Shahab Pourfakhimi

Biography

Dr Shahab Pourfakhimi is a senior fellow of Higher Education Academy and a tourism consumer behaviour researcher, working at the School of Business and Creative Industries in the role of lecturer, Tourism, Leisure and Event Management. With over one decade of academic research and business consultation experience, Shahab is currently leading a number of innovative tourism consumer research projects collaborating with Australian and International scholars.

Shahab’s research interests generally involve studying consumer behaviour in tourism, hospitality and events. He is particularly interested in investigating the socio-psychological dimensions of tourists’ perceptions, choices and experiences. His previous research project includes investigating consumers’ hotel selection behaviour with a focus on the impact of electronic word of mouth on their hotel choice and a series of empirical and conceptual investigations of the adoption and impacts of smart, social and mobile information and communication technologies in tourism, hospitality and events. His current projects mainly involve exploring the cognitive and affective dimensions of consumers’ choices and experiences in tourism, hospitality and events and studying the impact of such experiences on their wellbeing and quality of life.

Professional memberships

• International Federation for Information Technology and Travel & Tourism
• The Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education

Awards and Scholarships

• USC Business School Learning & Teaching Award (2020)
• USC Business School Engagement Award (2019, 2020)
• The International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism Award for the best doctoral research proposal (2014), Dublin, Ireland
• Internet NZ Conference Support Grant (2013), Internet NZ Foundation, Wellington, New Zealand
• The University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship Award (2013), Dunedin, New Zealand
• The University of Malaya Bright Sparks Scholarships Awards (2013), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• CIPD Short Term Grant, University Technology Malaysia (2012), Johor, Malaysia
• The University Technology Malaysia Best Postgraduate Student Award (2012), Johor, Malaysia

Teaching areas

• Consumer Behaviour
• Tourism, Hospitality and Events Marketing
• Tourism, Hospitality and Events Management
• Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism, Hospitality and Events
• Tourism Policy and Planning

Expert media commentary

Shahab Pourfakhimi’s specialist areas of knowledge include consumer behaviour, social media, information and communication technologies, destination branding, marketing and management in tourism, hospitality and events.