Thursday 3 March 2022 12:01pm
Dr Abbas Alizadeh’s thesis explored the relationship between sustainable tourism behaviour and psychological wellbeing in tourism experiences
A thesis exploring the relationship between sustainable tourism behaviour and psychological well-being in tourism experiences has won the 2021 Richard Kammann Wellbeing Prize.
Dr Abbas Alizadeh’s thesis explored the relationship between sustainable tourism behaviour and psychological wellbeing in tourism experiences. His thesis contributed to the convergence of sustainability and wellbeing research fields by addressing tourism as an “experience-based form of consumption”, with the potential to “enhance individual . . . wellbeing”.
“Given the complex array of stakeholders involved in the tourism sector that can function as agents of change, my thesis focused on individual tourists and their capacity to direct tourism toward greater sustainability,” Abbas says. “Although the empirical work was conducted before the outbreak of COVID-19, this inquiry is timely as the global pandemic has provided key stakeholders with a rare opportunity to rebuild a more sustainable post-COVID tourism sector.”
Abbas says that he is very grateful to have received the award and happy that his interdisciplinary work received acknowledgement from the Psychology discipline as well.
“I would like to thank the many people who have supported me throughout my PhD experience and would specifically like to express gratitude towards my supervisor, Professor James Higham, for his invaluable support, direction and feedback throughout the last three years,” Abbas says.
Professor Higham commented that Abbas’s research offers a critical exploration of the intersection between tourist wellbeing and sustainability practices.
“Abbas’s PhD was interrupted by a year in Madrid, when he took up a prestigious appointment in the United Nations World Tourism Organisation but, upon his return, his research became more important than ever with the impact COVID-19 was presenting,” Professor Higham says. “The timeliness and relevance of his research have been amplified by the need to rethink and rebuild global tourism following the pandemic.”
Associate Professor Tamlin Conner, Emeritus Professor David O’Hare and Dr Christina Ergler recommended Abbas for the award, with the selection committee describing it as a “highly original” thesis with a “deep theoretical understanding of wellbeing literature”.
“The Prize was founded in 1986 in memory of Associate Professor Richard Kammann, who taught in the Department of Psychology and whose research interests included the application of psychology to human happiness, wellbeing and real-world behaviour,” Associate Professor Conner says.
“The Prize is unique in that it can be nominated from across disciplines at the University as long as the focus is on wellbeing research. While this prize usually prioritises undergraduate or honours research as a way of encouraging development at that level, the committee felt that Dr Alizadeh’s work was of such high quality and relevance to the prize that is stood out amongst all those nominated.”