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Dr Yana Wengel
Dr Yana Wengel
I take a human geography lens on social sustainability, international development, and tourism. My work sits at the intersection of mobility, place-making, and lived experience, with a particular interest in how tourism practices shape (and are shaped by) wellbeing, identity, and uneven power relations.
My current research focuses on mountain and coastal environments. In mountain contexts, I examine mountaineering tourism and contemporary mountaineer identities, including how risk, ethics, and aspiration are negotiated in high-altitude settings and how these dynamics connect to broader questions of sustainability and inclusion in mountain regions. In coastal contexts, I research surfing tourism and sensory geographies, with attention to embodied experience, emotional connections to the ocean, community formation, and women’s experiences and wellbeing.
Across these projects, social sustainability is a core thread. I am interested in who benefits from tourism development, who is marginalised, how local voices are included or excluded in governance and destination narratives, and how tourism can support more equitable futures in protected, mountain, and coastal places. Related interests include volunteer tourism and tourism in protected areas, particularly visitor experience, conservation education, and community engagement.
My PhD research examined the social construction of host–guest experiences within the WWOOF programme, focusing on the social dynamics that shape everyday encounters between hosts and volunteers. Methodologically, I work with creative, participatory, and constructivist approaches. I am a certified LEGO Serious Play facilitator and a Ketso practitioner, and I use creative methods to support dialogue, reflection, and co-produced knowledge in both research and teaching.
Alongside my academic work, I have a background in applied research and consulting. I previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher on the Dark Tourism project at Leeds Beckett University. I also served as a pro bono visiting professor through the Luxembourg Aid and Development Agency in Myanmar, where I worked at Mandalar University and supported the MYA/001 project team in strengthening human resources development in the hospitality and tourism sector.
As an educator, I prioritise creativity and inclusive engagement. I use constructivist methods to foster active participation and integrate tools such as LEGO Serious Play to make learning collaborative, reflective, and productive. Communication is central to my work. I am fluent in Russian, German, English, and Spanish, and I hope to learn Mandarin or Arabic in the future. I pay attention not only to what is said, but also to what remains unsaid, as it often reveals the most meaningful insights.
If you are interested in collaboration or would like to discuss related ideas, please feel free to contact me.
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