Dr. Don Hawkins is the Chairman of Solimar International, an international firm supporting global development through sustainable tourism. After 44 years of service, he retired as Professor Emeritus of Management and Tourism Studies, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA. Until 1999, he served as the Director of the International Institute of Tourism Studies (IITS), which he initiated in 1988 as the first education center established in collaboration with the UNWTO. He was appointed as the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of Tourism Policy (an endowed chair) in 1994. He also served as the first Chairman of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management at GW.
In 2003, he received the first World Tourism Organization Ulysses Prize for individual accomplishments in the creation and dissemination of knowledge in tourism policy and strategic management. He served as Special Advisor to UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai for the Knowledge Network from 2012-2017. Since 2016, he has served as senior advisor to HM Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism and assisted in the development of the Jamaica Center of Tourism Innovation.
He is Chairman Emeritus of Sustainable Travel International, Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance and the SAVE Travel Alliance.
Over his career he has authored, co-authored or edited 22 refereed journal articles, 15 books and 23 book chapters. Since 1999, he has delivered 7 national and 130 international speeches or panel presentations. His body of scholarly and professional work encompasses the following areas of expertise or interest: (a) strategic planning and policy development; (b) workforce development, education and training; (c) development assistance and investment from bilateral and multilateral donors; (d) park and protected area management; (e) meeting, conference, and event planning; (f) trade and non-government organization association management; (g) resource conservation and environmental education; (h) micro, small and medium enterprise development; (i) business merger and acquisition facilitation, and (j) Specialized forms of place-based tourism related to nature, agriculture, health, culture, handcrafts and indigenous peoples.
He has been extensively engaged in sustainable tourism activities globally, including policy analysis, strategic planning, human capital development, investment promotion or technical assistance in Ras Al Khaimah, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Myanmar, Republic of Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Tanzania, Senegal, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, Jamaica, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Lucia, Dominican Republic, Panama, Venezuela, Argentina, Canada and the United States.
For additional details, please refer to Prof. Hawkins profile in Anatolia, authored by Kristin Lamoureux
More