Dr Angela Benson PhD, MA, BA, FHEA, FRGS
Principal Lecturer
contact:
Sport and Service Management
Darley Road
Eastbourne
BN20 7UR
Telephone: +44 (0)1273 643621
Email: A.M.Benson@brighton.ac.uk
Biography
Dr Angela M Benson is a Principal Lecturer in Tourism at the School of Service Management, University of Brighton where she has been since January 2004 having previously held the position of Senior Lecturer at the Southampton SOLENT University (1995 – 2004).
In 2010 Angela was made an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Canberra, Australia. Prior to her career as an academic, she worked for 13 years in leisure and recreation, managing a range of facilities and events.
Her research area of volunteering primarily falls into two key areas:
- Volunteer Tourism - much of this research has been conducted with collaboration from organisations in the UK volunteer tourism sector and is a continuation of her PhD research. As a result of this research she became the Founding Chair of the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS) Volunteer Tourism Research Group;
- Volunteers at Mega Sport Events - this second area of research has been in association with Australian and Canadian colleagues. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has approved our research twice (Vancouver 2010 and London 2012).
Angela has published over 20 articles and chapters in the areas of Volunteer Tourism, Volunteering at Mega Events, Best Value, Sustainability and Research Methods.
Affiliations
- Chair of the Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS) Volunteer Tourism Research Group
- Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society with IBG
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Member of the British Academy of Management (BAM)
- Member of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM)
- Member of Voluntary Sector Studies Network (VSSN)
Research interests
- Volunteering in Tourism, Sport and Leisure
- Third Sector and Tourism
- Tourism and Conservation
- Sustainable Tourism Development
- Tourist Typologies, Motivation and Behaviour
Research Publications
Benson, A.M. and Wearing, S. (2012) Volunteer tourism: commodified trend or new phenomenon? In: Moufakkir, O. and Burns, P.M., eds. Controversies in tourism. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK, pp. 242-254. ISBN 9781845938130
BENSON, ANGELA and Blackman, D. (2011) To distribute leadership or not? A lesson from the islands Tourism Management, 32 (5). pp. 1141-1149. ISSN 0261-5177
Benson, A.M. and Henderson, S. (2011) A strategic analysis of volunteer tourism organisations The Service Industries Journal, 31 (3). pp. 405-424. ISSN 0264-2069
Dickson, T.A., Benson, A.M. and Blackman, D. (2011) Developing a framework for evaluating Olympic and Paralympic legacies Journal of Sport & Tourism, 16 (4). pp. 285-302. ISSN 1477-5085
Kaminski, J., Arnold, D.B. and Benson, A.M. (2010) Volunteer archeological tourism: An overview In: Volunteer Tourism: Theory Framework to Practical Applications. Routledge, Oxon, UK, pp. 157-174. ISBN 978-0-415-57664-2
Benson, A.M. (2010) Volunteer tourism: Structuring the research agenda In: Benson, A.M., ed. Volunteer Tourism: Theory Framework to Practical Applications. Routledge, Oxon, UK, pp. 240-251. ISBN 978-0-415-57664-2
BENSON, ANGELA (2010) Volunteer Tourism: theoretical frameworks and practical applications [Edited Collections]
Benson, A.M. (2010) Volunteer tourism: Theory and practice In: Benson, A.M., ed. Volunteer Tourism: Theory Feamework to Practical Applications. Routledge, Oxon, UK, pp. 1-6. ISBN 978-0-415-57664-2
Blackman, D. and BENSON, ANGELA (2010) Overcoming knowledge stickiness in scientific knowledge transfer Public Understanding of Science . ISSN 0963-6625
Blackman, D.A. and BENSON, ANGELA (2010) The role of the psychological contract in managing research volunteer tourism Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 27 (3). pp. 1-15. ISSN 1054-8408
Lyons, K., Wearing, S. and Benson, A.M. (2009) Introduction to the special issue on volunteer tourism Annals of Leisure Research, 12 (3 & 4). pp. 269-271. ISSN 1174-5398
Benson, A.M. (2009) Research volunteer tourism: defining the experience VolunTourist Newsletter, 5 (1).
Benson, A.M. and Seibert, N. (2009) Volunteer tourism: motivations of German participants in South Africa Annals of Leisure Research, 12 (3 & 4). pp. 295-314. ISSN 1174-5398
Benson, A.M. (2008) Curriculum change to facilitate access in the service sector: foundation degree to BA Honours e-book publication . Sussex Learning Network/LLNs, UK.
Benson, A.M. (2008) Curriculum change for access in the service industries: Foundation Degree to BA Honours In: Bringing Higher Education within Reach. Sussex Learning Network, Brighton, UK, pp. 10-14.
Niggel, C. and Benson, A.M. (2007) Exploring the motivation of backpackers: the case of South Africa In: Hannam, K. and Ateljevic, I., eds. Backpacker tourism: concepts and profiles. Channel View Publications, Clevedon, UK, pp. 144-156. ISBN 1845410777
Blackman, D. and Benson, A.M. (2006) Can Methodological Applications Develop Critical Thinking? The Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 4 (1). pp. 1-10. ISSN 1477-7029
Clifton, J. and Benson, A.M. (2006) Planning for sustainable ecotourism: the case for research ecotourism in developing country destinations Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 14 (3). pp. 238-254. ISSN 0966-9582
Novelli, M. and Benson, A.M. (2005) Niche tourism: a way forward to sustainability In: Novelli, M., ed. Niche tourism: contemporary issues, trends and cases. Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd., Oxford, UK, pp. 247-250. ISBN 075066133X
Benson, A.M. (2005) Research tourism: professional travel for useful discoveries In: Novelli, Marina, ed. Niche tourism: contemporary issues, trends and cases. Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd., Oxford, UK, pp. 33-142. ISBN 075066133X
Benson, A.M. and Henderson, S. (2005) Strategic characteristics of sport and recreation provision: An application of SPACE analysis Managing Leisure, 10 (4). pp. 251-267. ISSN 1466-450X
Benson, A.M. and Henderson, S. (2005) UK leisure centres under best value: a strategic analysis International Journal of Public Sector Management, 18 (3). pp. 196-215.
Benson, A.M. and Clifton, J. (2004) Assessing tourism's impacts using local communities' attitudes towards the environment In: Pineda, F.D. and Brebbia, C.A., eds. Sustainable tourism. WIT Press, Southampton, UK, pp. 3-12. ISBN 1853127248
Benson, A.M. and Blackman, D. (2003) Can research methods ever be interesting? Active Learning in Higher Education, 4 (1). pp. 39-55.
Scholarly activities
Journal editorial board membership
- Editorial Board Member for the Journal of the Applied Sciences in Tourism (JAST)
- Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Educational Travel (JET)
Manuscript peer reviews
Journal reviewer for: Annals of Tourism Research; Journal of Tourism Management; Tourism Planning and Development (formerly Tourism and Hospitality: Planning and Development Journal); Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research; International Journal of Tourism Research; Tourism Policy; Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management; Journal of Hospitality and Marketing and Management; Tourism and Hospitality Research; Journal of Managerial Psychology; Ecotourism, The Service Industries Journal and the European Management Journal.
Book reviewer for: Routledge, CABI International, Channel View and Pearson Education.
Convener / Organiser of Conferences / Symposiums
Co-convenor with Dr Marie Ashwin for: Research Methods Teaching Stream at the European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies. June 2012, Bolton University, UK.
2010 Special Stream Convener: Travel Philanthropy, Volunteer and Charity Tourism at the International Conference Sustainable Tourism: Issues, Debates and Challenges. April 22nd – 26th, 2010, Crete and Santorini, Greece.
2009 Co-convener with Dr Stephen Wearing and Dr Kevin Lyons for: Volunteering and Tourism Symposium: Developing a Research Agenda – Linking Industry and Academia. ATLAS / CAUTHE. 14th -15th June, Singapore @ James Cook University, Singapore Campus.
Scientific Panel Membership
2012 - International Conference on Contemporary Marketing Issues (ICCMI) 2012. Thessaloniki, Greece.
2011 - Business Strategy and Organisational Behaviour BizStrategy. Malaysia.
2011 - Special Interest Tourism and Destination Management. Kathmandu, Nepal.
2010 - Sustainable Tourism: Issues, Debates and Challenges. Crete and Santorini, Greece.
2008 - Selling or Telling? Paradoxes in Tourism Culture and Heritage. Association for Tourism and Leisure Education (ATLAS) / EPOCH Conference. Brighton, UK.
2005 - 2012 - European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies (8 years service)
2004 - 2006 - Sustainable Tourism Conference organised by The Complutense University, Madrid, Spain and Wessex Institute of Technology UK. (Bi-annual Conference)
Invited talks and keynote addresses
2011 - Chair of the Volunteer Expert Panel at Wildlife.Xpo. Alexandra Palace, London. 14th-15th October 2011. Panel consist of representatives from Tourism Concern, Biosphere Expeditions, Operation Wallacea and Born Free.
2011 - Invited Speaker on Volunteer Tourism. Rotary Club, Dunedin, New Zealand.
2007 - Invited Keynote Speaker for Volunteer Tourism Symposium. Sustainable Enterprise? A Strategic Analysis of the Research Volunteer Sector. Hosted by the National Institute for Governance and the Centre for Tourism Research, University of Canberra, Australia. Supported by CAUTHE (Council for Australian University Tourism and Hospitality Education).
2007 - Invited speaker for the Guest Lecture Series Hosted by Australian International Hotel School (AIHS). Research Volunteer Tourism, what is it? – conceptual and stakeholder perspectives.
2007 - Invited Speaker for Teaching Research Methods Workshop. Can Research Methods be both Interesting and Develop Critical Thinking? At Bristol Business School, University of West England. Sponsored by British Academy of Management (BAM) Special Interest Group on Research Methodology.
PhD examinations
June 2012: Emily Ogier, University of Western Australia
Thesis title: Island-based tourism: governance and use of natural resources at the Houtman Abrolhos islands, Western Australia
March 2011: Peter Wood, James Cook University
Thesis title: A Conceptual Exploration Of Marine Research Tourism In Australia.
May 2010: Michael O'Regan, University of Brighton, UK
Thesis title: Backpacker mobilities: The practice and performance of travellerscapes in a global world
Consulting experience
2011 - Syria – Upgrading the Higher Education Sector in Syria EuropeAid/123741/C/SER/SY. International short term expert for tourism for SPAN consultancy on Developing National Academic Reference Standards for Tourism.
2010 - Ghana - COAST (Collaborative Actions for Sustainable Tourism) Project Partner Countries Training Needs Assessment – Vienna, Austria: UNIDO (supported by GEF/UNEP/UNIDO/UNWTO). One of five consultants.
2000-2004 - Indonesia - Co-ordinator of Ecotourism Projects in Indonesia for Operation Wallacea with Dr. Julian Clifton (University of Portsmouth /University of Western Australia) in Wakatobi Marine National Park during each summer vacation period. The series of projects that were run were developed in order to alleviate poverty and build capacity in the local communities. Assistance to local enterprises was given to support ecotourism and volunteer projects. Environmental awareness training associated with Marine Projects was also undertaken.
2002 - Hampshire County Council. Report on Hampshire Youth Games 2002. Co –consultant: Burton, R.
1997 - Bavarian Liaison Activity Centre, Germany. Facility Management Structure Review. Co-consultant: Day, A.
1995 - Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre, London. Strategic Development Plan 1995-2000.
