Dr K Thirumaran ~ Academic Head, JCU Singapore Business School / Associate Professor Business

Discovering Realities, Contributing Knowledge

Dr. K Thirumaran is a tourism and hospitality management specialist with James Cook University Singapore. He is the key organizer of the World Luxury Destinations conference 2018 and coined the term affinity tourism.

Thiru’s research focuses on service excellence, cultural and luxury tourism. He is interested in questions related to modern developments and their impact on emerging destinations’ cultural values and the use of virtual and augmented reality to improve training programs in the industry.

Some of his major projects that he is working on are related to MICE activities in emerging economies, service expectations in rural tourism, the value of tourism in the few remaining communist-capitalist states and luxury travel experiences. Prospective MPhil and PhD students are welcome to extend their education and explore these topics with Thiru.

Interests

Research

• Luxury Tourism; Cultural & Heritage Tourism; Service Excellence in Hospitality; Training & Technology in Hospitality

Experience

• 2016 to present - Academic Head, JCUS Business School, James Cook University (Singapore)
• 2008 to 2016 - Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, James Cook University (Singapore)
• 2007 to 2008 - Lecturer, Temasek Polytechnic (Singapore)
• 2003 to 2006 - Phd Candidate, National University of Singapore (Singapore)

Research Disciplines

• Tourism (3508)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Tourism services (1104)

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Kim C, Kuah A and Thirumaran K (2022) Morphology for circular economy business models in the electrical and electronic equipment sector of Singapore and South Korea: findings, implications, and future agenda. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 30. pp. 829-850
• Thirumaran K, Chawla S, Dillon R and Sabharwal J (2021) Virtual pets want to travel: engaging visitors, creating excitement. Tourism Management Perspectives, 39.
• Thirumaran K, Mohammadi Z, Pourabedin Z, Azzali S and Sim K (2021) COVID-19 in Singapore and New Zealand: newspaper portrayal, crisis management. Tourism Management Perspectives, 38.
• Thirumaran K and Eijdenberg E (2021) Conceptualising destination membership cards for elite travellers. Zeitschrift für Tourismuswissenschaft, 13 (1).

Book Chapters

• Eijdenberg E, Thirumaran K and Wong C (2022) Emerging yachting tourism and luxury policy mobility: Singapore and the Southeast Asian extension. In: Luxury yachting. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 173-194
• Scarinci J, Pryce J and Thirumaran K (in press) A New World during COVID-19: employability skills in tourism, hospitality and events. In: Domestic Tourism and Hospitality Management: issues, scope, and challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Apple Academic Press
• Fiala S and Thirumaran K (2021) Hospitality and tourism management: adopting Lean Six Sigma, achieving service excellence. In: Service Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality: insights from Asia. Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management. Springer Nature, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 167-176
• Goh S, Sabharwal J and Thirumaran K (2021) A paradigmatic shift in a hallmark event extending well-being to a non-host city: "One people one nation, one Singapore". In: Events and Well-being. Routledge Critical Event Studies Research Series. Taylor & Francis, London, UK, pp. 70-88
• klimkeit D, Tang C and Thirumaran K (2021) Introduction: Service excellence in Asian tourism and hospitality. In: Service Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality: insights from Asia. Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management. Springer Nature, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 1-7
• Minh X, Sabacan R, Sim K and Thirumaran K (2021) Geophysical and cultural realities: tourism policy of Bhutan and Maldives. In: Tropical Constrained Environments and Sustainable Adaptations: businesses and communities. Managing the Asian Century. Springer Nature, Singapore, pp. 115-130
• Selvaraj R, Xuan Dam M, Dubos L, Jang H and Thirumaran K (2021) A political economy perspective: attracting foreign direct investments into Sri Lanka and Vietnam. In: Tropical Constrained Environments and Sustainable Adaptations: businesses and communities. Managing the Asian Century. Springer Nature, Singapore, pp. 151-166

Conference Papers

• Sabharwal J, Goh S and Thirumaran K (2021) Sequential exploratory mixed methods and scale development: investigating transformational tourism readiness. Promoting Creative Tourism: current issues in tourism research: proceedings of the 4th International Seminar on Tourism. In: ISOT 2020: 4th International Seminar on Tourism, 4-5 November 2020, Bandung, Indonesia

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 50+ research outputs authored by Dr K Thirumaran from 2004 onwards.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Brand Identity and Value Creation: Determining Brands Co-ownership in the Experience Age (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Circular Economy Business Models and Consumer Acceptance in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Sector: A Comparative Study of Singapore and South Korea (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Evaluating the Impact of Online Social Networking on Relationship Marketing in Singapore Hotels (Hospitality Industry); Budget and Luxury Hotel's Approaches to Online Social Networks as a Relationship Marketing tool in Singapore (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• The study of tourism in the staging of Dai dance: community interests, commercial value, and cultural sustainability (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Micro business and cultural heritage in Singapore: Continuity, Custodianship and Community. (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Luxury Tourism (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Towards the Development of Quality Tourism Workforce: The Case of Vietnam (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• A Study of Human Resource Training and Front-Line Service Quality through Gamification in the Hospitality Industry: Comparisons from the Hotel Sector in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Colombo (PhD , Primary Advisor)

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.