Greg Richards is Professor of Placemaking and Events at Breda University of Applied Sciences and Professor of Leisure Studies at the University of Tilburg in The Netherlands. He has worked on projects for numerous national governments, national tourism organisations and municipalities, and he has extensive experience in tourism research and education, with previous posts in the UK and Spain. His current research interests centre on the creative use of space for cultural, social and economic development.
Greg Richards is a leading expert in the fields of cultural and creative tourism, events and placemaking. His major works include Cultural Tourism in Europe (1996), Cultural Tourism: Global and Local Perspectives (2007), Eventful Cities (2010), Reinventing the Local in Tourism (2016) , the SAGE Handbook of New Urban Studies (2017), Small Cities with Big Dreams (2019) and Rethinking Cultural Tourism (2021)
My main areas of teaching include placemaking, the use and development of events and attractions and styles of leisure consumption, both at MA and BA levels. My teaching activity is based on an extensive professional career in tourism marketing and development, the events industry and the cultural industries. I have worked with organisations in the UK, the Netherlands and Spain, as well as conducting research and consultancy projects in many different areas of the world.
I am a Board Member of the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research (ATLAS), a global organisation that includes some 200 universities and research organisations. I also manage the ATLAS Events Group and the ATLAS Cultural Tourism Research Group. I have worked extensively in international research projects with organisations including the EU, the UNWTO, the OECD and the United Cities and Local Governments network.
Recent international commentary on our report on Culture and Cities (UCLG, 2018)
http://www.nouveautourismeculturel.com/blog/2019/01/17/le-champion-du-tourisme-culturel-greg-richard/ (in French)
https://twitter.com/sirenen_heuler/status/1108716621345013760 (in German)
Research publications available from: https://independent.academia.edu/gregrichards
ATLAS Cultural Tourism Research Project