GEOFFREY WALL

Geoff Wall is Professor of Geography and for 11 years was Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research at the University of Waterloo (Ontario Canada N2L 3G1). He is cross-appointed with the School of Planning and the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies. He was educated at Leeds University (B.A., 1966), Cambridge University (Cert. Ed., 1967), University of Toronto (M.A., 1968), and Hull University (Ph.D., 1970). He taught at Sheffield University and the University of Kentucky before moving to Waterloo in 1974. He is the author (with A. Mathison) of Tourism: Change, Impacts and Opportunities (Pearson, 2006): (with E. Heath) of Marketing Tourism Destinations: A Strategic Planning Approach (Wiley, 1992); (with A. Mathieson) Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social Impacts (Longman, 1982); (with C. Wright) The Environmental Impact of Outdoor Recreation (University of Waterloo, 1977); and editor of Contemporary Perspectives on Tourism (2001); (with J.G. Nelson and R. Butler) Tourism and Sustainable Development (University of Waterloo, 1993, second edition 1999); Recreational Land Use in Southern Ontario (University of Waterloo, 1978); (with J. Marsh) Recreational Land Use; Perspectives on its Evolution in Canada; Outdoor Recreation in Canada (Wiley, 1989), (with L. Briguglio, B. Archer and J. Jafari, Sustainable Tourism in Islands and Small States: Issues and Policies (Pinter, 1996) and Contemporary Perspectives on Tourism (University of Waterloo, 2001), Tourism: People, places and Products (University of Waterloo, 2003), and Approaching Tourism (University of Waterloo, 2007). He has written numerous papers on tourism and recreation in academic journals and has edited a number of volumes on the implications of global climate change.

He has acted as a consultant for such agencies as the Asia Development Bank, Canadian International Development Agency, the International Joint Commission, Office of Technology Assessment (US), Environment Canada, the Federal Department of Communications, the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Ontario Ministries of Culture and Recreation, Citizenship and Culture, Treasury and Economics, and Natural Resources, and other such organizations as the Ontario Science Centre, the Council for Business and the Arts of Canada, the Association of Canadian Orchestras, the Ontario Arts Council, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, and the City of Waterloo.

Recent research projects include studies of the impacts of tourism on host communities, assessment of the implications of the greenhouse effect for tourism and recreation, collaborative tourism strategies for Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, and the involvement of indigenous people in tourism (especially Hainan, Guizhou, Inner Mongolia and Taiwan).

Following involvement in the creation of a sustainable development strategy for Bali and other work on both natural and cultural heritage in Indonesia, he has directed multi-year projects on coastal zone management in Hainan, China, and on eco-planning and environmental management strategies for coastal cities in China. He has participated in tourism master plan initiatives in Jiangsu, Henan, Hunan and Dalian and has provided inputs on ecotourism into a biodiversity strategy for Inner Mongolia.

Dr. Wall was awarded the Roy Wolfe and Rooney Awards of the Association of American Geographers in 1991 and 2000 for his contributions to the understanding of tourism and recreation. He is an Honorary Professor of Nanjing University and Dalian University of Technology and in 2000 was given a Friendship Award by the Province of Hainan, China. He is a founder member and past President of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism.

Geoff’s research interests can be summarized succinctly as follows: exploring the implications of tourism of different types for destination areas with different characteristics.