therese conway 

PhD Candidate (2010 – Present) MPLPSD – MPlan (Hons) University College Cork (2006-2008) BA (Hons) University College Cork, Geography and Sociology (2003-2006)
Room 114, Geography Department Phone: 00 353 91 492665 Email: t.conway5nuigalway.ie

Working Title

Research Description

This project focuses on the increased attention which is afforded to the sustainability of economic, sociocultural and environmental systems in contemporary rural development policy. Rural tourism is viewed by international agencies and national governments as having a special role to play in the development of rural economies and the sustainability of the wider rural system. The research is designed to contribute to the better understanding and promotion of rural tourism so as to contribute to more balanced rural development. The research has a particular focus on the key concepts of embeddedness, disembeddness, networks and networking. A model will be developed from academic literature and these concepts will be explored through empirical research in the context of the Greenbox, Ireland’s first ecotourism destination.

The research is funded by the HEA through PRTLI4 as part of the NUI Galway Centre for Innovation and Structural Change (CISC) and the Irish Social Science Platform (ISSP) programme of research. 

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Supervisor

Research Cluster 

Rural Studies

Research Interests

• Ecotourism
• Tourism and recreation
• Rural development
• Planning and development
• Sustainable development

Teaching Involvement

Tutor/teaching assistant for:

• TI331 – Geography of Recreation and Tourism

Presentations

• (2010) Balanced Rural Development: Rural Tourism’s Contribution, Irish Social Sciences Platform (ISSP) Conference, University of Limerick, December 2010
• (2010) Embeddedness and Disembeddedness in Rural Tourism, Department of Geography Seminar Series, NUI Galway, October 2010

Publications

• Conway, T. and Cawley, M. (2012) Organizational networking in an emerging ecotourism destination, Tourism Planning & Development 9(4), 397-409. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21568316.2012.726256