Dimah Ajeeb

Ajeeb, D. (2025) When Research Meets Policy: Aligning Funding and Governance in England’s Visitor Economy. Tourism Governance Insights [Public Engagement / Professional Blog], Substack, 25 October 2025. Available at: https://open.substack.com/pub/dimahajeeb/p/when-research-meets-polic...

Ajeeb, D. (2025) The Collapse of Visit Kent and Visit Herts: A Wake-Up Call for England’s Tourism Governance. Tourism Governance Insights [Public Engagement / Professional Blog], Substack, 20 October 2025. Available at: https://substack.com/inbox/post/176668861 

(Launched a professional blog translating academic research on tourism governance, crisis management, and regional policy into accessible policy commentary. The post draws on doctoral findings and contributes to public debate on sustainable governance models for England’s visitor economy. Disseminated via social media and institutional networks (DCMS, VisitBritain, UPEN).

Ajeeb, D. (2025) ‘Sun, sex, but no sangria? The Balearics’ booze crackdown might just save their tourist industry’, The Guardian, 3 September. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/03/balearic-islands-sun-sex-alcohol-tourist-industry-europe

Following the publication of my Guardian article on tourism governance in the Balearic Islands, the piece achieved over 80,000 readers in its first week according to Guardian records, generating strong engagement and discussion across policy, media, and academic networks. Across my own social media channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter), the article reached 145,965 views and 11,996 iengagements, reflecting its broad international impact and readership.

In recognition of the article’s strong reach and influence, The Guardian (GNM) formally reclassified the piece as commissioned work, rather than a voluntary contribution, and issued a freelance contributor contract for future commissioned opinion and analysis pieces. This arrangement, initiated on 23 September 2025, established an ongoing professional relationship with Guardian News & Media Ltd. for the production of commissioned commentary and analysis articles.

Panel Interview – Flight Free UK / New Economics Foundation (September 2025)

Invited as a panellist alongside Anna Hughes (Director, Flight Free UK) and Alex Chapman (New Economics Foundation), following the publication of my Guardian article on tourism governance and alcohol regulation in the Balearic Islands. The invitation reflected the article’s strong readership and wide impact. The discussion aimed at exploring tourism governance reforms and the role of communities in shaping sustainable visitor economies.

Radio Interview – NewsTalk, Moncrieff Show (September 2025)

Invited to speak on one of Ireland’s leading national programmes, the Moncrieff Show, following the publication of my Guardian article on tourism governance and alcohol regulation in the Balearic Islands. The discussion aimed at examining the broader implications of behavioural regulations on destinations, communities, and industry practices. The Moncrieff Show is among Ireland’s most listened-to programmes, with an audience of over 100,000, underscoring the article’s wide public reach and policy relevance.

The Conversation Weekly Podcast – Tourism and Impact on Communities (September 2025)

Invited to contribute as a guest expert on The Conversation Weekly podcast to discuss tourism and its impact on local communities, drawing on my research on the Balearic Islands. The invitation followed the publication of my Guardian article and its strong readership and public engagement.

• One Year On: Have the Balearic Islands’ Alcohol Crackdown and Tourism Reforms Worked?

This piece offers a timely, balanced analysis of Spain’s high-profile alcohol tourism restrictions in the Balearic Islands, one year after strict enforcement began. It explored early success in reducing late-night violence and noise while also highlighting tensions with local nightlife businesses, confusion among tourists, and the bigger question of whether these changes really signal a sustainable shift away from cheap party tourism.

It’s a policy story with broad European relevance as destinations grapple with the consequences of over-tourism and resident pushback during peak travel season.

The op-ed is approximately 900 words, written in an accessible, engaging style was submitted for The Guardian (Media), The Conversation UK (Policy / Academic Blog), and Skift (Trade / Industry Press)

July 2025

Tourism and its Impact on Local Communities

Invited by The Conversation Weekly (2025) to contribute expert insights on tourism and its impact on local communities, with a focus on the Balearic Islands and Barcelona, for an upcoming podcast episode.

July 2025

• Podcast on Dimah’s publication: "Imagine being off-the-grid: millennials’ perceptions of digital-free travel"

https://www.academia.edu/ai_podcast/88592446 

• Reforming Egypt’s Old Rent Law: A Path to Housing Fairness and Market Revitalisation

Submitted a review and memo for a policy paper produced to theimepp – Institute of Middle East for Public Policy

June 2025

• Fundamentals of Event Design 2nd ed- Book Review for Routledge

I was invited by Routledge | Taylor & Francis | UK to submit a review for the second edition of Fundamentals of Event Design

August 2024

• Spanish Government’s new law for Balearic Islands

In May 2024, a law was passed which will be put in place in tourist hotspots in the Balearic Islands and will mean people can be fined for drinking alcohol in non-authorised areas. The people fined will also be counted and this data will be submitted to embassies of those sanctioned.

I was invited by Westminster University’s PR Team (Corporate Communications and Public Affairs) and University of Westminster Press Office to provide a media pitch and scholarly policy paper on my views on the policy and its impacts on the Balearic Islands and the tourists.

My policy paper has been pitched to general media and the international tourism/hospitality trade magazine and the Conversation. 

May 2024

•  Luxembourg Arab Business Association

Dimah was invited as a development expert to the Luxembourg Arab Business Association to their webinar on “Saudi Arabia Vision 2030: A Market of Opportunities". This was aligned with her research expertise on governance systems, institutional reforms, and the impacts on destinations and financial frameworks. The webinar was on Saudi Arabia’s ambitious institutional reforms aimed at driving growth in key sectors such as technological innovation, sustainability, renewable energy, and tourism. The discussion emphasised the nation’s economic and social transformation, underpinned by progressive legal, political, and taxation reforms that are cultivating a globally competitive and business-friendly environment. 

Feb 2025

British Council Visit of MENA delegates at the University of Westminster

The British Council in London hosted a delegation of headteachers and ministry members from MENA region including Egypt, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. Dimah was invited by the senior staff at the University of Westminster, which hosted this event, to present and talk about her experience in supporting MENA students during their studies at Westminster.

23 January 2024

The British Academy- Innovation Fellowships 2023-24 Scheme Route B: Policy-led Central Government (Governance, Trust and Voice)

Project title of the funding bid application: Multi-Level Governance Framework for Effective Governance of Visitor Economy in England: Supporting Devolution, Local Growth, and Reviving Left-Behind Places 

Amount: Up to £120,000.  

Duration: March 2024- March 2025  

Forbes Research 

Invited to provide expert analysis and commentary on The Line, Saudi Arabia’s planned linear city development.

20 July 2023

Climate Art Call for Somers Town Neighbourhood, London

With colleagues from the School of Architecture+ Cities, I submitted an expression of interest for a Climate Art Call for Somers Town Neighbourhood, a community that I have engaging with since 2015 at different levels and capacities.  

March 2023

Canada–United Kingdom Workshop on Devolution, Local Autonomy, and Multi-Level Governance

Invited to present in this event compromising of Stakeholder event, Workshop, Talk/presentation and Panel

20- 22 Feb 2022

Global Council for Political Renewal Conference (Invited Participant & Speaker)

Dimah was invited as a policy expert in governance, public policy and communities to participate in the Global Council for Political Renewal which hosted a diverse and esteemed group of political leaders from around the world. With an outstanding lineup of speakers in the conference, including government ministers, MPs, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, ambassadors and academics, the event was a great opportunity for knowledge and experience exchange with politicians from the UK government and beyond.

Dimah’s contribution to the event was driven by her interests to bridge the ever increasing gap between academia, politics and communities in the face of a variety of crises and uncertainty. Her contribution was on the values, principles, and mechanisms for applying the multi-level governance (MLG) framework in a strictly uniform way to enact and activate global political renewal. The contribution also reflected on the experiences and knowledge on how to facilitate resilient and adaptive governance, and building citizens and communities trust in politics derived from the experience of European Union’s Municipal Administration Modernisation project to Syria (2005- 2009), the U.S. and New York’s community- led regeneration projects and the making of great communities, and the UK and England’s experience of devolution, institutional reforms, place based economies, neighbourhood planning, and communities empowerment, prosperity and inclusiveness.

14 - 15 Apr 2023

Working with Citizens UK to Develop Impactful Research and Knowledge Exchange

Expert participation and advice on establishing collaboration between Citizens UK and the University of Westminster to work together on projects for social justice and building stronger communities.

https://www.citizensuk.org/leadership-training/power-knowledge-excha...

May 2023

Green spaces, travel mode choices and the mental health of university students

In collaboration with colleagues from the A+C School, we were successful in securing the School of Architecture + Cities Research and Public Engagement Funds (Quality-related Research) for the project "Green spaces, travel mode choices and the mental health of university students"

April 2023

Somers Town History Museum Exhibition

A major community and public engagement event, showcasing an exhibition that reflected on the extensive work of the Somers Town Neighbourhood Forum, academics (Dimah representing the University of Westminster), and volunteers in raising awareness of the Somers Town history and proposal for conservation area. Dimah actively contributed to this knowledge exchange initiative by participating in multiple on-site and online workshops with members of the Somers Town Neighbourhood Forum, supporting the development of exhibitions, screenings, performances, workshops, talks, and presentations.

March- Nov 2021 ( Event took place on 8 Nov 2021)

Community-Led Regeneration and Development – Somers Town Case Study

Since 2016, Dimah has fostered a deep and sustained collaboration with the Somers Town Neighbourhood Forum and Community, integrating their voices into her teaching, research, and advocacy at the University of Westminster. This partnership has been at the heart of several modules she leads in planning, architecture, real estate, and tourism courses, most notably the L4 Strategic Planning for Tourism module, and L7 Sustainable Planning for the Visitor Economy, which she designed specifically as a live case study of community-led regeneration and sustainable development.

Through the L4 Strategic Planning for Tourism module for example, students engage directly with local residents, community forums, local businesses, and Camden Council planning officers, actively contributing to campaigns on heritage preservation and community empowerment, rights and prosperity. Working in collaboration with all these different stakeholders, different teams of students co-developed proposals for alternative regeneration strategies that challenge gentrification-driven models and advocate for inclusive, community-led development approaches. With the integration of community’s workshops, including Workshop I – “Collect” (guided heritage walks, community museum planning, and intergenerational storytelling) and Workshop II – “Put it Together” (consultations on conservation and creative urban sketching walks), students projects have used insights from these workshops and proposed strategies to empower residents to protect their heritage and shape the neighbourhood’s future. These proposals, developed as part of the module, were formally presented by the Neighbourhood Forum to Camden Council at a public event, demonstrating how academic insights and student projects can translate into practical, community-informed development alternatives.

January 2019- current date

Research reveals millennials desperate to digitally disconnect hindered by fear of missing out

(Media Coverage by University of East Anglia Press / 01 Apr 2020

of Dimah’s research and publication: Floros, C., Cai, W., McKenna, B., & Ajeeb, D. (2021). Imagine being off-the-grid: Millennials’ Perceptions of Digital-Free Travel. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(5), 751–766.)

Link to Media's Article

Why are we all so afraid to be without our phones?

(Media Coverage by Irish Examiner / 19 Oct 2019 of Dimah’s research and publication: Floros, C., Cai, W., McKenna, B., & Ajeeb, D. (2021). Imagine being off-the-grid: Millennials’ Perceptions of Digital-Free Travel. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(5), 751–766.)

Link to Media's Article

Millennials desperate to digitally disconnect hindered by fear of missing out, research reveals

(Media Coverage by Universoty of Greenwich Press / 12 Oct 2019 of Dimah’s research and publication: Floros, C., Cai, W., McKenna, B., & Ajeeb, D. (2021). Imagine being off-the-grid: Millennials’ Perceptions of Digital-Free Travel. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(5), 751–766.)

Link to Media's Article

Millennials hindered from digitally disconnecting due to fear of missing out, research finds

(Media Coverage by University of Westminster Press / 11 Oct 2019 of Dimah’s research and publication: Floros, C., Cai, W., McKenna, B., & Ajeeb, D. (2021). Imagine being off-the-grid: Millennials’ Perceptions of Digital-Free Travel. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(5), 751–766.)

Link to Media's Article

Under-35s scared to take ‘digital detox’ holidays due to ‘FOMO’

(Media Coverage by Eastern Daily Press / 11 Oct 2019 of Dimah’s research and publication: Floros, C., Cai, W., McKenna, B., & Ajeeb, D. (2021). Imagine being off-the-grid: Millennials’ Perceptions of Digital-Free Travel. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(5), 751–766.)

Link to Media's Article

Somers Town History – Consultancy & Stakeholder Workshops (Mar 2020 – Nov 2021)

As an academic at the University of Westminster with a long-standing collaboration with the Somers Town community on planning, regeneration, heritage, tourism, and levelling‑up initiatives, Dimah was invited by the Neighbourhood Forum to contribute as a consultant to the development of the Somers Town Conservation Museum.

Her involvement included participating in and advising on a series of workshops, stakeholder events, and exhibitions, as well as contributing to screenings, performances, talks, and panel discussions. This collaboration supported the co‑creation of a community‑led heritage space, embedding local voices in the planning and design process and aligning with wider policy debates on place‑making, heritage preservation, and community prosperity.

04 Mar 2020 - 08 Nov 2021.

Internship for University of Westminster Students

Dimah’s collaboration with the Somers Town community has extended beyond classroom engagement to include paid and unpaid internships, offered by the Neighbourhood Forum to Westminster University students in 2019. These opportunities have enabled students to support community‑led campaigns, research, and events, fostering both their professional development and the Forum’s advocacy efforts. This partnership has led to major public exhibitions and celebrations of Somers Town’s history and set the foundation for a conservation area (2019–2020) and has been followed by a series of ongoing events advocating for the community’s rights, identity, and wellbeing, which continue to the present day.

This ongoing partnership exemplifies knowledge exchange in action, translating academic expertise into tangible community benefits while equipping students with real-world experience in socially responsible regeneration and development.

April- October 2019

Whose Government Is It? House of Lords Event

Dimah was invited by Dr. Henry Tam as a policy expert in public policy and communities to the House of Lords to mark the publication of his new book ‘Whose Government is it? – the renewal of state-citizen cooperation’, published by Bristol University Press. The work is towards finding effective ways to bridge the widening gap between the public and the government. The work featured special guest speakers, Lord Blunkett, Dame Jane Roberts, Hazel Blears and Henry Tam, and academics and practitioners, policymakers, opinion formers, and leading figures in democratic reform and civic engagement. The event focuses on key issues such as why and how better state-citizen cooperation is necessary for achieving positive social change, threats of civic disengagement, and suggestions to overcome the obstacles to democratic cooperation between citizens and state institutions across a range of policy areas and in varied national contexts.

09 Jul 2019

Community‑Led Tourism Consultancy – Reports for the Somers Town Neighbourhood Forum

In collaboration with planning, architecture, and tourism students at the University of Westminster, Dimah oversaw the production of a series of consultancy reports designed to support local tourism initiatives within the Somers Town community. These reports addressed the challenges faced by the vulnerable neighbourhood long affected by deprivation, exclusion, and the growing pressures of gentrification, offering evidence‑based proposals and actionable recommendations for tourism‑led community development.

The reports were adopted by the Somers Town Neighbourhood Forum as a resource for informing campaigns and strategic planning, providing significant, community‑driven solutions aimed at protecting heritage, enhancing local wellbeing, and fostering long‑term prosperity.

April 2019

Somers Town Neighbourhood Planning Response to Camden Council and Community Advocacy

Since 2016, Dimah has acted as an advisor to the Somers Town Community / Neighbourhood Forum, contributing to the community’s coordinated response to Camden Council’s major regeneration proposals, developed in the context of austerity measures. Her submitted response, as part of the Forum’s wider advocacy and response, focused on protecting Somers Town’s heritage, identity, culture and community interests, aligning with the priorities set out in the Somers Town Neighbourhood Planning document, the updated Camden Local Plan of 2016, and addressing the implications of proposed large-scale regeneration.

This collaboration has included facilitating workshops and amplifying community voices, ensuring that residents’ perspectives, rights, and cultural values are embedded within the her response to the development plan and strategies. Her work has contributed to the empowerment, inclusion, and prosperity of the Somers Town community through community-led planning and heritage preservation.

July 2016

Design and Heritage for Somers Town Community – Policy Analysis and Advocacy (2016)

Building on the opportunities provided by the Localism Act 2011, which empowered communities to shape policies and plans affecting their areas, Dimah contributed to the Somers Town Neighbourhood Forum’s research and analysis of the adopted Camden Council’s Core Strategy (2010–2025) and the Draft Local Plan (2016–2031), conducting consultations with NPIERS, RICS, Locality, and RTPI Planning Aid England on Free Health Check of Neighborhood Planning including requirements, process, and outcomes, and providing insights that informed the Neighbourhood Plan, a key document within the Local Planning Framework guiding future development.

May 2016

American Library of Congress

Dimah’s master’s degree dissertation in the USA, titled; Local Governments' Urban Design and Planning Strategies and Policies, a comparative case study was published by the University of New York Press and by ProQuest in 2012 and was reserved in the collection of the American Library of Congress in 2012.

June 2012

• Academic Awards, Funding, and Honours

 ·       University of Sheffield- E.S.R.C White Rose Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership Scholarship

Owing to the PhD’s research potential for the UK political and economic contexts, Dimah was invited to undertake her PhD research at the University of Sheffield, supported by the E.S.R.C White Rose Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership Scholarship. This invitation was extended by the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and the Department of Politics at Sheffield. 

·       University of Greenwich Sponsorship

The sponsorship was awarded by Greenwich Business School to cover the MPhil/ PhD tuition and fees.  It was awarded for being an academic staff at the school where this fall in line with the school’s teaching and learning strategy of ‘research informed teaching’.

Sep 2018

·       Qualification in Teaching in Higher Education

University College London 2013

University of Greenwich 2017

E.S.R.C. Economic and Social Research Council/ University of East Anglia 2018

·       Planning Excellence Award

Granted by the American Planning Association (APA), Western New York Section, New York Upstate Chapter

 “Against the Grain: A New Direction for the Old First Ward”

Department of Urban and Regional Planning, The State University of New York, USA.

See appendix for further details of Award

June 2012             

·       Planning Professional Awards

Granted by the American Planning Association (APA), New York Upstate Chapter, “Making Great Communities Happen”

 “Against the Grain: A New Direction for the Old First Ward”

https://ubir.buffalo.edu/xmlui/handle/10477/1929

Department of Urban and Regional Planning, The State University of New York, USA.

September 2012- Please see appendix for further details of Award

·       Official appointment as a Full-Time Faculty Member at the Faculty of Architectural Engineering and Urban Planning, Damascus University, Syria.

Owing to the first rank awarded in the graduation results of the Bachelor degree in Architectural Engineering, Damascus University assigned me for teaching purposes in architectural and planning program on a full time bases at the Faculty of Architectural Engineering and Urban Planning.

·       Fully- Funded Scholarship for Master and PhD degrees in Urban & Regional Planning in the USA and UK.

The scholarship is granted by Damascus University based on the awarded first rank in the graduation results in the Bachelor degree in Architectural Engineering.

·       The Awards Below Granted by the Faculty of Architectural Engineering and Urban Planning, Damascus University

-The Graduation Project

Planning, structural, and architectural study of a man-made island, proposed in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia

Awarded second class honours, with a grade (85%)

-The Overall Score in the Fifth Year 

Awarded first class honours, with a grade (78.16%) 

 -The Old International Damascus Fairs Land

An Architectural Design, Urban Design and Planning project in the fifth year

Awarded first class honours, with a grade (79%)

- Re-Organize Al Nasser Historical Street

A planning and urban design project in the fourth year

Awarded first class honours, 2005-2006.