Rod Caldicott BBusTour&HospMgt (First Class Honours) (SCU), BBusTourMgt (SCU) 

Rod is currently pursuing his Doctoral candidacy with the School of Tourism and
Hospitality Management at Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia. He has 25 years
experience in the tourism industry with a strong balance of private enterprise, public
sector and educational research engagements. 

Rod’s research passions stem from his vast practical, business, political, community,
association and volunteer experiences. They include but are not limited to: • Regional
development • Local government • Event management • Governance • Policy; and •
Fatherhood. 

Rod was awarded a University Medal in 2011 for his outstanding academic achievements
including a Bachelor of Business in Tourism and Hospitality Management (Hon) 1st Class.
He simultaneously completed a Diploma in Management in 2011 having satisfied all
requirements and previously achieved a Bachelor of Business (Tourism) with Distinctions
in 1996 and a Diploma of Journalism in 1995. Also in 1995 Rod was awarded the Australian
Institute of Tourism Management Prize for the highest grade point average in the
undergraduate tourism program and in 2000, while working for Richmond Valley Council, Rod
was recognised by his industry peers for his - Outstanding Contribution to Regional
Tourism – a passion that remains with him today. 

Rod has previously held the office of Chair of the Australian Regional Tourism Network
(ARTN), NSW Vice President for the Australian Institute of Tourism Officers (AITO), Board
member of the Northern Rivers Community Regional Advisory Committee (NRCRAC) for the NSW
National Parks and Wildlife Service and Chair of the Fatherhood Project. In 2008/09, as
ARTN Chair, Rod was instrumental in driving the transitional development of ARTN into a
fully independent incorporated association with developing finance, governance and policy
convictions inclusive of Memorandums of Understandings and Service Level Agreements with
industry and research partners (http://www.regionaltourism.com.au/) Through The
Fatherhood Project, he has driven a brokerage model of service delivery for programs such
as ‘Dads in the Fast Lane’, ‘Building Better Dads’ and ‘The Fatherhood Festival’, each
promoting the value of fathers in society (http://www.fatherhood.com.au/). 

Before returning to Southern Cross University in 2011, to pursue an academic career, Rod
spent the previous 14 years working in the local government arena for the Richmond Valley
Council in the position of Tourism Manager. He has previous experience with the private
sector in Queensland through his family business within the caravan, camping and 4x4
touring industries and more recently in the public sector through tourism planning,
marketing and regional development. His community endevours are credited with volunteer
roles with The Fatherhood Project and Dads in Distress. He remains interested in tourism
education and research and its links to regional and community development thereby
enjoying his current academic position that supports a close professional and research
based relationship with Southern Cross University. 

His Honours’ thesis reported on: Supply-side evolution of caravanning in Australia: An
historical analysis of caravan manufacturing and caravan parks. This fascinating topic
has informed the working title of Rod’s PhD thesis: The politics of freedom camping
policy in regional Australia: Policy-making, planning and management implications for
regional communities. 

Rod is particularly interested in methodologies and the ongoing debate over mixing
paradigms and Mode 2 knowledge in the pursuit of solving ‘wicked’ problems.

Journal articles

Link

Facing divergent supply and demand in Australian caravanning: learnings from the evolution of caravan park site-mix options in Tweed Shire (with Pascal Scherrer Dr), Journal of Vacation Marketing (2013)

The caravan park sector of the Australian leisure accommodation industry currently provides 50% of...

 

Link

The life cycle of caravan parks in australia: the case of Northern New South Wales (with Pascal Scherrer), Australian Geographer (2013)

The caravan park sub-sector of the Australian tourism accommodation industry provides at least half of...

 

Thesis

PDF

Supply-side evolution of caravanning in Australia: an historical analysis of caravan manufacturing and caravan parks (2011)

This exploratory study reviewed internal and external supply-side elements of caravanning in Australia, an area...