare of other cultures. The incongruence and exploitation of the poor by the rich is intrinsic to the worst sort of tourism practices. Actually, tourism growth regularly violates people's human rights, chiefly poor and vulnerable societies in developing countries, exacerbating poverty and trapping publics in cycles of privation. I am conscious that tourism industry can have negative impacts, though it's sometimes hard to know what to do about it.

Journal of Tourism Futures, 2021

PurposeThis article considers the possibilities of and barriers to socialising tourism after the ... more PurposeThis article considers the possibilities of and barriers to socialising tourism after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Such an approach allows us to transform tourism and thereby evolve it to be of wider benefit and less damaging to societies and ecologies than has been the case under the corporatised model of tourism.Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual analysis draws on the theorisation of “tourism as a social force” and the new concept of “socialising tourism”. Using critical tourism approaches, it seeks to identify the dynamics that are evident in order to assess the possibilities for socialising tourism for social and ecological justice. It employs an Indigenous perspective that the past, present and future are interconnected in its consideration of tourism futures.FindingsCOVID-19 has fundamentally disrupted tourism, travel and affiliated industries. In dealing with the crisis, borders have been shut, lockdowns imposed and international tourism cu...

Annals of Tourism Research, 2021

Abstract This research aims to identify opportunities for the tourism industry to effectively add... more Abstract This research aims to identify opportunities for the tourism industry to effectively address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in ways that respect Indigenous priorities and support development aspirations of Indigenous peoples. We do so via case studies of Indigenous tourism among small-medium sized enterprises in Fiji, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The research finds that the Indigenous tourism enterprises operated in the spirit of many of the SDGs, even when they had low awareness of these goals. It also finds that Indigenous values and lifeways – such as appreciation of the intrinsic connection between nature and culture - correspond with the SDG agenda, and could be used to further advance this agenda in ways that benefit Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 2020

As we confront social, ecological and economic challenges, some look to a new model described as ... more As we confront social, ecological and economic challenges, some look to a new model described as the purpose economy as a pathway to more sustainable and just futures. Responsible and sustainable events are increasingly of interest to both academics and practitioners. However, little work has explored the capacities for social entrepreneurship in events management and ways that events can build socio-cultural well-being. This article presents a case study of an unusual events business known as GOGO Events located in Adelaide, South Australia. For some eight years, GOGO has offered a social enterprise initiative training and supporting teams of marginalised people to create and install event installations. To accomplish this, GOGO's founder has built a web of stakeholders, including: corporate clients; not for profit organisations supporting homeless and vulnerable people; and these vulnerable people themselves. Together they build networks of care and social change. Using the lens of feminist care ethics, we analyse how such work contributes to building the purpose economy. These efforts move beyond corporate social responsibility and suggest events businesses can help build community, create relationships of care and contribute to more sustainable and fair futures. After COVID-19, such socially committed work has become even more imperative.

Tourism Geographies, 2020

The large number of commentaries in this special issue reflect the need that so many people have ... more The large number of commentaries in this special issue reflect the need that so many people have to express themselves as a way of releasing the anxieties and integrating the hopes that the COVID-19 pandemic has engendered in individuals and groups around the world. The guest editors of this special issue provide the following comments in reflecting on the major themes that are envisioned for travel and tourism in a COVID-19 world. Comments from the guest editors are individually identified in this conclusion editorial.

Routledge eBooks, Jun 29, 2020

John Wiley & Sons, Ltd eBooks, Apr 4, 2014

Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Oct 31, 2018

Routledge eBooks, Apr 1, 2021

Degrowth and Tourism, 2020

Encyclopedia of Tourism, 2016

Journal of Tourism Futures, 2021

Annals of Tourism Research, 2021

Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 2020

Tourism Geographies, 2020

Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 2019

Tourism Analysis, 2018

A climate of neoliberalism challenges the work of scholars whose research focuses on societal wel... more A climate of neoliberalism challenges the work of scholars whose research focuses on societal well-being through embedded community research and critical analysis of public policy, planning, and industry practices, what we call academic activism. This article draws on the autoethnographic insights and critical narratives of four tourism scholars to describe and analyze in a systematic manner the experiences of these researchers each engaged in what they consider to be academic activism. Our aim is to bring into focus and raise as matters of concern the future of tourism research in the neoliberal university and the need for greater critical and reflexive engagement by researchers in their positionality and agency. Although the contexts in which we work and our experiences differ greatly, the article identifies common themes, challenges, and opportunities within our approaches to research and action. Four emergent themes arose through the narrative analysis that helped to structure i...

http://www.op.ac.nz/assets/Email/symposium2013/J01332-symposium.pdf

No High Hopes for Hopeful Tourism

convened by the international NGO The Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism (ECOT) and Middle Eastern N... more convened by the international NGO The Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism (ECOT) and Middle Eastern NGOs the Alternative Tourism Group and Golan for Development

Sustainability and its attainment is one of the most important challenges of our time. Ever since... more Sustainability and its attainment is one of the most important challenges of our time. Ever since the Brundtland Report popularised the concept of sustainable development, communities around the globe have been confronting how to balance the needs of humanity for consumption of resources with the finite limits of the environment and considerations of social equity and well-being. The hospitality industry has engaged with these issues through efforts at corporate social responsibility, greening agendas and sustainability initiatives. Simultaneously, restaurants and café around the world have offered creative initiatives and models of best practice which have spread, multiplied and evolved starting arguably from when Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse in 1971 in Berkeley, California and drew attention to “the political consequences of personal eating habits” (Johnston & Baumann, 2015:8-9).
To open this report we offer a brief overview of sustainability before explaining how it applies to the restaurant sector. The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) defines sustainability as “restaurants managing the social and environmental impacts of their operations” (Sustainable Restaurant Association, n.d.). We use the triple bottom line approach to explore how sustainability can be enacted in terms of environmental, economic and social sustainability. We also offer a brief consideration of key ethical issues, including fair trade and animal welfare. These opening remarks are intended to offer a context for understanding the 20 case studies that we offer as a result of our year-long research project.
These 20 case studies were gathered from research undertaken in Adelaide and Goolwa in South Australia, and Melbourne, Victoria, supported by funding from the Le Cordon Bleu‒ University of South Australia 2014 grants scheme. This research project represents an expansion of a 2011 pilot study conducted with one restaurateur exploring the way he used his sustainable café to foster an engagement with sustainability amongst all the café’s stakeholders.
Using a semi-structured interview technique, we interviewed 20 restaurateurs and chefs who were recognised by the food media or by experts as pioneers in aspects of sustainability. We interviewed under the understanding that contributions would not be anonymous and we requested permission to attribute quotes to interviewees (with the option for them to preview all such quotes in advance of publication). Restaurants were selected through purposive sampling based on expert recognition of the enterprise as a site of sustainable practice and/or membership in associations like Green Table, the Sustainable Table and Cittaslow Goolwa. Interview data was supplemented with primary and secondary data and participant observation. We employed a qualitative approach in the interviews to elicit narratives enabling rich insights into what their experiences can tell us about the
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influence of sustainable eateries on public awareness, participation in sustainability, and how this might contribute to urban place-making and destination branding as a result of the restaurants’ profile and activities.
The case studies feature a large number of commercial enterprises that have been operating for varying lengths of time. There are also a smaller number of social enterprises represented. Amongst the 20 case studies, some have a specific focus, such as fostering models of zero waste, embodying the locavore movement or animal welfare ethics, while others are striving to achieve a balance across all three measures of the triple bottom line standard. They all have interesting stories to share and we offer our case studies here as one source of sharing.
These cases are organised by geographical location:
 Adelaide: Sarah’s Sister’s Sustainable Café, The Organic Market and Café, Red Lime Shack, Café Troppo, Good Life Modern Organic Pizza, Locavore, Co-op Coffee Shop, Nove on Luce, Etica and Experience Café.
 Goolwa: The Australasian Circa 1858, Bombora, Motherduck and Rankines at The Whistle Stop.
 Melbourne: Lentil As Anything, STREAT, Charcoal Lane, Brothl, Mesa Verde and The Grain Store.
Finally, we offer some assessment of the significance of these practices and highlight some recommendations that arise from their experiences and example.
One final important result is the realisation that further research is vital to fully understand the contributions that restaurants and cafés are making to efforts to promote and achieve sustainability. We hope this report will inspire other researchers to continue this work and add to our understanding of the significance of hospitality leaders in fostering engagement with transitions to sustainability. More importantly, with pressures of climate change and human impacts on the environment, we note that more restaurants need to be encouraged and enabled to participate in sustainability initiatives and we offer these exemplary examples as inspiration.

Boyle‘s scoping study (2001) of Indigenous tourism in Australia indicated a need for research tha... more Boyle‘s scoping study (2001) of Indigenous tourism in Australia indicated a need for research that utilises a case
study approach to examine in greater depth the experience of Indigenous Australian tourism enterprises in order
to identify the factors contributing to economic success and failure. This report provides benchmarking data
gathered from primary documents and interviews on a South Australian Aboriginal tourism enterprise, the
Coorong Wilderness Lodge (CWL), covering a period between 1995 and 2008, in order to ascertain the factors
contributing to the success of this enterprise and also to delineate the factors that have hindered or threatened this
enterprise during its years of operation. Success factors include: timely inputs of advice and support, good
leadership, adequate training, coordination between marketing and development of facilities, an entrepreneurial
spirit by the owner. Key barriers include: a lack of a holistic and coordinated approach by government, a lack of
entrepreneurial capacity, inability to access financial capital, a lack of title to the land, cross-cultural barriers and
latent racism. The development and promotion of Indigenous Australian tourism requires a long-term
commitment to supporting these enterprises through a transition process of moving away from a reliance on
government support mechanisms to a state of commercial viability as an enterprise capable of sustaining itself.

research on 2012 Adelaide Spirit Festival, an urban Aboriginal event.

Research funded by School of Management of the University of South Australia.

This research project presents a detailed analysis of a long-running family-owned Aboriginal tour... more This research project presents a detailed analysis of a long-running family-owned Aboriginal tourism enterprise, the Coorong Wilderness Lodge (CWL) in South Australia, covering the period 1995 through 2008.
Funded and Published by Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Council.

For sustained excellence in course development that reflects a command of the Indigenous tourism ... more For sustained excellence in course development that reflects a command of the Indigenous tourism field, modelling appropriate practice as a non-Indigenous scholar teaching Indigenous curriculum

University of South Australia media release, Oct 2013