Carl Cater
Dr Carl Cater is an Associate Professor in tourism at Swansea University in Wales, visiting Professor at the University of Highlands and Islands, Scotland, and Presidents International Fellow at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. A geographer at heart, his research centers on adventure tourism and ecotourism, and their contribution to development. He has written over fifty papers and book chapters, is co-author of Marine Ecotourism: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (CABI, 2007) and co-editor of the Encyclopaedia of Sustainable Tourism (CABI, 2015) and the International Handbook of Adventure Tourism (Routledge, 2025). Dr Cater is also an editorial board member of Tourism Planning and Development, Tourist Studies, Tourism Geographies, Journal of Ecotourism and Tourism in Marine Environments. He has supervised many PhD students and examined theses globally. Dr Cater has travelled to over 80 countries and undertaken field research, supervision, curriculum oversight and teaching worldwide, including Australia, China, Malta, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Tibet and Vanuatu. He has worked on projects for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the World Tourism and Travel Council, Gold Coast City Council, Tourism Queensland and the Tourism Society and is scientific advisor to Coral Cay Conservation. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a qualified pilot, diver, sailor, lifesaver, mountain and tropical forest leader, and maintains an interest in both the practice and pursuit of sustainable outdoor tourism activity.
Gill Pomfret
Gill’s research interests and published work predominantly focuses on consumer behaviour in tourism although she has investigated other areas of tourism. Key themes include adventure tourism, motives encouraging adventure activity participation and wellbeing benefits, constraint negotiation, adventure tourism experiences, family tourists, senior tourists, heritage tourism, temporal variations in tourism, and gender.
Gill’s other publications include journal articles and book chapters on adventure tourists, including mountaineering tourists and family adventure tourists, environmental tourists, and tourism planning. Additionally, she has been involved in various consultancy projects, including working with Sheffield City Council to develop The Outdoor City brand. Gill also collaborates with researchers at other universities on projects concerned with the wellbeing benefits of outdoor tourism participation, and inclusive outdoor tourism. When not working, Gill enjoys running and hiking in her local Peak District National Park.
Susan Houge Mackenzie
Susan Houge Mackenzie is an Associate Professor at the University of Otago School of Business, Department of Tourism. Her research focuses on regenerative tourism, nature-based adventure and psychological well-being, and developing translational applications for public and private tourism organisations. Susan’s academic work is informed by an adventure guiding career in New Zealand, the US and Chile and a background in competitive football. Her applied work includes sport psychology for business; risk management for adventure tourism; and consulting with the US Forest Service, Ministry of Tourism, and History Channel. Susan has conducted research with a range of New Zealand regional tourism organisations and served on advisory boards for Tourism Central Otago, Dunedin City Council, the Adventure Tourism Research Association, and a range of tourism research journals. Her most recent translational project focuses on how regional tourism organisations can promote intergenerational community well-being and flourishing via tourism.
Manuel Sand
Manuel Sand is a Professor for Outdoor sports and Adventure management at the University of Applied Management in Treuchtlingen, Germany. He is course administrator for the university’s degree in Outdoor Studies. His research interests include adventure tourism, mountain biking, well-being and adventure activities, nature protection and outdoor sports, and the effects of experiential learning in the outdoors. He is associate editor of the Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism. Apart from that he is passionate about outdoor sports and particularly water sports.
Jelena Farkic
Jelena is a lecturer and researcher at Breda University of Applied Sciences with her research focusing on how humans (tourists/consumers) make sense of their experiences, and how their sense of wellbeing can be enhanced through concepts such as planetary wellbeing, slow adventure, and forest bathing (shinrin-yoku).
She has acted as a coordinator of the ATRA’s activities and has undertaken the organisation of the annual International Adventure Conference since 2015.
Steve Taylor
Dr Steve Taylor heads the Centre for Recreation and Tourism Research at the University of the Highlands and Islands, on the west coast of Scotland. He currently works with international partners on eight multi-national tourism projects, on a range of subjects from wellbeing and adventure tourism to maritime cultural heritage. His latest projects examine ways to help tourism SMEs navigate their way through crisis and the development of a transnational brand and identity for scientific tourism products. He is the Treasurer of Wild Scotland, a director of Slow Adventure Ltd and has been involved in the co-organisation of every International Adventure Conference since the very start. When he finds the time, his research and publication interests span adventure tourism motivations, maritime cultural narratives and nature-based tourism.
Outi Rantala
Outi Rantala is an Associate Professor of Responsible Arctic Tourism at the University of Lapland, in the Multidimensional Tourism Institute/Faculty of Social Sciences.
In her research, Outi applies environmental social science approaches in tourism contexts. Currently she leads a research project, which concentrates on envisioning proximity tourism with new materialism.
In addition to the Adventure Tourism Research Association, Outi is also an active member of the UArctic Thematic Network on Northern Tourism and Sustainable Change Research Network.
Sandro Carnicelli
Sandro Carnicelli is a Professor of Tourism and Leisure Studies at the University of the West of Scotland and the Deputy Director of the Centre for Culture, Sport, and Events. Sandro is also a member of ABRATUR (International Academy for the Development of Tourism Research in Brazil) and co-hosted the International Adventure Conference in 2019 in Dumfries.
As a researcher, Sandro has been working in the fields of Tourism, Events, and Leisure for almost 20 years. Sandro has co-edited three books: Digital Leisure Cultures (2014); Lifestyle Sports and Public Policy (2014); and Tourism Cases in Latin America (2025). He has delivered funded projects for organisations such as the Carnegie Trust, UK Department of Transport, the Moffat Trust, The Higher Education Academy, and the UKRI-GCRF.
He currently serves on the Editorial Board of Leisure Studies Journal, and Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning. He also acts as Associate Editor for Event Management Journal and is currently the Editor in Chief of the World Leisure Journal.
Adele Doran
Adele is a researcher of sustainable outdoor recreation and adventure tourism. Her research focuses on the experiences and behaviours of participants, their well-being through the outdoors, and making the outdoors an inclusive and diverse place to work and play. Her interests also lie in the management of the outdoor sector including governance, leadership, decent work, and marketing.
Adele has worked with both public and private organisations to collaborate on research and consult on projects. She also sits on several academic and industry committees, including the Adventure Tourism Research Association, the Outdoor Recreation Research Group, the British Mountaineering Council’s EDI Committee, the Outdoor Recreation Network’s Executive Committee, and the European Network of Outdoor Sports Scientific Committee. Adele is an Associate Editor of the World Leisure Journal and the Journal of Sport & Tourism and sits on the Editorial Board of Leisure Studies and the Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning. Currently, she is the Research & Innovation Lead in Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University, UK.
Tove Dahl
Tove I. Dahl is a Professor of Educational Psychology at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. She is an educational psychologist who delights in learning, motivation, language and culture, with particular interest in how we grow when outside the classroom. Consistent throughout her career has been her focus on the special place language and literacy have in our lives — for information, pleasure, insight and connection.
Most recently, though, she has been working with the Center for Avalanche Research and Education (CARE) on projects related to how to better prepare recreationists to move safely in the wicked learning environments of backcountry winter mountains. Her latest research on the nature of interest, courage and adventure serve her well there – always with an eye on how adventure can provide new perspectives on learning, and how effective learning can get people out into mountains… and safely home again.
Jasmine Goodnow
Jasmine is an Associate Professor of Recreation Management and Leadership at Western Washington University where she teaches courses in sustainable tourism, inclusive recreation services, and eco-adventure— a study abroad course to destinations such as Costa Rica, Peru, South Africa, New Zealand and Alaska. Her research focuses on transformational travel and the construction of liminality, and microadventure as a form of sacred, inclusive, and sustainable travel. She enjoys presenting her research at conferences around the world, such as the International Adventure Conference, The International Ecotourism Conference, and Sacred Journeys: Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage. Her research is published in academic journals such as Tourism Review International, International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, Journal of Travel and Tourism Research, and Leisure/Loisir: The Journal of the Canadian Association of Leisure Studies. In her free time, Jasmine enjoys traveling, bicycle touring, and hiking.
Darío Pérez-Brunicardi
Darío Pérez-Brunicardi, is an associate professor of the Faculty of Education in Segovia (University of Valladolid, Spain). He teaches and researches about Outdoor Physical Education and Early Childhood Outdoor Learning. His principal aim is to help teachers to take the plunge, cross the door, and go outside with their children, disconnecting from screens, and reconnecting with nature.
He is the coordinator of Spanish Network for Outdoor Physical Education (REEFNAT) and he was the local organizer of the chilly Spanish IAC’18. From 1995, he has been Outdoor Education leader and mountain sports coach in his company, Areva Valsaín, and other institutions.
Uwe Hermann
Uwe Hermann is an Associate Professor in the Department of Tourism Management at the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa.
He lectures in research methodology and business ethics, and his academic interests focus on transformative experiences, particularly within the contexts of leisure, curriculum development and instructional design.
Uwe has collaborated on a range of projects exploring both natural and built heritage, working with organisations such as the South African National Biodiversity Institute, South African National Parks and heritage rail operators. His work often centres on enhancing visitor experiences and promoting learning through tourism and heritage engagement.