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Julia Office OBS 8.06
Tel +64 3 479 5441
Email julia.albrecht@otago.ac.nz

Background

Dr Julia N. Albrecht has joined the Department of Tourism in April 2015. With her academic background in geography and landscape ecology, political studies, and tourism, Julia is interested in tourism and destination management for sustainable tourism, tourism strategy and planning, visitor management and nature-based tourism.

Julia publishes her work in leading academic journals such as Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, among others. She is a co-editor of the Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, and she serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research.

In 2023, Julia was awarded OUSA Supervisor of the Year for the University of Otago. She is a sought-after PhD supervisor, and supervising PhD research is among her favourite aspects of her work.

Julia is the course coordinator for TOUR219 Destination Management and TOUR305 Tourism Product Development, and she teaches on TOUR101 Introduction to Tourism.

Julia serves on the University of Otago Human Ethics Committee, and on the Otago Business School Research Committee. In 2020, Julia won the Otago Business School’s Best Contribution to the Research Environment award.

Teaching

  • TOUR 305 Tourism Product Development (course co-ordinator)
  • TOUR 102 Global Tourism (Distance) (course co-ordinator)
  • TOUR 101 Introduction to Tourism (teacher)

Current research projects

Sustainability in destination management

This project investigates destination managers' perceptions of sustainability, and their efforts towards implementing projects / initiatives for a sustainable destination. The research takes a comparative approach, looking at nature-based tourism destinations in Austria and New Zealand.

Research collaborators:

  • Dr Marco Haid (UMIT Tirol, Austria)
  • Dr Wiebke Finkler (University of Otago)


Visitor pledges as innovative visitor management tools

Since the development and implementation of the Icelandic Pledge in 2017, initiatives that encourage visitors to commit to responsible behaviours in a destination have become common. This project explores the strategic thinking behind using pledges as a visitor impact management tool, related marketing and implementation initiatives, and expected and actual initial results from the perspectives of the relevant destination management stakeholders.

Research collaborator:

  • Eliza Raymond (GOOD Travel)


Tourism management as a third sector function, ecosanctuaries in New Zealand

This research project examines the organisational roles, functions and structures in tourism and visitor management in ecosanctuaries in New Zealand. The key aim of the research is a better conceptual and practical understanding of visitor management in protected areas, as well as in tourism destinations more generally, for both the academic community and key stakeholders in the New Zealand tourism industry.

Research collaborators:

  • Dr Marco Haid (UMIT Tirol, Austria)
  • Dr Abrar Faisal (AUT)

Publications

Albrecht, J. N. (2026). Cultivate a growth mindset [contribution]. In J. Wearing, C. Deluca & S. MacGregor (Eds.), The prosperous PhD: Secrets to success from top supervisors. (pp. 201-202). Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press. [Contribution]. Chapter in Book - Other

Albrecht, J. N. (2026). Advice on fostering relationships [contribution]. In J. Wearing, C. Deluca & S. MacGregor (Eds.), The prosperous PhD: Secrets to success from top supervisors. (pp. 74). Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press. [Contribution]. Chapter in Book - Other

Nomm, A. H. L., Albrecht, J. N., & Lovelock, B. (2026). Reframing regional destination management for destination decarbonisation. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/09669582.2026.2655286 Journal - Research Article

Nautiyal, R., Albrecht, J. N., & Carr, A. (2026). Integrating yoga philosophy and tourism research: A reflexive methodological framework. Annals of Tourism Research, 118, 104177. doi: 10.1016/j.annals.2026.104177 Journal - Research Other

Canosa, A., Albrecht, J. N., Shiraani, F., & Raymond, E. (2026). From research ‘on’ to research ‘with’ children: What can childism offer to tourism studies? In H. A. Schanzel, C. Khoo & M. J. H. Yang (Eds.), Handbook on children and family tourism. (pp. 9-20). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. doi: 10.4337/9781035324842.00008 Chapter in Book - Research

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