Dini Hajarrahmah is a third-year Ph.D. student (2022–2026) in the Howard Feiertag Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech. Her research interests include regenerative tourism, social entrepreneurship, innovation, and strategic management. She earned her Master’s degree with dual concentration in Economic Development and Tourism Management & Innovation and Technology from Boston University. Before her PhD, she was a lecturer and researcher at the School of Business and Management, Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia. Dini is a co-founder of a social enterprise called Wanderlust Indonesia, which practices community-based tourism and aims to empower local communities in tourism destinations. She also co-founded Barokah Coffee Shelter, a coffee roastery in Indonesia that partners with specialty coffee farmers and connects them with direct-trade coffee buyers and roasters.

Dissertation overview

My dissertation investigates how regenerative tourism can address environmental and socio-cultural challenges faced by tourism destinations. Regenerative tourism is a new concept which goes beyond the net zero aims of sustainable tourism toward a net positive system to leave the destination better than it was found. In the first chapter, I interviewed 57 tourism social entrepreneurs worldwide, identifying key challenges, strategies, and opportunities in engaging with regenerative tourism. We found challenges such as limited awareness of regenerative tourism and difficulty finding like-minded partners, along with strategies like educating tourists and fostering systemic collaboration. Findings highlight the importance of systems thinking and feedback loops in enabling regeneration. This research has been published in the Annals of Tourism Research: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2024.103818

Building on this, the second chapter employed a mixed-methods approach through in-depth interviews with DMOs (Destination Management Organizations) and online experimental design to respondents in the US, UK, and New Zealand to explore how different social media framing strategies (diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational) shape tourists’ attitudes and intentions to engage in regenerative tourism. Results show that solution-oriented (prognostic) and action-driven (motivational) framings resonate most, providing valuable insights for organizations to craft compelling narratives for regenerative tourism. Looking forward, the third chapter will focus on the use of technology and innovative tools, such as gamification, that could enhance tourist engagement and further advance the regenerative tourism movement.

Awards

  • Michael D. Olsen Memorial Graduate Fellowship in Strategic Management Fall 2024
  • Feiertag HTM Virginia Tech Best Poster Award Spring 2023

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