Dr. Joseph M. Cheer is a Professor of Sustainable Tourism and Heritage, and Associate Dean, International, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University, Australia, and a Visiting Professor at the Center for Tourism Research (CTR), Wakayama University, Japan.

In 2023, Joseph was listed in the Top 2% of researchers in the Sport, Leisure and Tourism field.

He is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Tourism Geographies, Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on the Future of Sustainable Tourism, and Co-Chair of the American Association of Geographers, Recreation, Tourism and Sport (AAGRTS) group, and newly elected Chair of the International Geographical Union Commission on Tourism, Leisure and Global Change.

Joseph is a past board member of PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association), an advisory board member of the UNWTO Best Tourism Villages initiative, and an empaneled consultant to the Asian Development Bank PSDI (Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative).

As well as holding adjunct professorship at Wakayama University (Japan), he holds adjunct roles at Hainan University (China), AUT (New Zealand) and the University of Johannesburg (South Africa).

He has received research funding from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences (JSPS), the Australian Research Council (ARC), Tourism Research Australia, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT), Australia Japan Foundation, and Australia China Council, among others.

Joseph has published 12 books, over 70 book chapters and journal articles, and non-traditional publications for The Conversation, World Economic Forum, UNESCO, Asian Development Bank, Global Research Institute, among others.

Joseph is regularly quoted or invited to provide commentary to mainstream media including recently in Asia Nikkei, The Guardian, ABC Australia, SBS, BBC World, CCTV China, CNBC, Channel News Asia, Yahoo! News, and Radio NZ, among others.