Tourism and Conservation Lab Presents at GSTC and BCRTS 2021 Tourism Summit

On November 4th, 2021, Dr. Cavaliere’s Tourism and Conservation Lab was invited to take part in the BCRTS Tourism Summit for 2021. This virtual event was a joint collaboration with the Global
Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)
and the British Colombia Regional Tourism Secretariat. Hosting 3 GSTC Workshops, 6 BCRTS panels and over 25 Virtual Booths, the T&C Lab was proud to take part and present within the Natural Areas and Visitor Management workshop.

Facilitated by Dr. Kelly Bricker, Julia Branstrator joined the conference panelists and presented collaborative work with Dr. Cavaliere and Dr. Niemiec in a session on Visitor Use Management and Overtourism, highlighting visitor management cases from North America, Europe, and South America. The Tourism and Conservation Lab presented insights from their continued field research within the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of Southeastern Alaska including perceptions of biocultural conservation, visitor management and overtourism through the experiences of residents during COVID.

To watch all panelists of the session, including Dr. Ivana Damnjanovic, and learn from the full day of presentations, follow this link to watch the T&C Lab present with this Vimeo recording!

Tourism and Conservation Lab Presents at 29th Nordic Symposium on Tourism

From the 21st – 23rd of September, 2021, the Tourism and Conservation Lab joined the 29th Nordic Symposium in Tourism and Hospitality Research, an e-Conference hosted
by the Icelandic Tourism Research Centre in Akureyri, Iceland. Sharing on behalf of the research team including Dr. Christina T. Cavaliere and Dr. Rebecca Niemiec, Director of the Conservation Action through Behavioral Science Lab also housed within the Human Dimension of Natural Resources Department at Colorado State University, Julia Branstrator presented in Session 30: Staying with the trouble of cruise communities in
a post-Covid world
. Julia presented an emerging analysis of work conducted within the T&C Lab titled Community perceptions of biocultural changes during the COVID disruption in Ketchikan, Alaska.

The T&C Lab was proud to present alongside research collaborator, Dr. Hin Hoarau Heemstra, on behalf of her team including Karina Eline Knutzenand, and Karin Andrea Wigger of Nord University and the Nordic Cruise Research Network. Hin shared highlights of the Nordic team regarding Resilience to cruise tourism: insights from Northern Norway and Svalbard

The Tourism and Conservation Lab is looking forward to the 2022 30th NST in Finland!

To explore the full book of abstracts from the 2021 29th NST, follow this link.

Dr. Cavaliere Receives 2020-2021 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award for Colorado State University’s Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Department

The Tourism and Conservation Lab is delighted to announce that Dr. Christina T. Cavaliere has been recognized by the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Department for her outstanding effort to promote diversity, equity and inclusion through her faculty service and research! She was nominated on the following highlights:

  • Invited by the co-editors for a Special Issue on gender and tourism in Annals of Leisure Research
    • Cavaliere, C. T., & Ingram, L. J. (2021). Climate change and anger: misogyny and the dominant growth paradigm in tourism. Annals of Leisure Research, 1-18. DOI: 10.1080/11745398.2021.1949732
  • Research with colleagues in Norway and the US that implements the utilization of a new transdisciplinary ecofeminist intersectional methodology relating to posthumanism and tourism studies coining the conceptualization of Wildlife Equity
  • Making projects, knowledge networks, and coursework available through her lab supporting co-learning and co-supporting of DEI and female researchers.
  • Foundational use of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion principles as foundations in teaching
  • Fostering inclusion of advanced gender equality within academic involvement through research in the Tourism and Conservation Lab
  • Service on multiple external international advisory boards and committees that demonstrate her commitment to international DEI including:

Congratulations!

Have You Taken the Merle Pledge?

Too often imbalances in gender and diversity are overlooked during the organization, facilitation, and registration of conferences, events, and project collaborations. As representatives and leaders of the tourism industry within the Tourism and Conservation Lab, we seek and engage with many conferences, events, and collaborations as educational and professional opportunities. Our lab supports and practices transparency in this process by each member of the Tourism and Conservation Lab taking the Merle Pledge committing to:

  • increasing the visibility and contribution of women in public and professional forums
  • advocating for gender balance and diversity in all professional events, panels and conferences
  • encouraging my colleagues and friends to participate in the Merle Pledge
  • questioning and raising the issue of gender balance and diversity when the opportunity arises
  • actively encouraging and supporting the voices of women
  • honouring the Merle Pledge whenever I am invited to speak
  • standing up for what is right
  • persevering and not accepting excuses for unequal representation (The University of Queensland, n.d.)

We encourage and welcome those who are interested in taking the Merle Pledge to share their thoughts on diversity, equity and inclusion as related to conferences, events and collaborations. This is an important step in realizing actions towards sustainable tourism.

The Tourism and Conservation Lab, a representative of and supporting group for diversity, equity and inclusion at Colorado State University, is committed to supporting events and conferences that uplift the many voices historically underrepresented in tourism and conservation in academia and industry operations. Join us by taking the Merle Pledge!

Reference

The University of Queensland. (0AD). SAGE Athena SWAN at UQ – The Merle Pledge. About UQ. https://about.uq.edu.au/initiatives/sage-athena-swan#qt-sage_athena_swan_tabs-foundation-tabs-6