David Gerard Simmons
Emeritus Prof David Simmons was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to tourism and tertiary education.
Emeritus Professor David Simmons is an internationally recognised tourism expert, has been a leading tourism scholar nationally for more than 40 years, and is regarded as a key founder of the discipline of tourism at tertiary level in New Zealand.
Professor Simmons founded tourism studies at Lincoln University and established the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Tourism, which is focused on generating and supporting sustainable tourism regions.
He has contributed to international tourism planning and education in numerous countries such as Sarawak, Cambodia, Niue, Mauritius and Nepal, and advised international organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund and United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
He was Project Leader for a number of Foundation for Research, Science and Technology-funded multi-year programmes for tourism planning and yield and was Director of Research at the Australian Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre from 2008 to 2010.
He was awarded a Fellowship of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism in 2015 and received the New Zealand Tourism Industry’s highest honour in 2020, the Sir Jack Newman Award.
Professor Simmons has contributed to numerous government tourism strategies, particularly advising the New Zealand Tourism Sector on the future of tourism in the post-COVID-19 era.
- Geoff Sloan
