University joins world leisure group

The University of Otago has become the third university in the world to be made a world leisure centre of excellence, connecting it to a global network of leisure researchers and lecturers.

The other two centres of leisure are the Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands and Vancouver Island University.

Tourism department head Prof Neil Carr (left) was thrilled the work done by the department was being recognised.

''We are the first one in the southern hemisphere to have got it,'' he said.

The focus for leisure research at Otago is developing wellbeing through leisure, including tourism, recreation, events and hospitality. 

-By Elena McPhee