Douglas G. Pearce: a pioneer who bridged disciplines, languages and territories

This chapter describes some background information about life and journey into tourism academia of Douglas G. Pearce. His doctoral journey in Southern France commenced with a number of hurdles, which led him to reflect on the merit of his unconventional decision to come to France for his doctoral studies. Embracing the newly emerging field of Tourism Geography as a scholarly pursuit, Doug was well placed in New Zealand because the country was experiencing a steady increase in international tourist numbers which gave rise to numerous tourism development-related discussions and initiatives in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Doug focused his early research at Canterbury on applying the learnings from his work in France to various New Zealand case studies. While Doug's initial passion for Geography-informed research endured, although in a semi dormant state at times, the 1990s saw him guide numerous postgraduate students through analyses of specific forms of tourism, spanning heritage tourism, eco-tourism, wildlife viewing tourism, and events tourism.