Allan Williams

Professor Allan Williams holds the Chair in Tourism and Mobility Studies at the University of Surrey's Surrey Business School. He has a BSc(Econ) from Swansea and a PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE). Prior roles include Research Fellow at LSE, Lecturer at Durham University, and Professor at Exeter University. His research focuses on economic development through mobility studies, particularly tourism, migration, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Notable projects include a Leverhulme Trust-funded study on post-failure knowledge trajectories of tourism entrepreneurs (2023-2024) and collaborations with UNWTO/G20 on sustainable tourism.

Key research themes include cross-border tourism innovation systems, risk/uncertainty in mobility, and diaspora tourism dynamics. He secured an ESRC grant for visitor economy research and co-founded Exeter's Tourism Research Group. Awards include a prestigious international accolade (2023). His advisory work spans policy design for tourism productivity and migrant integration. He leads Surrey's Tourism Group and contributes to the Centre for Competitiveness of the Visitor Economy.