Helle is a third year PhD candidate in the Department of Recreation and Leisure studies. She holds a Master of Science in Tourism and International Development from the University of Brighton, UK, and a Bachelor of Tourism and Hospitality Management from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, NS. Helle grew up in Denmark, in a small rural community in the Silkeborg Lake District, with a deep appreciation for the outdoor spaces and ecosystems in and around the lakes, and neighboring woodlands. Having spent several years sailing on tall ships and backpacking all around the world, Helle’s interest in tourism development, culture, and the natural environment has evolved over two decades. She describes her relationship with tourism as “complicated” and hopes to contribute to the fields of critical tourism studies and human geography.
Research interests
Tourism development, Indigenous tourism, nature, regenerative tourism, power-relations, environmental justice, political ecology, critical theory, Indigenous methodologies, and decolonization
Helle is currently exploring research topics within the intersection of Indigenous tourism development and Settler colonialism, topics that include Settler-colonial relations, dominant neoliberal tourism development discourses, and transformative methodologies re-orienting tourism towards regenerative, more ethical futures. Helle's work is situated in a political ecology theoretical framework that tends to the socio-ecological dimensions of tourism development and asymmetrical power relations. She is exploring several methodological approaches, including critical discourse analysis, Indigenous methodologies, and community based participatory action research.