The use of Tourism knowledge

The determinants of knowledge transfer from universities to tourism companies – a conceptual model and research propositions

“…One possible reason for this is the dissemination of new knowledge generated by research does not currently reach the end users. There is a paradox in which practitioners espouse an appreciation for research but fail to use it (Xiao, Smith, 2007). According to Ritchie and Ritchie, ''a great deal of research is being conducted in tourism, but is inefficiently used and rarely exploited to its full potential '' (2002: 451).…”

‘Hollow from the start’? Professional associations and the professionalisation of tourism

“…We are the sort of major forum, I can't think of a better word, networking forum for the industry. The role of formal and informal networks as conduits for learning is well documented in the literature (Cooper, 2006;Xiao and Smith, 2006;Thomas, 2012). It is not surprising, therefore, that associations identify an important role for themselves as creators of networking opportunities for their members.…”

Factors Facilitating and Inhibiting the Use of Research to Inform Interpretation Practice: A Case Study of Australian Protected Area Management Agencies

“…They observe that, despite a considerable body of research, there has been a low rate of adoption of existing research innovations. One of the problems they note is the lack of communication and understanding between the research community and the tourism sector, with Xiao and Smith (2007) observing that researchers and practitioners reside in culturally and structurally different worlds and rarely meet.…”

“…Studies in allied disciplines such as museum studies and tourism have been undertaken to identify the inhibitors and facilitators to adoption (Smithsonian Institute, 2004;Cooper et al, 2006). Some of these studies, for example Jago and Deery (2007) and Xiao and Smith (2007) make direct links to diffusion and adoption theory. They observe that, despite a considerable body of research, there has been a low rate of adoption of existing research innovations.…”

“…These findings suggest opportunities exist to improve access to research findings for practitioners. This could be done by increasing contact between researchers and practitioners (Xiao and Smith, 2007) as well as more effective dissemination of research findings, and in particular the role of the Interpretation Australia Association (IAA) and other agencies such as the STCRC. Currently IAA has a research column in its regular newsletter, an email network, and conferences and workshops through which research findings can be distributed, but opportunities exist for further dissemination, for example the IAA website.…”