Tourism and Marketing Research Centre members are interested in supervising PhD students in the following areas:
Experts
Wenjie's research interests include digital-free tourism, digital detox and digital wellbeing; backpacker studies; social inclusion and tourism; tourism mobilities; tourist behaviour; gender and sexuality in tourism and hospitality; knowledge creation and epistemology; Chinese outbound tourism; technology use. Wenjie is a qualitative researcher and welcomes PhD students who are curious and critical about the tourism phenomenon.
Tourism in islands and/or peripheral areas; issues associated with the governance of tourism; tourism and public policy.
Dr Krolikowska-Adamzyk would be interested in supervising students who are interested in conducting research in the following areas: Business-to-business relationship management; social bonds and attachment in tourism and marketing relationships; and event customer experience.
Self-guided trails and themed routes; literary tourism, with a focus on the experiences of literary-inspired visitors; tourism and popular culture (including film and artistic representations of tourism).
Dr Gebbels is an Associate Professor of Hospitality Management. Her research focuses on gender dynamics and career progression within the hospitality industry, professionalism, and perceptions of hospitality as a career of choice. She also engages with critical hospitality studies, using this lens to explore social dynamics and issues of justice and inclusion. She challenges conventional conceptualisations of hospitality by investigating phenomena such as hospitality in carceral settings and in adventure tourism. She is a co-author of Adventure Tourist: Being, Knowing, Becoming.
Dr Zhang’s research focuses on digital and sensory marketing, particularly how multisensory cues such as visuals and soundscapes influence consumer perceptions and behavioural intentions. She is also interested in message framing and its effects on advertising effectiveness and impulse purchase, AI-driven advertising, sustainable consumption, and emerging research methods in digital communication and consumer experience. Her main methodological approach is experimental design, and she also has experience with mixed-methods research. Dr Zhang welcomes students with similar research interests to pursue a PhD under her supervision.
Dr Jones’ research focuses on tourism investment and urban regeneration. She also researches the impacts of events, accessible tourism and tourism and the 15-Minute City. Her work also focuses on culture and heritage and responsible place-making.
The main focus of Professor Malhotra’s research is in Services Marketing. She primarily works in four key areas – Digital Marketing (understanding various forms of digital marketing in a range of contexts utilising digital technologies such as AI, AR/VR/MR in services); Retailing and Consumer Behaviour (optimising customer retention/loyalty in retail services and understanding the role of customer, firm, and market level factors); Value co-creation in services (understanding customer experience and customer engagement especially in extended service encounter contexts such as healthcare, tourism and higher education services) and finally, Internal Marketing (frontline employee service performance management and strategy in customer contact services).
Dr Yung is an expert in digital innovation and transformation within tourism and marketing. Specifically, he is known for his work on extended realities, around implications, user interface and user experience. In terms of method, Ryan is a pragmatist that specialises in experiment design and mixed-methods, alongside extensive experience with systematic literature reviews.
Dr Nguyen is an Associate Professor in Tourism and Events. Her areas of expertise include tourist behaviour, sustainable tourist behaviour, tourist experience, resident studies, cultural and heritage tourism, tourism resilience, and employee resilience.
Dr Dogru-Dastan’s research interests include tourism marketing, sustainable consumption, and consumer behaviour. Current projects include sustainable supply chain, social sustainability in the destinations, and gig economy.
Dr Siegel welcomes proposals for PhD projects that explore the intersection of technology, tourism and visitor experience. Potential topics can include peer and social comparison on social media, generational differences in travel and digital engagement, as well as the ethical, cultural, and sustainability implications of emerging technologies shaping the visitor economy. She is also interested in supervising PhD projects examining other forms of media-induced tourism such as film, television, and social media.
Dr Wijesundara’s areas of expertise include marketing communications, consumer behaviour and human computer interaction. Other areas of interest include social media marketing and AI applications.
Dr Kuenzel’s previous supervision has encompassed projects on services and relationship marketing, and the application of consumer behaviour and social psychology theories to marketing and tourism contexts. Current doctoral research under his supervision explores cutting-edge topics including personalised advertising, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), and the evolving role of social media platforms in shaping marketing strategies. He welcomes prospective PhD students interested in pursuing innovative, theory-driven, and industry-relevant research.
Dr Ahmed welcome proposals that explore evolving dynamics of consumer behaviour, digital advertising and specifically, social media marketing. Research that investigates the intersections of technology and marketing, primarily Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Analytics are strongly welcomed. He also encourages innovative themes in tourism marketing, with a focus on sustainability and travelling destinations that are leveraged through user-generated content and micro-influencers.
Dr Isabella Ye is currently available for PhD supervision in the areas of tourism and hospitality studies, specifically topics relating to social justice, tourism mobilities, visitor behaviours and interpretation, and post-humanism.
Digital and social media marketing with a particular emphasis on consumer behaviour and brand strategy. Especially interested in consumer decision-making and technology adoption, as well as big data, AI-driven marketing, and social media analytics and experimental marketing. Also interested in exploring consumer engagement across major digital platforms, including WeChat, Little Red Book, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Dr Wang’s research expertise lies in place branding, place marketing, and the communication of place image through advertising. Current projects include feline place branding and LGBTQ+ representation in Thailand’s official Go Thai Be Free tourism campaign on Instagram. She welcomes international topics, with a particular interest in Chinese studies, and is keen to examine how place identity and image are constructed and communicated across diverse cultural and media landscapes.
Dr Salimon’s research expertise is on consumer behaviour with special focus on marketing strategies, and the integration of emerging technologies such as AI to enhance customer experience. His work explores how data, and digital technologies work together to enhance adoption behaviour especially in e-learning, mobile and e-commerce platforms. He is also currently looking at how sustainability framework can be integrated into AI and other emerging technologies to improve customer experience and to help organisations deliver value.
Dr Mohamadi’s expertise lies in how culture, society, and national identities shape the ways destinations are imagined, experienced, and marketed. Current projects examine street performers, creative industries, night-time economy, and gig work in tourism, focusing on their intersections with policy, development, and destination branding and marketing. She welcomes PhD proposals related to tourism, hospitality and marketing.
Dr Juliane Thieme
Dr Thieme is interested in supervising work on broader aspects of social justice within leisure (tourism, hospitality and events studies). Her own work and interests centre around inclusive growth, political economy & power relations, gender, sustainability, veganism and nutrition, as well as critical and creative research methods. She is currently co-supervising a multi-disciplinary, cross-university PhD in arts & events on volunteering at folk events.
Dr Vlachos’ expertise includes research into live events and venues, immersive experiences, and marketing ethics. Current research projects include socio-economic impacts of place branding, capacity building in rural tourism, and regional development. International topics are welcomed, including but not limited to, Nordic and Baltic tourism, the Balkans and Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, and Middle East regions.
Dr Phan is a dedicated marketing and digital marketing expert focused on the strategic growth of SMEs, with deep involvement in entrepreneurship and startup ecosystems. Her research explores AI integration in marketing, consumer behaviour, and digital transformation, alongside brand positioning and omnichannel strategies. She specialises in content marketing, social media, SEO, and data-driven analytics, driven by a passion for understanding how technology shapes consumer engagement, purchasing decisions, and brand loyalty.
Dr Zivai’s research interests encompass social and sustainable marketing, along with the influence of new digital technologies such as AI, in shaping consumer experiences and behaviour. She welcomes students who are interested in exploring and applying marketing beyond financial gain to include sustainable societal impact.