Richard Wright
PhD Candidate
email: rwright@business.otago.ac.nz
PhD Title
From the Abbey to the Academy; the Autoethnography of an Academic Sports Tourist.
Supervisors
Professor James Higham and Dr Richard Mitchell
Research Abstract
Despite noticeable growth in sports-related tourism research, a lack of phenomenological knowledge exists in relation to what the individual consumers actually experience. My thesis provides an autoethnographical account of the author’s eventful and highly emotional journey from realist to post-structural relativist, focusing specifically upon the role of the self within a sport tourism research context. The story of my reflexive exploration is told via the construction and continual (re)interpretation of an evocative narrative of self. It focuses on the unavoidable overlap or interplay between personal identities from my initial proposal through to the final writing up process. Ultimately, it looks at the influence or role of my own sports fanaticism and sports-related lived experiences within the context of my special interest/sport tourism research. It openly embraces reflexivity and acknowledges how twenty years of travelling to attend sporting fixtures affected my scientific attempts to understand individual perceptions of the collective sport tourist experience. By unashamedly turning the gaze inwards, I am able to highlight the academic possibilities and potential of embracing – not extraditing – our self identity. My aim is to stimulate sociological imagination(s) through self-introspection and autoethnography. The findings are what you discover at the end of this journey.
Education
Master of Tourism, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand (2005)
Graduate Diploma in Tourism, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand (2004)
Bachelor of Arts (1st Class Honours), University of Brighton, Eastbourne, UK (2002)
Publications
Wright, R. 2007. Planning for the Great Unknown: The Challenge of Promoting Spectator-driven Sports Event Tourism, International Journal of Tourism Research, Vol 9, pp.345-359.
Wright, R., Higham, J. & Mitchell, R. 2007. Sport, Nostalgia and Tourism Planning: The Case of the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand. In S. Gammon & G. Ramshaw (eds) Heritage, Sport and Tourism, Routledge: Oxon
Morgan, M. & Wright, R. 2008. Elite sports tours: special events with special challenges, in J. Ali-Knight, M. Robertson, A. Fyall & A. Ladkin (eds), International Perspectives of Festivals and Events, Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier: Oxon
Carr, A., Lovelock, B. & Wright, R. 2006. Ahuriri Conservation Park Visitor Survey 2006. Official report produced for the Department of Conservation examining tourism activity and visitor perceptions at the ACP during the summer of 2005/2006.
Presentations
Wright, R. 2008. Getting to Grips with Richard: Revisited, Department of Tourism PhD Seminar Series, September 2008
Wright, R. 2008. If Being There is Everything: How important is it to Know Where We’ve Come From?, Exploring self through personal heritage, nostalgia & the construction of an ‘away’ Sports Fan narrative, Paper presented at the ATLAS 2008 Annual Conference; Selling or Telling? Paradoxes in Tourism, Culture and Heritage, Brighton, July 2008.
Wright, R. 2008. If Being There is Everything: How important is it to Show Where We’ve Come From?, Exploring Identity through the Performance(s) & Pilgrimage(s) of Trans-Tasman Sport Tourists, Paper presented at the LSA 2008 Conference; Community, Capital & Cultures, Liverpool, July 2008.
Wright, R. 2007. If “Being There is everything”; How important is it to show who we’re with & know where we’ve come from? Poster Presented at University of Otago Postgraduate Symposium, September 2007.
Wright, R. 2007. If “Being There is everything”; How important is it to show who we’re with & know where we’ve come from? Department of Tourism PhD Seminar Series, August 2007
Wright, R. 2007. Planning for ‘the Great Unknown’, Paper presented at the Event Tourism Conference: Enhancing Destinations and the Visitor Economy, Bournemouth University, UK. January 2007.
Wright, R. 2006. Getting to Grips with Richard: Investigating Giulianotti’s notions of Spectator ‘Sociability’ and the ‘Carnival’ of Sport, Department of Tourism PhD Seminar Series, September 2008
Wright, R. 2006. Exploring the Existence of Co-ompetition in Sports Event Tourism: How 11 Regions Tamed 20,000 Lions, Department of Tourism Seminar Series, August 2006
Wright, R. & Mitchell, R. 2006. Co-opetition amongst RTOs during the 2005 Lions Tour of New Zealand. Paper presented by R. Mitchell at the 2007 NZTRC Conference: Dunedin, New Zealand, December 2006.
Carr, A. Lovelock, B. & Wright, R. 2006. Beyond National Parks: Conservation Parks – the New Destination for New Zealand Outdoor Families. Paper presented by A. Carr at the 2007 NZTRC Conference: Dunedin, New Zealand, December 2006.
Dutton, C. and Wright, R. 2004. ‘Retailer Internationalization and Global Sports Brands: Manchester United FC in the Far East and the US: A case study’. Paper presented by C. Dutton at the 11th International Conference: Recent Advances in Retailing and Services Science, Prague, Czech Republic. June 2004.
Scholarships and Awards:
University of Otago International PhD Scholarship (2006-2009);
Welcome Host Certificate, East of England Tourist Board (2003);
Applied Tourism Management Case Study Award, Eastbourne Borough Council, University of Brighton (2001);
Tourism Managerial Training & Team building Certificate (1998);
CCPR Community Sports Leadership Award (1998)
Teaching Experience:
Undergraduate (on-campus) (University of Otago)
TOUR 101 (Principles and Business of Tourism Management), Contributing Lecturer and Tutor, Summer School 2005 & 2006
TOUR 102 (Global Tourism), Tutor, 2004
TOUR 103 (Introduction to Hospitality), Contributing Lecturer, 2007
TOUR 211 (Tourism Impacts and Evaluation), Teaching Assistant, Guest Lecturer & Tutor, 2005
TOUR 212 (Tourism Development and Planning), Teaching Assistant, Guest Lecturer and Tutor, 2005 & 2006
TOUR 212 (Tourism Development and Planning), Guest Lecturer (Crisis Management; Forecasting), 2007
TOUR 216 (Sport Tourism), Teaching Assistant, Guest Lecturer & Tutor 2006
TOUR 216 (Sport Tourism), Contributing Lecturer & Tutor, 2007 - 2008
TOUR 302 (Destination Analysis), Teaching Assistant, Contributing Lecturer & Tutor 2006 (Full Year Capstone Paper)
TOUR 303 (Resorts and Facilities Management), Guest Lecturer (Distributing the Product), 2007
TOUR 304 (Event and Conventions Management), Contributing Lecturer & Tutor, 2008
TOUR 304 (Event and Conventions Management), Guest Lecturer (Sports Event Tourism), 2006 & 2007
Graduate (on-campus) (University of Otago)
TOUR 418 (Destination Management Strategies), Guest Lecturer (Crisis & Risk Management), 2006 - 2008
Hobbies:
Keeping fit; playing & watching sport; listening to music; reading & travel