My research work focuses on leading the development of coastal and marine recreation and tourism (CMT) as a specialist area within the broader field of tourism studies.
To do this, I have deliberately sought to conduct research in CMT, to build capability in others, to develop opportunities to profile their work, to collaborate and to create a community of scholars who identify themselves as CMT specialists.
I co-founded and I am the co-chair of the International Coastal and Marine Tourism Society (ICMTS). I am on the International Steering Committee for the International Congresses on Coastal and Marine Tourism. I am one of the founding editorial board members for the ICMTS affiliated journal Tourism in Marine Environments (and currently serve as Book Review Editor).
I target this journal as a primary vehicle for myself and students I supervise to publish in in order to build the journal's content, reputation and impact factor.
By design, my research crosses disciplines between social and natural sciences because my work explores interactions between people and nature in marine tourism contexts. Thus, my research outputs are representative of this nexus and also span qualitative, quantitative, and thought leadership approaches.