Dr Whitney Smith

Before accepting a post graduate research (PGR) position, I completed my undergraduate (BA Tourism Management) and postgraduate (MA International Tourism Management) at the University of Greenwich, in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College in London. It is here I developed an interest in tourism, particularly in areas including ‘Tourism and the Self’ and ‘Ethics and Niche Tourism’. At this stage my fascination for religious tourism, dark tourism, sex tourism, and other new emerging tourism trends developed. This interest was mirrored in my BA dissertation work where I sought to gain a better understanding of sex tourism in Amsterdam and its potential impacts on tourist perceptions in the decision-making process. This interest deepened and can be reflected in my MA dissertation investigating the motivations in faith-based voluntourism applied to the European Refugee Crisis. Intrigued by these meaningful concepts, I am currently embarking on a PGR project investigating gender and tourism. Under the supervision of Prof Scott Cohen, Dr. Albert Kimbu and Dr. Anna de Jong, I intent to gain an understanding of gender performance by examining media representations within aviation, as these are crucial in the shaping of societal attitudes and perceptions.