Tourism researcher Anne Hardy has become the first academic, and first woman, to chair influential industry body Destination Southern Tasmania.
Associate Professor Hardy, who has been a board member of the organisation for six years, will lead heavy hitters from the industry including representatives of Mona, the Port Arthur Historic Site and Pennicott Wilderness Journeys.
Dr Hardy is well recognised for her work on the award-winning Tourism Tracer, which revolutionised the collection of visitor information in Tasmania and is now used in many other destinations around the world.
She has also worked on sustainable tourism and the visitor experience, with several current projects examining visitors to Antarctica.
“I grew up in Tasmania and my parents were tourism operators in the latter part of their careers, so I have lived and breathed the industry for many years,” Dr Hardy said.
“Academics are often thought of as being distant from the industry. This is something I have striven to overcome throughout my career, by making research accessible and interesting.”
Dr Hardy replaces retiring chair Stuart Lennox, who was first elected in 2017, and in her new role will sit on the board of peak tourism industry body the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania.
She said her priorities would be assisting Destination Southern Tasmania with goals including destination management planning, corporate social responsibility and alignment with Tasmania’s Visitor Economy Strategy.
“I believe the tourism industry worldwide is going through a major shift,” Dr Hardy said.
“Travellers and communities are more aware of the impacts of tourism and more onus is being placed on regional tourism organisations such as DST to demonstrate how positive impact tourism may be achieved.”
The impactful research undertaken at the University of Tasmania would help support the new role, Dr Hardy said.
“Working at the University gives me access to newly released research findings and an international network of tourism thought leaders,” she said.
“This is enormously important when we are trying to position Tasmania and the southern region as one of the world’s most progressive tourism destinations.”
Find out more about Associate Professor Anne Hardy’s research.