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Drs Moren and Lesego Stone Recognised for Guest Editing Special International Journal

Drs StonesVice Chancellor, Professor David Norris, has commended Dr Lesego Senyana Stone and Dr Moren Tibabo Stone for their remarkable achievement in guest editing a special international tourism journal.

The two academics edited the Tourism Review International (2021) Volume 25 (2-3) Special Issue on Tourism and Community Development. The peer-reviewed journal provides a forum for primary research and critical examinations of previous research. It advances excellence in all fields of tourism research, promotes high-level tourism knowledge as well as nourishes cultural awareness in all sectors of the tourism industry by integrating industry and academic perspectives.

Consequently, Professor Norris appreciated the academics for editing the Scopus and Web of Science indexed Tourism Review International, saying such was important to the UB strategic goals of creating and delivering high quality applied research and innovation as well as enhancing economic and stakeholder engagement besides societal impact.

Dr Lesego Stone, is a Tourism Management Senior Lecturer in the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management in the Faculty of Business while Dr Moren Stone, is also a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Environmental Science in the Faculty of Science.

The academics explained that the purpose of the journal was to explore successes, failures, challenges and opportunities countries face in pursuit of tourism as a development tool. In so doing, the journal critically appraised contemporary perspectives on tourism and development, in particular, sustainable tourism development, which despite increasing doubts with respect to its legitimacy and viability, remains the dominant tourism development paradigm.

The editors say they invited scholars to submit multidisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary papers as well as conceptual and empirical papers that added to existing knowledge on the topic. Authors were encouraged to submit papers addressing a range of themes. Papers published in the special issue include those dealing with the following themes: Tourism and community development nexus debate, Community-based tourism and human livelihoods, Communities perceptions and attitudes towards tourism development, Community involvement/participation in tourism, Community empowerment, Tourism development and institutional frameworks, Challenges and opportunities of community development from tourism, Tourism development and sustainability, Contemporary issues affecting tourism and development nexus and Tourism and climate change nexus.

Drs Moren and Lesego Stone said they made a proposal to edit the special issue to the journals Chief Editor after which a call for papers was published online. They received 58 expressions of interest (EOI) from which 25 authors were invited to submit full papers. However, only 24 authors submitted full papers. Based on reviews, 12 papers were accepted and published in the special issue.

Meanwhile, the two academics together with other UB scholars also submitted paper titled “The impacts of covid-19 on nature-based tourism in Botswana: Implications for community development”. They published the paper in collaboration with Professor Patricia K Mogomotsi and Dr Goemeone E.J. Mogomotsi. As the journals special guest editors, Drs Moren and Lesego Stone also submitted an introductory chapter entitled ‘The State of Tourism and Community Development Research and Future Directions’ which they published in collaboration with Professor Gyan P. Nyaupane. According to Drs Moren and Lesego Stone special journals sometimes take a year or two to get published theirs was processed within just 18 months. The University community joins Professor David Norris in congratulating the academics for a job well done. 

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