A pair of feet standing on a white sand beech wearing colourful cultural ankle bracelets.

Sustainable Travel and Tourism Advanced Research Centre

The Sustainable Travel and Tourism Advanced Research Centre (STTAR Centre) is an international research centre focused on improving the critical thinking and decision-making that underpins sustainable travel and tourism development, management and marketing.

Our research, knowledge exchange, consultancy and teaching supports local, national and international organisations and individuals to address travel and tourism challenges and explores responsible and sustainable solutions.

About us

STTAR Centre builds on the Nottingham University Business School's 25 years of research, knowledge exchange and pedagogic tradition in travel and tourism. Based on the pillars of interdisciplinarity, internationalisation and impact, STTAR Centre is made up of experts from the University of Nottingham and a network of colleagues from academic, public, private and third sector organisations around the world.

We believe that the production of new knowledge, whether theoretical, policy or practice focused should be understood in relation to people and places.

Our vision

Our vision is to produce world-leading, innovative and impactful research through interdisciplinary approaches that rethink theory, policy and practices in ways that travel an tourism are socially just, economically viable and environmentally sustainable.

We do this through qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methodologies, including those which consider the potential for research impact, such as managerial or policy recommendations.

Our expertise

STTAR Centre hosts a wide range of leading expertise focused on five key strategic priorities.

Expertise in these areas has been consolidated and developed through the pursuit of intellectual excellence underpinned by critical scholarship, which generates new understandings and provides a solid grounding for our research, knowledge exchange and pedagogic practices.

Aerial view of people on a beach cove, which is flanked on both sides by rocks and trees.

We achieve this by:

undertaking critical scholarship and cutting-edge research that underpins innovation in sustainable and responsible travel and tourism
providing consultancy for a more sustainable and responsible travel and tourism sector
delivering world-class teaching and learning opportunities for travel and tourism professionals at different stages of their careers, enabling them to become transformational leaders

We deliver excellence through research, knowledge exchange, consultancy and impact work, as well as through our MSc in International Tourism Management and Marketing, PhD Programme and executive programmes.

MSc in International Tourism Management and Marketing

Aerial view of a floating market in Thailand.

Research themes

A tourist area in Costa Rica. A number of buildings are displaying signs advertising souvenirs and tours.

Projects and activities

Diverse group of people sat in a circle having a discussion.

Our people

At STTAR Centre we strive to make a transformative difference to the way travel and tourism are responsibly developed, managed, marketed and consumed for a more sustainable future.
Professor Marina Novelli, Director of STTAR Centre

Get in touch

We are open to collaborations with academic and non-academic stakeholders across the tourism value chain and other directly and indirectly linked fields of enquiry such as agriculture, innovation, entrepreneurship and the creative economy at a local, national and international level.