A Market Approach to Tourism Knowledge

Abstract

Chris Copper begins his discussion by writing: ‘Quite simply the tourism sector does not engage with tourism researchers: indeed the sector could be seen as a research-averse (Cooper and Ruhanen 2002).’ This statement has a number of parts. Firstly, there is a lack of engagement, and secondly the attributed reason given for the lack is that the sector ‘could be seen as risk-adverse’. To me this is the ‘pot calling the kettle black’. The engagement between academics and industry is a two way street. Some academics may decide not to engage with industry for a number of logical reasons and they may also be thought of as risk-adverse. I do agree with Chris Cooper that lack of engagement between researchers and the tourism sector is a real phenomenon, a serious problem, and not one that tourism academics should dismiss. Indeed a lack of engagement has caused, in Australia at least, a marginalisation of university tourism academics and at least in part a loss of support for university tourism departments which are then either closed or absorbed into a business school. I consider that the reasons for a lack of engagement are not only the risk-adverse nature of parts of the tourism sector, but that this is one of a number of antecedents. In effect, I am attributing a portion of the blame to tourism researchers.