#NLTourismResearchNetwork dedicated to residents in tourism with the launch of Graduate Network PD Leisure, Tourism & Hospitality

Edward Huijbens from Wageningen University & Research and Menno Stokman from CELTH were responsible for the organisation. According to Edward, the essence of this meeting is to meet each other and exchange what everyone is working on. And that is the very exciting environment of the ULT-Lab in South Rotterdam. As the icing on the cake, we also present the Graduate Network of the professional doctorate Leisure, Tourism & Hospitality. According to Menno, discussions in tourism research are mainly about impact. “We look at the impact of the domain, the data we need for this and, on this day, certainly at the impact of this location. Where are we, why are we here and how will students in this Lab make an impact.” CELTH also wants to make an impact and focuses on the destination in its Conscious Destinations Agenda. “We have a team of CELTH researchers who are linked to the five urgent themes: Living Environment, Human Capital, Organising Capacity, Smartness and Leisure Offer. Each theme manager drives the development of projects on his theme so that we develop knowledge step by step and make an impact.”

Resident involvement. How do you organise that?

Jochem Jansen from NHL Stenden then presented the CELTH research into resident involvement under the title 'Unknown makes unloved'. “We want to develop practical tools to involve residents in tourism development and policy making.” The project, with the research context in the centre of Utrecht, is halfway through and the first results are already available. The resident empowerment measurement (RETS) shows that the residents of Utrecht have a positive attitude towards tourism. “Unfortunately, there is low involvement and little knowledge of municipal actions and policies regarding tourism. While they do aspire to that.” Jochem could have learned some lessons from the project.

• Just start. Start small and discover.
• Getting started with resident involvement requires courage from policymakers.
• A bottom-up approach is preferred.
• Have a conversation because the conversation alone is valuable.
• The pitfall is that it is not always clear who owns a project.
• Finally, it concerns a different mindset among the municipality, CMO and residents.

Curious about the design and partners in this project? Then read all about it on the CELTH site: https://www.celth.nl/projecten/onkennis-maak-onbemind-op-weg-naar-prakt….

Resident benefits. How do you measure that?

Jeroen Klijs of the Breda University of Applied Sciences and theme manager of the Living Environment of CELTH presented the progress of the project on measuring resident benefits. The starting point for the project was the sector vision Perspective 2030, Valuable Tourism from Rli and the Conscious Destinations Agenda from CELTH. Two questions were central to each other in the project: What is resident benefit and how can you measure it? An initial study showed that resident benefit is a broad and profound concept. In this project, it has been decided that benefits will accrue to residents. “We are concerned with perceived residents' benefits,” said Jeroen. “The next step was to collect methods to measure resident benefit. We now have expert interviews in which we score the various methods that we have identified in the literature based on criteria. After the summer we will test four different methods in Schouwen-Duiveland.” The result of this project consists of a selection tool that allows destinations to select the best method for measuring resident benefit in their destination.” You can read more about this project here: https://www.celth.nl/projecten/meten-van-residentprofijt-verkenning-van-indicatoren-en-methodieken

Equality in tourism? How do you organise that?

Bernadett Papp from NHL Stenden and CELTH theme manager Smartness presented the international project on equality in tourism with the catchy title: 'Understanding and managing the distribution of tourism's benefit in destinations communities.' This project is mainly about the distribution of the benefits of tourism in the destination. And that is desperately needed because in general, few parties in the destination benefit from tourism and at the same time the burden falls on the entire community. The big question is how they can also benefit from the benefits of tourism. The researchers first work on a shared language around equality and identifying mechanisms that can promote better equality in destinations. Part of the research is also to identify barriers and incentives for greater equality. “We ultimately want to develop a roadmap and action agenda to advise and help DMOs and policymakers towards a more equal tourism.” The project is broad and international with 20 cases in all continents of the world. For each case, equality is examined in five aspects (economic, environmental, cultural, spatial and tourist experience). Read all about the project at: https://www.celth.nl/actueel/baanbreaking-onderzoek-naar-een-rechtgeven….

There was great appreciation from the audience for these three projects, but there were also concerns about research fatigue and participation levels among the local population. “Accept that not everyone wants to participate and realise that there is always a certain group that comes to meetings.” And once they have been there, you have to realise that residents who have participated in a participation process would like to see something in return. Finally, make sure you don't just listen to the loudest voice and continue to listen to all sounds with an open mindset.

Looking for fertile ground for change? The Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab

We were guests at a special location, the Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab Rotterdam. Ko Koens from Inholland University of Applied Sciences explained on behalf of Roos Gerritsma, Danagh Horgan and Iris Kerst why Inholland started Living Labs: “We started these labs because we wanted to be more connected to local communities.” The first Lab was launched in 2015 in Amsterdam North and the Rotterdam location followed in 2020 with its lab in South. The labs are part of Inholland but based in the local community. “Living Labs are not something you do for a year, but for the long term. Ko: “Many labs leave when you finally have success. If you stay somewhere longer, trust in the neighborhood grows and we notice that. We try things, test them, and ultimately scale them up.” But scaling up is quite difficult. Ko: “We do not see scaling up as a goal for our labs. We want to create fertile ground for change by bringing people together and making use of the wisdom of the crowd. We learn to navigate together the complexity we face.”

Students play a central role in Inholland's labs. The Urban Leisure & Tourism Labs are not only a research lab but also a learning environment for students. “On the one hand, it is refreshing for students that they can finally do something in real life, but it is also frightening.” The labs also ask something from the neighbourhood and the participants. You must handle this very carefully: “We have discovered that our activities should be fun for the participants and that they can get something out of it. We can't ruin the participants' time.” In addition, you should not have excessive expectations about the solving power of the labs. Ko: “Is it realistic that living labs will solve complex problems?” In addition, Living Labs take a lot of time and effort, especially to build trust and relationships in the neighbourhood. Living Labs are not a panacea but can play an important role in transitions. Ignoring the political dimension is a major pitfall. Want to get started with labs yourself? Then read the tips here: https://toolbox.ensut.eu/tools

Work more data-driven with the National Data Strategy

Evelien Visser-Jonker of the National Data Alliance gave an insight into the National Data Strategy. The National Data Alliance is an open network for everyone who uses data and insights. Everything to encourage data-driven work in tourism. The strategy emphasises not only the work program of the LDA but also a focus point for other parties that can contribute to it. The National Data Strategy consists of five guiding principles. basic data, innovation, organisation and financing, network collaboration and from data to insights and implementation.

According to Evelien, we need high-quality data on tourist supply and demand that is publicly accessible. “We must also be critical of the current studies and ask ourselves whether they are still appropriate. A point of attention is therefore further regionalisation of the basic data.” In addition, the LDA wants to stimulate innovation in tourism data collection. Money is also available from the government for this, and Evelien was happy to call on those present to submit projects. They also look at data-driven working. “How should you interpret data; how do you communicate about it and make a data-driven decision?” Finally, Evelien made a call to include data-driven work in the educational program. Read the National Data Strategy online: https://www.landelijkedataalliantie.nl/nl/home/kennisbank/toerisme-recreatie-algemeen/de-nationale-datastrategie

The professional doctorate? A private PhD program for the universities of applied sciences

Finally, Jos van der Sterren explained the professional doctorate. That is the new PhD trajectory of Dutch universities of applied sciences. “We did not have our 3rd cycle and it is now complete with the professional doctorate (PD). The PD is domain-oriented under which colleges may unite. In Leisure, Tourism & Hospitality, CELTH has taken the initiative, and 7 colleges are participating. For the time being, the PD is an 8-year pilot in which the universities of applied sciences will have to prove themselves.

The PD differs significantly from the doctoral program of the university, the PhD. PD candidates are investigative professionals who learn to design, implement, and possibly scale up interventions in response to complex problems. During their PhD, they build a portfolio. “The level is the same as a PhD program at university, but the path to get there is different.” They must master four roles: change agent, researcher, innovator and professional. “These roles are interconnected and context-dependent.” Jos also addressed the question of who the PD is intended for. He sees three groups: “The PD is for employees at a university of applied sciences who use the PD as the next step in their academic career. The PD is also a great program for master students who want to develop themselves further and professionals from the field who want to delve deeper into a concrete issue.” Unique to the PD is the involvement of industry partners in the issues and their role in the candidate’s supervisory committee. In addition to two lecturers, there are also two professional partners.

In the Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality domain, 17 candidates can start a PD at seven different colleges over the next four years. The Graduate Committee decides on the admission of a candidate. The Graduate Network launched today is supportive. It is open to researchers and industry experts. They form the network for the PD candidates.

There were many questions from the audience about this new PhD program. For example, there were questions about the sector being too closely intertwined with the candidates' issues. According to chairperson Elena Cavagnaro of the Graduate Committee, research is certainly not led by industry: “It concerns broad themes that are relevant for a longer period.” Jeroen Oskam added: “The word industry not only concerns companies but also broader, more social organisations.” There were also many questions about the candidates' output. While a PhD focuses on a dissertation or articles, a PD focuses on the candidate's portfolio: “At the end, the portfolio is viewed and assessed by an admissions committee. Candidate Roos Gerritsma advised including a critical friend from the university in your network. When asked whether the sector is waiting for these highly qualified employees, those involved were brief. Elena summarised the sentiment nicely: “We also had the same question about the first PhD candidates in our sector, but they all ended up very well. Menno adds: “Given the major challenges, the sector needs this extra level of expertise.”