Rethinking Sustainable Tourism in Geographical Environments

Professor Alina Zajadacz is a geographer and lecturer at the Chair of Tourism and Recreation, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University (AMU) in Poznan, Poland. Her research interests focus on the tourist potential of towns and cities as well as accessible tourism. She completed her geographical studies with a specialization in environmental shaping and protection in 1996. She defended her doctoral thesis entitled "Tourist potential of cities on the example of selected cities of the Western Sudetes" in 2001 and obtained the title of habilitated doctor in 2013 based on her dissertation "Tourism of the deaf - a geographical approach." She also completed studies in Human Resource Management (2016) and a Tourism and Travel Management course at The University of Queensland, Australia (2019).
She is the author of more than 100 scientific publications, including books: "Tourist Potential of Towns Based on the Example of Some Selected Towns of the Western Sudeten" (2004), "Leisure Pursuits, Tourism, and Recreation of Deaf People in Poland" (2010), "Tourism of Deaf People: A Geographical Approach" (2012), "Sensory Gardens as Universal Places of Recreation Adapted to the Needs of the Blind in the Context of the Human-Environment Relationship" (2020) and papers such as: "Sources of Tourist Information Used by Deaf People. Case Study: The Polish Deaf Community" (2014), "Accessibility of Tourism Space from a Geographical Perspective" (2014), and "Evolution of Models of Disability as a Basis for Further Policy Changes in Accessible Tourism" (2015).
She has managed projects aimed at improving the accessibility of tourism for people with disabilities, such as Tourism for All (coordinator for the whole Greater Poland Province, PTTK, 2008), Tourism of Deaf People and Opportunities for Its Activation Through the Use of a Multimedia System of Tourist Information (2008-2010), The Accessibility of Tourist Routes: Case Study of the Piast Trail (2018), Analysis of the Accessibility of the Piast Trail (2019), Changes in the Leisure Budget and Leisure Behavior of Residents of Large Cities in Poland as a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic (2020-2021), UNESCO Sites - Balanced and Sustainable Tourism Development (2021-2023), Data Collection Guidelines for Tourism and Sustainability Monitoring in Cultural Destinations (2023-2025), and The Development of the Innovative Educational Method of Accessible Tourism in Central Europe, Project Erasmus+ (2023-2025).
She collaborates with foreign centers (including Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Albania, Germany, Portugal, Kenya, and Australia) and with institutions and associations (developing tourism development strategies and accessibility analysis in terms of the needs of people with disabilities). Prof. Alina Zajadacz has over 20 years of experience as an academic teacher. Her didactic activities include training for the tourism industry, developing a textbook entitled "Accessible Tourism - Recommendations for the Tourism Services Sector" (2020), and a series of e-learning courses in accessible tourism implemented as part of the Wielkopolska Tourism Organization (from 2021). She also contributes to "Sustainable Tourism in the Baltic Sea Region," Baltic University, with a lecture titled "The Development and Challenges of Sustainable Tourism" (2023).
Prof. Alina Zajadacz is the chairman of the Program Council for Tourism and Recreation and the vice-dean for education and part-time studies at the Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences at AMU. She is also a member of the Rector's Council for Student Affairs and Education at her alma mater. She has been awarded several times by the Rector of AMU for her teaching activities. In her social activities, she is the chairman of the Geographical and Geological Commission (Poznan Society of Friends of Sciences), vice-president of the Tourism Geography section (Polish Geographical Society), and a member of The Joint German-Polish Textbook Commission under UNESCO auspices.