Welcome to My Website
This website will provide you with an over view of my more than 20 years of experience in many aspects of tourism research and education as well as my current activities.
I am a Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada where I teach undergraduate and graduate courses on various aspects of tourism, and advise graduate students on various tourism research issues.
In addition to my academic responsibilities, I have extensive involvement in the tourism industry. I was the original Chair of the Canadian Tourism Commission's Research Committee, a member of the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership's Market performance and Assessment Committee, and have extensive consulting experience with destination marketing organizations, industry associations, and individual tourism enterprises.
Areas of Research
My research covers a diverse range of topics including:
- Tourism statistical systems, including the definition and measure of tourism
- Visitor profiles and statistics
- Economic impacts of tourism
- Tourism Satellite Accounts
- Tourism policy
- Impediments to the growth of tourism
- Benefits and costs of liberalization of trade in tourism services
- Destination marketing organizations
- Culinary tourism
Some of the topics my graduate students are currently working on, under my supervision are:
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Removed 2007
- Knowledge management in the tourism sector (Xiao Honggen)
- Mainland Chinese perceptions of and interest in outbound travel to Canada (Zou Pengbo)
- The meaning of cruising to senior citizens (Reg Swain)
- Culinary tourism as a product strategy for Canadian Relais et Chateaux properties (James Murphy) -->
- Perceptions of risk in the events management industry (Linda Robson)
- The meaning of cruising to senior citizens (Reg Swain)
- Assessing destination competitiveness (Marica Mazurek)
- The development of a culinary tourism destination (Yaduo Hu)
- Visitor perceptions of authenticity versus local realities in connection with “Dracula tourism” in Transylvania (Maria Banyai)
I am an Elected Fellow of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism and of the International Statistical Institute; I serve as Vice Chair of their Marco Polo Committee on Tourism Statistics. I am active with the International Travel and Tourism Research Association, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, Cuisine Canada, and Slow Food International.
I may be contacted at:
Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
Tel: 1 519 888 4045
Fax: 1 519 747 1141
E-mail: slsmith@healthy.uwaterloo.ca
This website will provide you with publication details of some of my articles, books, and reports, as well as links to a few of the organizations with which I am involved.
Thank you for visiting!