This research focuses on ecotourism, ecopreneurship and sustainable SMTEs. From 1999 to 2002 Anna worked alongside Professor James Higham on a nationwide FRST funded project investigating Ecotourism in New Zealand: profiling visitors to New Zealand ecotourism operations. In 2005 Anna had an Otago Research Grant to study Māori owned nature tourism businesses.
Recreation
Anna’s interests here surround wilderness recreation planning and the history of alpine and polar region recreation. From 2009-2010 she has undertaken numerous externally funded projects in this area. Anna received SPARC (SportNZ) funding for a project on ‘Family preferences, experiences and benefits associated with outdoor in Aotearoa’ (Project Leader: Anna Thompson) and was co-investigator on two other projects ‘Immigrants and the Outdoors’ (Project Leader: Brent Lovelock) and ‘Enduring Participation in Outdoor Recreation’ (Project Leader: Brent Lovelock). Other notable research included visitor studies commissioned by the Department of Conservation in the Hakatere, Ahuriri and Ruataniwha Conservation Parks.
Cultural landscapes and cultural tourism development
Anna’s PhD (1998-2004) examined the management of visitors’ experiences of cultural landscapes in New Zealand. As a result she was an invited director of Te Ana Whakairo (Māori Rock Art Centre Trust) from 2007-2011. She continues to study how cultural identity influences tourism development and land management through cultural values for landscapes, visitor demand for cultural tourism, cultural tourism entrepreneurship and cross cultural visitor interpretation. Recently, she collaborated on a book chapter exploring cultural dissonance and indigenous peoples with Canadian researchers.
In 2012-2013 she was awarded an Otago Research Grant as Principal investigator with Diane Ruwhiu (Management). The ORG will explore Māori business networks
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