Dr Sera Vada

Sera is currently a Research Fellow at the Australian Rivers Institute and the International Water Centre working on the Australian Government funded Water for Women Project ‘Engaging corporate actors for inclusive WASH services in workplaces and host communities’ which is focused on helping hotels implement gender equitable and socially inclusive (GESI) WASH-at-Work programs, contributing to sustainable development of the tourism sector and in host communities in Fiji and Indonesia.

Sera is an Early Career Research with over five years of academic teaching and research in tourism management in Australia and Fiji.  She completed her PhD at Griffith University and has published in A-ranked tourism and marketing journals on positive psychology and  tourist behaviour.  Prior to joining Griffith University, Sera was as an Associate Lecturer with the School of Tourism & Hospitality Management at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji.

With over 10 years of industry experience in tourism and project management, Sera has a strong history of working with multiple organizations, including Government, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), private and tertiary institutions. Her research and consulting interests include, positive psychology and tourist behavior studies, destination marketing and diversification of tourist markets, tourism development challenges in the Pacific, sustainable tourism, and Chinese tourism. Sera has also led and successfully delivered research consultancy work for international organizations, including the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM).  She is very passionate about evidence-based research which influences policies and contributes to enhancing individual well-being and improves the livelihood of communities in the Pacific. Br