Chair - Victorian Goldfields Tourism Executive
Chris is Chair of the Victorian Goldfields Tourism Executive (VGTE) which was previously the Goldfields regional tourism board but with continuing responsibility for contributing to the leadership of the Victorian Goldfields World Heritage Listing project.
Chris began his involvement with the World Heritage Bid in 2007 and led the commissioning of the 2012 study led by Ray Tonkin on the significance of the Central Victorian Goldfields including World Heritage Listing and the cultural tourism implications. Chris developed the original partnership of the 13 local government authorities (now 15) which is extremely significant in the development of the World Heritage Listing bid. In 2016 and 2017 Chris played a leading role in symposiums to progress the World Heritage Listing bid which identified a serial listing approach as the appropriate model.
Chris has previously served six terms as Mayor of Central Goldfields Shire. He also has held various regional leadership roles. His previous career has been in the areas of change leadership, people strategy and culture within the Victorian public sector and large corporate sectors.
Chris holds a Mayor Emeritus award from the Municipal Association of Victoria. His post graduate studies are in public policy. Chris is an Honorary Research Fellow at Federation University.
Kiran has been working in the field of religious and cultural heritage and tourism, urban planning, destination management etc, for over two decades. Around these topics, he has published five books and 70+ research articles in high-ranking journals and books with reputed publishers. He was commissioned by UNWTO (World Tourism Organisation) to lead a project on “Buddhist Tourism in Asia: Towards Sustainable Development” that covered Buddhist heritage and tourism in 16 Asian countries including several UNESCO listed Buddhist heritage sites. This report recommended strategies for using Buddhist heritage in a sustainable manner for tourism and promoting economic development. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of top-ranking tourism journals: Annals of Tourism Research and Tourism Geographies, and Tourism Planning and Development.
Kiran’s books include A Research Agenda for Religious Tourism (2024, co-edited with Joseph Cheer, Edward Elgar); Sacred Sites, Rituals, and Performances: New Perspective for Religious Tourism Development (2021, MDPI); Religious Tourism and the Environment (co-edited with Daniel Olsen, 2020, CABI); and Buddhist Tourism in Asia: Towards Sustainable Development (2020, UNWTO: Madrid), and Religious Heritage and Tourism in Asia (co-edited with Dallen Timothy, Routledge, forthcoming).
Kiran combines research training of an academic and professional practice of a planner with vast experience in different planning sectors across India and Australia. From 2021-2024, Kiran lead the Planning program at La Trobe University and coordinated the delivery of professional undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Urban, Regional and Environmental Planning. In 2017, Kiran and his team were awarded the UN-Habitat’s coveted international “Asian Townscape Award” for a project titled “Adaptive Reuse of historic Bund Garden Bridge into Arts Plaza, Pune, India.
