James Johnson

James Johnson serves as Associate Head of School for Tourism and Accounting & Finance at the University of Sunderland's School of Business, Management, and Tourism. With 20 years of teaching and research experience, he leads academic teams across Tourism, Aviation, Events, Hospitality, Esports, Finance and Accounting, focusing on strategic growth, high-quality teaching, and impactful research. He also leads Transnational Education initiatives and serves as Global Partnership Leader for international collaborations in Singapore and Tashkent.

Dr. Johnson completed his PhD in 2013 with the thesis 'Backpacker Mobilities: Train Travel in Central and Eastern Europe,' which pioneered mobile ethnographic methods grounded in the new mobilities paradigm. His academic journey reflects deep engagement with how movement shapes social experiences and tourist behaviors.

His research centers on the intersection of tourism, place, planning, and development, with particular attention to event experiences, embodiment, and transportation mobilities. Methodologically innovative, his work often employs ethnographic approaches that emphasize mobility rather than stationary observation, challenging traditional research paradigms in tourism studies. His studies of VW Campervan tourists' sonic experiences demonstrate attention to multisensory aspects of travel that extend beyond visual tourism studies.

His publication trajectory shows evolution from traditional tourism contexts toward digital environments, with recent work (2024-2025) exploring sense of place in video games. This represents an innovative extension of tourism studies into virtual realms while maintaining focus on spatial experience and embodiment.

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)

Dr. Johnson has successfully supervised seven PhD students to completion and currently oversees five more doctoral candidates. His leadership extends to strategic academic direction, curriculum development, and quality assurance for tourism and events programs. Through international partnerships, he connects academic work with global industry practices, preparing students for international careers in tourism and hospitality sectors.

His work with urban planning documents demonstrates engagement with real-world applications of tourism research, while his focus on embodied experiences contributes theoretical depth to understanding how tourists engage with places through multiple senses and forms of movement.