Journal article
'Our Home Holiday Town': youth participatory research for ethical and responsible tourism
Journal of sustainable tourism, Vol.First online
22/11/2025
Appears in Recent Faculty of Education Publications
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Abstract
This article explores the role of children and young people as change agents in promoting ethical and responsible tourism at the local level. Drawing on a youth participatory research project that used social theatre as a medium of inquiry and advocacy, the study explores how young participants navigated roles as researchers, educators, and activists. Informed by Freirean pedagogy and childist principles, the research contributes to broader discussions on social justice within the tourism industry, advocating for more inclusive and equitable tourism practices for young people. Rather than presenting empowerment as linear or guaranteed, the study traces how agency was negotiated through creative expression, youth-led inquiry, and public dialogue. The findings contribute to advancing tourism scholarship by foregrounding youth participation as a vital yet underexplored dimension of responsible and ethical tourism. It introduces social theatre as an innovative methodological tool for emancipatory praxis in tourism research. Implications for policy and practice include the need for child-informed governance structures, sustained participatory mechanisms, and reflexive engagement with young people as co-creators of knowledge and change.
Details
- Title
- 'Our Home Holiday Town': youth participatory research for ethical and responsible tourism
- Creators
- Antonia Canosa - Southern Cross UniversityCatharine Simmons - Southern Cross UniversityPeter J. Cook - University of Southern Queensland
- Publication Details
- Journal of sustainable tourism, Vol.First online
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Number of pages
- 23
- Grant note
- The Country Arts Support, Regional Arts NSW; The Northern Rivers Community Foundation(NRCF); Faculty of Education, Southern Cross University.
- Identifiers
- 991013332328102368
- Copyright
- © 2025 informa UK limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
- Academic Unit
- Centre for Children and Young People; Faculty of Education; Faculty of Health
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article