Professor Marina Novelli - tourism for development

Marina’s interdisciplinary approach to the study of tourism draws on human geography, development studies and international politics as well as anthropology and sociology. She has written and advised extensively in the field of international tourism policy, planning, development and management and has played core advisory roles on projects funded by the World Bank, the European Union, UNESCO, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the Commonwealth Secretariat, National Ministries and Tourism Boards, Regional Development Agencies and NGOs in Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and Asia.

Her identity as an academic and practitioner is clearly associated with the concept of ‘niche tourism’ and ‘tourism for development in Africa’. In addition to several publications on tourism in Africa, her most recent 2016 volume Tourism and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Contemporary Issues and Local Realities (Oxford: Routledge) conveys her extensive, empirically-grounded research and collaborations in some 15 Sub-Saharan Africa destinations. Her volume, Niche Tourism: Contemporary Issues, trends and Cases (2005, Elsevier), defined and gave visibility to a new field of enquiry and as such has been adopted globally as a term of reference in tourism studies.

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Research, enterprise and impact

She is particularly interested in the debates on global governance and policymaking, especially the role of international organisations and NGOs in the development and management of tourism spaces and places as well as how the global agenda on sustainable development plays out on the ground, how it is contested, challenged and resisted.

Her research focuses primarily on aspects associated with sustainable tourism policy, planning and development; niche tourism development and management; rural diversification and tourism; community-based and responsible tourism approaches; tourism in the developing world, especially Africa; travel philanthropy - the act of giving beyond volunteering; tourism and hospitality training needs analysis, capacity building and curriculum development.

Her research and consultancy contributions are primarily in the field of policy, governance and institutional development; diagnostic, monitoring and evaluation studies; destination planning and product development and management; HRD-training needs analysis, capacity building, train-the-trainers and curriculum development; service standards and optimisation processes in hospitality and tourism.

Opuwo, Namibia

Inspiring others

She is known globally for her excellence in leading and collaborating with multi- disciplinary, multi-stakeholders and multi-cultural teams. She has deployed her own research frameworks, based on a number of qualitative, participatory and cross-disciplinary techniques. In particular, the Peer2Peer (P2P) pro-activist and impact-oriented collaborative approach, which is based on co-constructed research techniques, enhancing the contribution of those who would normally belong to ‘voiceless groups’. Her research has been designed and deployed to have impact beyond tourism by contributing to more effective economic growth, improved environments and more inclusive societies.

Professor Novelli has worked in several countries, including Botswana, Burundi, France, The Gambia, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Malawi, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, UK, USA, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.