Paul Singh has gone from wondering why to actually trying to find the answers.
After years of working as a bank manager and regional tourism manager, Mr Singh is about to start research into knowledge and how it is used.
Mr Singh is set to start work on research for his Master of Philosophy (MPhil) at The University of Queensland’s School of Tourism into the absorptive capacity of regional tourism organisations.
Helping him is a $15,000 Tourism Research Scholarship from the New Zealand government.
It will involve highlighting case studies, showing how New Zealand tourism organisations find, transform and use knowledge in their day-to-day operations and strategic decision-making.
“It will be an exploratory study. Not a lot has been done in this area,” Mr Singh said.
“The idea is to find out how knowledge is used in regional tourism organisations. What knowledge is needed to address specific situations, where does it come from and how is it used?”
Mr Singh said it had been about a 15-year journey which led him to the studies.
“It has been in the back of my mind since the mid 1990s. Finally I have had a way of looking at issues I had noticed in 20 years in banking and tourism," he said.
“I could see decisions being made and wondered why these were made. I wondered, if destinations had a great tourism product, why some adapted to change and some didn‘t.
“I wondered why some people in the community would not necessarily see tourism as good. I wondered why some tourism organisations did not use knowledge that was available to them. Maybe this will give me an explanation.”
If a natural disaster or economic downturn brought great change, knowledge could be a regional tourism organisation’s best friend, Mr Singh said.
“If the external shock is so great, it can bring the whole sustainability of a business or region into question because they are not able to adapt.
“Knowledge can enhance the ability to adapt and change. It can give a predictive capability, although that is not always the way it works. It comes down to management making good decisions, based on the knowledge they can absorb.”
Mr Singh expected to take up to three years to complete his studies, under the supervision of Associate Professor Brent Ritchie and Dr Lisa Ruhanen.
Media: Paul Singh (0424 098 127) or Erik de Wit (0417 088 772)
