Localising Tourism

Localising tourism proposes the idea that tourism can be defined by local communities right to control, decision making, benefit and empowerment in tourism. Localising tourism would ground tourism in the needs and interests of local communities and work to secure inclusive, pluralistic visions of well-being.

In this activation, we will start with a visioning of how we would like to welcome visitors to Adelaide in a way that supports total well-being. We propose to start by imagining a pledge of care we might invite visitors to sign on to when they holiday and play in our beautiful home of Adelaide and its surrounds.

Meet the Activators

  • Freya Higgins-Desbiolles

    Freya is an Adjunct in Tourism Management, Business Unit, University of South Australia. She has worked with communities, non-governmental organisations and businesses that seek to harness tourism for sustainable and equitable futures. Her recent co-edited book published by Routledge is entitled Socialising Tourism: Rethinking Tourism for Social and Ecological Justice and explains why we need to transform tourism for better futures.

  • Sue Gilbey

    Sue lives with an acquired disability in an urban eco-village. In 2009 she became the first and still, the only Australian to receive the internationally acclaimed Bremen Peace Award, for her volunteer activism working locally, assisting people on TPV’s and her international speaker tours on the correlation between military bases, climate change and environmental degradation and its compounded effects on women and children. Her craft is in gathering stories and listening to people about what a sustainable inclusive future might look like, starting with First Nations people, incorporating their knowledge and wisdom.

  • Arianna Watson

    Arianna is co-founder of Think Enough, a platform that encourages and facilitates people’s engagement with for-purpose businesses for their everyday purchases. After years of working in the not for profit sector across various countries, she travelled to Australia to meet, learn from and be inspired by the many social enterprises that are creating innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems… and never left! As a keen tourist and strong advocate for asset-based community development, she is excited to play an ongoing part in localising tourism.

  • Chris Krolikowski

    Chris is a lecturer in tourism and event management at the University of South Australia. He is passionate about authentic urban placemaking that stems from and represents unique qualities of place and sense of place. His recent work involved research for Adelaide metropolitan councils examining placemaking and place activation through events, arts, and culture.

  • Keri Hopeward

    Keri is the founder of Dream Awake: Research Education and Design (DARED), a regenerative research and education consultancy dedicated to activating change for a better world. She is also the Senior Research Fellow and Lead Researcher at UniSA on the project ‘Living Lightly Locally: Smarter and Stronger through Citizen Science’. She is passionate about advocating for resilient and regenerative local communities and showcasing all SA has to offer in the world of local eco-tourism.