Professor Rhodri Thomas
Dean of School
School Of Events, Tourism And Hospitality Management
0113 81 23462 R.Thomas@leedsbeckett.ac.ukAbout Professor Rhodri Thomas
Rhodri Thomas is Professor of Tourism and Events Policy and Dean of The School of Events, Tourism and Hospitality Management at Leeds Beckett University.
Originally trained as an economist, Rhodri now engages in inter-disciplinary research in the context of tourism and the events sector. His particular research interests are: (a) public policy studies, especially in relation to small firms, and (b) commercial innovation and knowledge exchange with universities. His latest book entitled Questioning the Assessment of Research Impact: Illusions, Myths and Marginal Sectors has recently been published by Palgrave Macmillan and was followed by a piece in The Times Higher Education.
Rhodri recently acted as a member of New Zealand’s Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) Business and Economics Panel. He has previously acted as a 'specialist expert' on policy issues for the OECD, the European Commission and for government departments and other agencies in the UK and elsewhere. He has completed several Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) grant and non-grant funded projects and is a member of their Peer Review College.
Rhodri is Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events (ESCI listed; ABDC B), Co-ordinating Editor for the International Journal of Hospitality Management (ABS 3* SSCI IF 3.443) and Academic Editor for Sustainability (SSCI IF 2.075). He sits on the Editorial Advisory Boards of Tourism Management, Tourism Management Perspectives, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Journal of Services Research, Journal of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, and Sci.
Current Teaching
- PhD Supervision
Research Interests
Current research is primarily concerned with the impact of academic knowledge production on non-academic constituencies within the context of public policy debates about performance-based research funding.
Selected Publications
Journal articles (28)
- Yeung E; Thomas R (In press), The 'long tail' of event management research: evidence from the field's main journals
https://doi.org/10.1080/19407963.2020.1862855 - Tomassini L; Font X; Thomas R (2020), Narrating values-based entrepreneurs in tourism
https://doi.org/10.1080/14766825.2020.1793991
View Repository Record - Thomas R (2020), Problematising 'The impact of tourism research' : A reply to Brauer, Dymitrow, and Tribe (2019)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.102968
View Repository Record - Thomas R (2020), Affective subjectivation or moral ambivalence? Constraints on the promotion of sustainable tourism by academic researchers
https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2020.1770262
View Repository Record - Tomassini L; Font X; Thomas R (2019), The case for linguistic narrative analysis, illustrated studying small firms in tourism
https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2019.1619824
View Repository Record - Kornilaki M; Thomas R; Font X (2019), The sustainability behaviour of small firms in tourism: the role of self-efficacy and contextual constraints
https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2018.1561706
View Repository Record - Li S; Cang S; Thomas R; Hyun S (2017), Residents' perceptions of convention centres: A distance decay analysis
https://doi.org/10.3727/152599517X15073047237241
View Repository Record - Yaning Li N; Wood EH; Thomas R (2017), Innovation implementation: harmony and conflict in Chinese modern music festivals
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.06.009
View Repository Record - Thomas R; Ormerod N (2017), The (almost) imperceptible impact of tourism research on policy and practice
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.02.009
View Repository Record - Thomas R; Ormerod N (2017), Founts of knowledge or delusions of grandeur? Limits and illusions of tourism research impact: A reply to Wood
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.04.009
View Repository Record - Thomas R (2017), A remarkable absence of women: a comment on the formation of the new Events Industry Board
https://doi.org/10.1080/19407963.2016.1208189
View Repository Record - Koens K; Thomas R (2016), "You know that's a rip-off": Micro-enterprises and poverty alleviation in South African township tourism
https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2016.1145230
View Repository Record - Kosmaczewska J; Thomas RW; Dias F (2015), Residents' perceptions of tourism and their implications for policy development: Evidence from rural Poland
https://doi.org/10.1080/15575330.2015.1110189
View Repository Record - Thomas R; Wood E (2015), The absorptive capacity of tourism organisations
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2015.06.004
View Repository Record - Koens K; Thomas R (2015), Is small beautiful? Understanding the contribution of small businesses in township tourism to economic development
https://doi.org/10.1080/0376835x.2015.1010715
View Repository Record - Thomas RW; Wood E (2014), Innovation in tourism: Re-conceptualising and measuring the absorptive capacity of the hotel sector
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.03.012
View Repository Record - Fu Y; Thomas RW; Long P (2014), Guanxi and the organisation of Chinese New Year festivals in England
https://doi.org/10.3727/152599514X13989500765682
View Repository Record - Thomas R; Thomas H (2014), 'Hollow from the start'? Professional associations and the professionalisation of tourism
https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2013.763346
View Repository Record - Thomas R; Thomas H (2013), What are the prospects for professionalizing event management in the UK?
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2012.11.005 - Li S; Blake A; Thomas R (2013), Modelling the economic impact of sports events: The case of the Beijing Olympics
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2012.09.013 - Thomas RW (2013), Research and scholarship with impact: a British perspective
https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-01-2013-0001 - Thomas R (2012), Business Elites, Universities and Knowledge Transfer in Tourism
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2011.06.009 - Walmsley A; Thomas R; Jameson S (2012), Internships in SMEs and career intentions
https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2011.573774 - Sampaio A; Thomas R; Font X (2012), Small Business Management and Environmental Engagement
https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2011.602193 - Sampaio A; Thomas R; Font X (2012), Why are some engaged and not others? Explaining environmental engagement among small firms in tourism
https://doi.org/10.1002/jtr.849
View Repository Record - Thomas R; Shaw G; Page S (2011), Understanding Small Firms in Tourism: A perspective on research trends and challenges
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2011.02.003 - Laing W; Xu H; Thomas R (2011), Study on the Motivations and Objectives of Life-styled Tourism Businesses in Dali Ancient City
- Thomas R (2011), Academics as Policy-Makers: (Not) Researching Tourism and Events Policy from the Inside
https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2010.534770
Books (1)
- Thomas R (2018) Questioning the Assessment of Research Impact Illusions, Myths and Marginal Sectors. Springer.
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