Leading Academic Strengthens St Mary’s Postgraduate Provision

St Mary’s University, Twickenham has appointed Prof David Harrison as MA International Tourism Development Visiting Professor, joining the University’s School of Management and Social Sciences. With 30 years working in the field, Prof Harrison brings with him a wealth of experience, adding to St Mary’s strong postgraduate teaching provision. Prof Harrison studied Sociology and Social Anthropology at Goldsmiths College and University College London, respectively and subsequently spent 20 years teaching at the University of Sussex, where he taught the sociology of development and specialised in tourism as a development tool. David spent 10 years as Chair in Tourism at the University of North London (London Metropolitan University) before taking up the position of Professor of Tourism and Head of the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. As the author and editor of several publications including The Sociology of Modernisation and Development (1998), Tourism and the Less Developed Countries (1992) and most recently Tourism and the Politics of World Heritage: Negotiating tourism and Conservation (2005), Prof Harrison has an interest in tourism development in islands and small states, and a growing interest in the global impacts of mass tourism. St Mary’s Head of the School of Management and Social Sciences Adrian Wilkins said, "David Harrison is one of the leading scholars of tourism and brings a strong research and publishing background to the MA International Tourism Management. “We look forward to welcoming David to the School of Management and Social Sciences and to working with him as part of the growing academic team in Tourism and Tourism Management."