Office OBS 8.09
Tel +64 3 479 8500
Email james.higham@otago.ac.nz
Background
James Higham is a Professor at the University of Otago (New Zealand), and Jim Whyte Fellow, University of Queensland (Australia) (2016-2019). His major service roles have included Head of Department (2006-2011), member of the Business and Economics PBRF panel (2012, 2018) and co-editor of the Journal of Sustainable Tourism (2014-2021).
- Journal of Sustainable Tourism
- Journal of Sustainable Tourism Twitter: @JSustTour
The Journal of Sustainable Tourism is an A+ journal that publishes 12 issues each year. Papers from the journal are downloaded 800,000 times per annum. The journal's 2020 impact factor is 7.968.
Courses taught
TOUR 101 Introduction to Tourism
TOUR 216 Sport and Tourism
TOUR 422 Tourism and environmental change
Research interests
James has research interests in sustainable tourism, tourism and global environmental change, and tourism carbon emissions. His current research projects, on decarbonising leisure mobilities (Norway Research Council), reducing global tourism carbon emissions (Australia Research Council) and regional tourism carbon footprint analysis (Auckland Unlimited), are being advanced in collaboration with Professor Jens Kristian Steen Jacobsen (Norway), Dr Ya-Yen Sun (Australia) and Professor Susanne Becken (NZ). James is a member of the Steering Committee of the University of Otago Transport Research Network, a member of He Kaupapa Hononga (Otago Climate Change Research Network) and affiliate of the University of Otago Centre for Sustainability.
Current PhD/post-doctoral supervision
- Lucia Danzi – Tourism and natural hazards
- Sherry Tseng – Academic air travel cultures
- Golnaz Nazem – Sustainable festivals
- Zahra Rahmani – Wellbeing retreats (advisor)
Completed PhD supervisions
- Will Stovall – Public perceptions of climate change and tourist air travel.
- Dr Guojie Zhang – Tourist experiences at New Zealand ecosanctuaries.
- Dr Kamrul Hassan – Climate change and conservation in Bangladesh.
- Dr Jean Fletcher – Traveling to 2050: Stories of climate change.
- Abbas Alizadeh – Tourism, wellbeing and sustainability.
- Nicole Cocolas – Air travel attitude functions (University of Queensland).
- Dr Wiebke Finkler – Sustainable whale watching: A science communication approach.
- Diana Kutzner – Climate change and wildlife tourism management.
- Dr Madda Fumagalli – Spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) in the Egyptian Red Sea.
- Dr Sam Spector – Ski resort environmental communciations
- Dr Debbie Hopkins – Climate change adaption in New Zealand ski industry
- Dr Christina Cavaliere – Cultivating climate consciousness (under examination).
- Dr Dave Lindquist – Kaikoura, Dusky dolphins and tourism.
- Dr Dzingai Nyahunzvi – Neoliberalism and national park management.
- Dr Carla Jellum – Antarctic tourism experiences.
- Dr Anna Palliser – Tourism and socio-ecological systems (under examination).
- Dr Rich Wright – Sport, tourism and identity: An Autoethnography.
- Dr Arainne Reis – Recreational conflict in outdoor recreation.
- Dr Scott Cohen – Finding self: Long term travellers.
- Dr Caroline Orchiston – Tourism and Seismic Risk.
- Dr Rob Mitchell – CSR in tourism.
- Dr Maurice Kane – Adventure narratives in New Zealand.
- Dr Åsa Grahn – Personal benefits of educational tour experiences.
- Dr Kay Booth – Public Access in New Zealand.
- Dr Anna Carr – Cultural landscapes and tourism.
- Dr David Lusseau – Tourism and bottlenose dolphins in Doubtful Sound.
- Professor Ghazali Musa – Public Health and tourism in high altitude destinations.
- Professor Michael Lűck – Environmental values in dolphin watching.
- Associate Professor Brent Ritchie – Cycle tourism and regional development.
Publications
Ito, E., & Higham, J. (2023). An evidence-base for reducing the CO2 emissions of national mega sports events: Application of the three-hub model to the Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/09669582.2023.2177301
Higham, J., & Young, M. (2023). The flyers' dilemma: Confronting the negative psychological effects of air passenger travel. In J. Small (Ed.), The passenger experience of air travel: A critical approach. (pp. 178-196). Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications. doi: 10.21832/9781845419035-009
Higham, J. (2022, November). Code red for global tourism: Moving beyond sustainability. Keynote presentation at the TMS Algarve Conference: Sustainability Challenges in Tourism, Hospitality and Management, Algarve, Portugal.
Tseng, S. H. Y., Lee, C., & Higham, J. (2022). Managing academic air travel emissions: Towards system-wide practice change. Transportation Research Part D, 113, 103504. doi: 10.1016/j.trd.2022.103504
Higham, J., Loehr, J., Hopkins, D., Becken, S., & Stovall, W. (2022). Climate science and tourism policy in Australasia: Deficiencies in science-policy translation. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/09669582.2022.2134882
Higham, J., & Hinch, T. (2018). Sport tourism development (3rd ed.). Bristol, UK: Channel View, 304p.
Authored Book - Research
Hinch, T., & Higham, J. (2011). Sport tourism development (2nd ed.). Bristol, UK: Channel View, 280p.
Authored Book - Research
Higham, J., & Hinch, T. (2009). Sport and tourism: Globalization, mobility and identity. Oxford, UK: Elsevier, 314p.
Authored Book - Research
Hinch, T., & Higham, J. (2004). Sport tourism development. Clevedon, NJ: Channel View, 254p.
Authored Book - Research
Blaschke, P. M., Kearsley, G. W., & Higham, J. E. S. (1997). Management of the Environmental Effects Associated with the Tourism Sector: Review of Literature on Environmental Effects. Wellington: Office of the Commissioner for the Environment, 73p.
Authored Book - Research
Hopkins, D., & Higham, J. (Eds.). (2016). Low carbon mobility transitions. Wolvercote, UK: Goodfellow, 280p.
Edited Book - Research
Musa, G., Higham, J., & Thompson-Carr, A. (Eds.). (2015). Mountaineering tourism. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 358p.
Edited Book - Research
Cohen, S. A., Higham, J. E. S., Peeters, P., & Gössling, S. (Eds.). (2014). Understanding and governing sustainable tourism mobility: Psychological and behavioural approaches. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 312p.
Edited Book - Research
Higham, J., Bejder, L., & Williams, R. (Eds.). (2014). Whale-watching: Sustainable tourism and ecological management. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 387p.
Edited Book - Research
Higham, J., & Lück, M. (Eds.). (2008). Marine wildlife and tourism management: Insights from the natural and social sciences. Wallingford, UK: CABI, 395p.
Edited Book - Research
Higham, J. (Ed.). (2007). Critical issues in ecotourism: Understanding a complex tourism phenomenon. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann, 439p.
Edited Book - Research
Hall, C. M., & Higham, J. (Eds.). (2005). Tourism, recreation and climate change. Clevedon, UK: Channel View, 309p.
Edited Book - Research
Higham, J. (Ed.). (2005). Sport tourism destinations: Issues, opportunities and analysis. Oxford, UK: Elsevier, 294p.
Edited Book - Research
Jamal, T., & Higham, J. (Eds.). (2022). Justice and tourism: Principles and approaches for local-global sustainability and well-being. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 442p. doi: 10.4324/9781003143055
Edited Book - Other
Higham, J., & Young, M. (2023). The flyers' dilemma: Confronting the negative psychological effects of air passenger travel. In J. Small (Ed.), The passenger experience of air travel: A critical approach. (pp. 178-196). Bristol, UK: Channel View Publications. doi: 10.21832/9781845419035-009
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J., Hopkins, D., & Orchiston, C. (2022). Academic aeromobility in the global periphery. In K. Bjørkdahl & A. S. Franco Duharte (Eds.), Academic flying and the means of communication. (pp. 185-206). Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1007/978-981-16-4911-0_8
Chapter in Book - Research
Tseng, S. H.-Y., Higham, J., & Lee, C. (2022). Academic air travel cultures: A framework for reducing academic flying. In K. Bjørkdahl & A. S. Franco Duharte (Eds.), Academic flying and the means of communication. (pp. 327-353). Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1007/978-981-16-4911-0_13
Chapter in Book - Research
Warnock, C., Higham, J., Walton, S., Carter, L., & Kingston, D. (2021). Enhancing learning in environmental law through assessment design. In A. Kennedy, A. du Plessis, R. Fowler, E. Hamman & C. Warnock (Eds.), Teaching and learning in environmental law: Pedagogy, methodology and best practice. (pp. 113-128). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. doi: 10.4337/9781789908534.00014
Chapter in Book - Research
Zhang, G., Higham, J. E. S., & Albrecht, J. N. (2020). New territory for environmental sociology: Environmental philosophy and nature-based tourism. In K. Legun, J. C. Keller, M. Carolan & M. M. Bell (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Environmental Sociology (Vol. 1). (pp. 262-281). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108554510.018
Chapter in Book - Research
Espiner, S., Higham, J., & Orchiston, C. (2019). Superseding sustainability: Conceptualising sustainability and resilience in response to the new challenges of tourism development. In S. F. McCool & K. Bosak (Eds.), A research agenda for sustainable tourism. (pp. 21-38). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. doi: 10.4337/9781788117104
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J., & Hinch, T. (2019). Sport tourism: Marketing places. In J. Maguire, M. Falcous & K. Liston (Eds.), The business and culture of sports: Society, politics, economy, environment (Vol. 4: Governance). (pp. 301-316). Macmillan Reference USA.
Chapter in Book - Research
Spector, S., & Higham, J. E. S. (2019). Space tourism, the anthropocene, and sustainability. In E. Cohen & S. Spector (Eds.), Space tourism: The elusive dream. (pp. 245-262). Bingley, UK: Emerald. doi: 10.1108/S1571-504320190000025021
Chapter in Book - Research
Stovall, W., Higham, J., & Stephenson, J. (2019). Prepared for take-off? Anthropogenic climate change and the global challenge of twenty-first-century tourism. In D. J. Timothy (Ed.), Handbook of globalisation and tourism. (pp. 174-187). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. doi: 10.4337/9781786431295
Chapter in Book - Research
Zhang, G., Higham, J., & Albrecht, J. N. (2018). (Re)creating natural heritage in New Zealand: Biodiversity conservation and tourism development. In C. Palmer & J. Tivers (Eds.), Creating heritage for tourism. (pp. 243-257). Abingdon, UK: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203701881
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J., & Hopkins, D. (2016). Low carbon mobility, urgent features and radical transitions. In D. Hopkins & J. Higham (Eds.), Low carbon mobility transitions. Wolvercote, UK: Goodfellow. doi: 10.23912/978-1-910158-64-7-3287
Chapter in Book - Research
Hopkins, D., & Higham, J. (2016). Transitioning to low carbon mobility. In D. Hopkins & J. Higham (Eds.), Low carbon mobility transitions. Wolvercote, UK: Goodfellow. doi: 10.23912/978-1-910158-64-7-3267
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J., & Hopkins, D. (2015). Wildlife tourism: "Call it consumption!" In C. M. Hall, S. Gossling & D. Scott (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of tourism and sustainability. (pp. 280-293). Adingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J., Thompson-Carr, A., & Musa, G. (2015). Mountaineering tourism: Activity, people and place. In G. Musa, J. Higham & A. Thompson-Carr (Eds.), Mountaineering tourism. (pp. 1-16). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Musa, G., Thompson-Carr, A., & Higham, J. (2015). Mountaineering tourism: Looking to the horizon. In G. Musa, J. Higham & A. Thompson-Carr (Eds.), Mountaineering tourism. (pp. 328-348). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Cohen, S. A., Higham, J. E. S., & Reis, A. C. (2014). Sociological barriers to developing sustainable discretionary air travel behaviour. In S. A. Cohen, J. E. S. Higham, P. Peeters & S. Gössling (Eds.), Understanding and governing sustainable tourism mobility: Psychological and behavioural approaches. (pp. 68-87). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Cohen, S. A., Higham, J. E. S., Peeters, P., & Gössling, S. (2014). Why tourism mobility behaviours must change. In S. A. Cohen, J. E. S. Higham, P. Peeters & S. Gössling (Eds.), Understanding and governing sustainable tourism mobility: Psychological and behavioural approaches. (pp. 1-11). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Filep, S., & Higham, J. (2014). Chasing well-being: New directions for appraising tourist experiences. In T. Delacy, M. Jiang, G. Lipman & S. Vorster (Eds.), Green growth and travelism: Concept, policy and practice for sustainable tourism. (pp. 112-130). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Gössling, S., Peeters, P., Higham, J. E. S., & Cohen, S. A. (2014). New governance models for behaviour change in tourism mobilities: A research agenda. In S. A. Cohen, J. E. S. Higham, P. Peeters & S. Gössling (Eds.), Understanding and governing sustainable tourism mobility: Psychological and behavioural approaches. (pp. 300-305). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J., Bejder, L., & Williams, R. (2014). Time to rethink: Fostering the nascent 'sustainability paradigm'. In J. Higham, L. Bejder & R. Williams (Eds.), Whale-watching: Sustainable tourism and ecological management. (pp. 365-378). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J., Bejder, L., & Williams, R. (2014). Tourism, cetaceans and sustainable development: Moving beyond simple binaries and intuitive assumptions. In J. Higham, L. Bejder & R. Williams (Eds.), Whale-watching: Sustainable tourism and ecological management. (pp. 1-15). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Hopkins, D., & Higham, J. (2013). Framework conventions for climate change. In A. Holden & D. A. Fennell (Eds.), Routledge handbook of tourism and the environment. (pp. 227-240). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J. E. S., & Cohen, S. (2010). Kerry Packer: World Series Cricket (WSC) and the (r)evolution of modern sports-related tourism. In R. Butler & R. Russell (Eds.), Giants of tourism. (pp. 182-197). Wallingford, UK: CABI. doi: 10.1079/9781845936525.0182
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J., & Lück, M. (2010). Urban ecotourism: A contradiction in terms? In S. Becken (Ed.), Tourism and the environment. (pp. 244-259). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J., & Hinch, T. (2009). Sport and tourism research: A geographic approach. In S. J. Page & J. Connell (Eds.), Event tourism: Critical concepts in tourism (Vol. 1): The evolution of event tourism: Concepts and approaches. (pp. 384-404). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J. E. S., & Hendry, W. F. (2008). Marine wildlife viewing: Insights into the significance of the viewing platform. In J. Higham & M. Lück (Eds.), Marine wildlife and tourism management: Insights from the natural and social sciences. (pp. 347-360). Wallingford, UK: CABI.
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J. E. S., & Lück, M. (2008). Marine wildlife and tourism management: In search of scientific approaches to sustainability. In J. Higham & M. Lück (Eds.), Marine wildlife and tourism management: Insights from the natural and social sciences. (pp. 1-16). Wallingford, UK: CABI.
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J., & Hinch, T. (2008). Sport and tourism research: A geographic approach. In M. Weed (Ed.), Sport & tourism: A reader. (pp. 72-89). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J., & Hinch, T. (2008). Tourism, sport and seasons: The challenges and potential of overcoming seasonality in the sport and tourism sectors. In M. Weed (Ed.), Sport & tourism: A reader. (pp. 487-502). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Hinch, T., & Higham, J. (2008). Sport tourism: A framework for research. In M. Weed (Ed.), Sport & tourism: A reader. (pp. 40-56). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Hinch, T., & Higham, J. (2008). Sport, tourism and authenticity. In M. Weed (Ed.), Sport & tourism: A reader. (pp. 120-132). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Chapter in Book - Research
Lück, M., & Higham, J. E. S. (2008). Marine wildlife and tourism management: Scientific approaches to sustainable management. In J. Higham & M. Lück (Eds.), Marine wildlife and tourism management: Insights from the natural and social sciences. (pp. 380-388). Wallingford, UK: CABI.
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J. (2007). Ecotourism: Competing and conflicting schools of thought. In J. Higham (Ed.), Critical issues in ecotourism: Understanding a complex tourism phenomenon. (pp. 1-20). Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J. (2007). Ecotourism: Which school of thought should prevail? In J. Higham (Ed.), Critical issues in ecotourism: Understanding a complex tourism phenomenon. (pp. 428-434). Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J., & Lück, M. (2007). Ecotourism: Pondering the paradoxes. In J. Higham (Ed.), Critical issues in ecotourism: Understanding a complex tourism phenomenon. (pp. 117-135). Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Chapter in Book - Research
Higham, J., & Lusseau, D. (2007). Defining critical habitats: The spatio-ecological approach to managing tourism-wildlife interactions. In J. Higham (Ed.), Critical issues in ecotourism: Understanding a complex tourism phenomenon. (pp. 256-269). Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Chapter in Book - Research
