Dr Erica Wilson BAdmin(Tourism)(Hons)(JCU)GradDip(EnvStud)(Adel) PhD(GU) Erica Wilson is Lecturer in the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Southern Cross University in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. Born in Seattle, she has called Australia home for the last 25 years. Her doctoral thesis (Griffith University, Australia) was an interpretive, qualitative exploration into the constraints faced by Australian solo women travellers. Erica also holds a postgraduate diploma in environmental studies, and a first-class honours degree in tourism administration. She teaches in the areas of tourism and the environment, and special interest tourism. Currently, Erica is particularly interested in critical approaches to the study and teaching of tourism/ leisure, and has had a central role in the development of three research network groups which reflect her interests: Gender Researchers in Tourism Studies; Critical Tourism Research Network (Australia/New Zealand, with Drs Jennie Small, UTS and Candice Harris, AUT), and the Qualitative Research in Tourism and Hospitality Network (Australia, with A/Prof Gayle Jennings at Griffith University). In 2005, Erica was elected Secretary for the Executive Board of the Council of Australian University Tourism and Hospitality Educators (CAUTHE). In 2006, she was nominated and elected as a Commonwealth representative for nature-based tourism on the Central and Eastern Rainforest Reserves of Australia (CERRA) World Heritage Technical and Scientific and Advisory Committee. Erica's research publications and conference papers have focused on gender and tourism, women’s definitions of adventure and nature, work-life balance, leisure constraints/negotiation, sustainable tourism and reflexive/qualitative/feminist research methodologies.
Journal articles
'Take a deep breath’: how recreational SCUBA divers negotiate in-water constraints (with Kay Dimmock), Leisure/Losir (2011)
A significant body of work now exists on what constrains people's leisure. While early theorizations...
Beyond beans and cheese: representations of food, travel and Mexico City in the Australian Gourmet Traveller, Text (2010)
The Australian Gourmet Traveller (AGT) positions itself as ‘the country’s premier food and travel magazine’,...
The nature of nature: how New Zealand women in middle to later life experience nature-based leisure (with Margaret Cosgriff and Donna E. Little), Leisure Sciences (2010)
This article explores how women in middle to later life from Aotearoa-New Zealand understand and...
Gutsy women? Conflicting discourses in women's travel guidebooks (with Louise Holdsworth and Mieke Witsel), Tourism Recreation Research (2009)
There is a growing body of information and advice on offer for contemporary women travellers....
Books
Research in the real world : a guide to fieldwork for business students (with Justine Digance), (2001)
Books chapters
Wandering around Australia: independent travellers and slow journeys through time and space (with Margaret Tiyce), Slow mobilities: experiencing slow travel and tourism (2011)
Challenging the 'tourist-other' dualism: gender, backpackers and the embodiment of tourism research (with Irena Ateljevic), Backpacker tourism : concepts and profiles (2008)
Structural entanglements and the strategy of audiencing as a reflexive technique (with Candice Harris and Irena Ateljevic), The critical turn in tourism studies : innovative research methods (2007)
Travelling beyond the boundaries of constraint: women, travel and empowerment (with Candice Harris), Tourism and gender: embodiment, sensuality and experience (2007)
Are there latent markets for nature tourism in South Africa? An evaluation of non-whites' participation and preferences (with Kreg Lindberg, Aki Stavrou, and Shandir Ramlagan), Nature tourism, conservation, and development in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa (2003)
Theses
A 'journey of her own'?: the impact of constraints on women's solo travel, PhD thesis, Griffith University, Brisbane, Qld. (2004)
Women are increasingly active in the participation and consumption of travel, and are now recognised...
Conference publications
Selfish leisure? Competing priorities and constraints in triathlon event travel careers (with Matthew James Lamont and Millicent Kennelly), Tourism: creating a brilliant blend: proceedings of the Council for Australian University Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE) Conference (2011)
The term event travel career refers to a potentially lifelong desire to travel to events...
Practice what you teach: using critically reflective practice in teaching sustainable tourism planning, Proceedings of CAUTHE 2010: Tourism and hospitality: challenge the limits (2010)
Visitor awareness and use of interpretive signage: the case of Mount Warning National Park (with Kylie Causley and Kay Dimmock), International Rainforest Tourism Symposium, Rainforest tourism in a time of change (2010)
What should I do now? How SCUBA divers negotiate constraints underwater (with Kay Dimmock), 9th ANZALS (Australian and New Zealand Association for Leisure Studies) Biennial Conference, Exploring new ideas and new directions (2010)
Benefits and challenges of managing tourism partnerships within protected areas: a case study of five commercial leases in New South Wales national parks (with Noah Nielsen and Jeremy Buultjens), Where the 'bloody hell' are we: Proceedings of the 18th Annual Council for Australian University Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE) Conference (2008)
Reports
From lessees to partners: exploring relationships between NSW NPWS and private visitor facility providers (with Noah Nielsen and Jeremy Buultjens), Sustainable Tourism CRC Technical Report (2008)
The New South Wales (NSW) National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) manages over 600 parks...