Tatjana Thimm

Constance University of Applied Sciences

Tatjana.Thimm@htwg-konstanz.de

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6927-8145

Journal of Australian, Canadian, and Aotearoa New Zealand Studies 3 (September 2023): 37-70, https://doi.org/10.52230/PDFW2389

Abstract:

A post-growth economy is a comparatively new paradigm in the tourism discourse. The aim of this article is to find out the commonalities between this concept and Māori tourism and in which way the latter can contribute to a post-growth economy. A qualitative mixed method approach, including in-depth-interviews, participant observation, and secondary analysis is applied. The results show that there is a lot of overlap between Māori tourism and a post-growth economy. Differences are visible, as well, regarding the value approach of Māori tourism and the indicator approach of a post-growth economy. Especially the social innovation created in Aotearoa New Zealand at the instigation of Māori groups of granting legal personhood to parts of nature may serve as a driver for a form of tourism that is in line with the idea of a post-growth economy.

Keywords:

Māori tourism, post-growth economy, Māori values, sufficiency, common goods, social innovations

Article