INTRODUCTION TO KIM HEWSON, ECONOMIC TRANSITIONS

Hi there. My name is Kim Hewson. I am the principal at Economic Transitions and I have been working in the hospitality and tourism industry for 30 years, both nationally and internationally

I wanted to start a blog so I have a place to share my research on regional tourism and also the work I have been doing in some of the most culturally and geologically interesting and significant places in Western Australia. I am now nearing completion of my PhD at Curtin University on the economic diversification of regional mining communities. The thesis is titled, 'The Development of Sustainable Tourism as an Economic Alternative to Supplement Mining Based Regional Economies – Kalgoorlie, Western Australia'. 

I believe I have uncovered some really interesting information about tourism in regional communities, but understand not everyone is going to have time to read and digest an 80,000 word thesis!

So my plan is to break down my report into a number of sections, and repurpose the findings in easy to understand blog posts. Topics will include planning with strategy, shaping tourism through community engagement, developing tourism products and the visitor experience.

From conducting my research I found there is actually very little easily accessible information about regional tourism, especially in mining based economies. So I hope this blog can become a resource for anyone working in tourism, local government or economic development in regional towns.

I’d love to hear your feedback, so if there’s a certain aspect of this subject that interests you or you’d like to know more, please drop me a line. I am aiming to share one topic a month using various methods including short blog posts, videos and infographics.

You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates and news from Economic Transitions.

I look forward to sharing my findings with you!