Prof. Richard Sharpley
Professor of Tourism
Lancashire School of Business and Enterprise
Greenbank Building, GR137
+44 (0) 1772 89 4622
After graduating from Sheffield University, Richard spent eight years working in sales and marketing within the professional photographic products sector. He then spent four years pursuing a career in travel photography/journalism before completing his MSC Tourism (Strathclyde University) and, subsequently, his PhD (Lancaster University).
Richard is research active within the area of tourism and is a member of the Institute for Dark Tourism Research.
Full Profile
His academic career commenced at Luton University, followed by positions at the University of Northumbria (Reader in Tourism) and the University of Lincoln (Professor of Tourism / Head of Department, Tourism & Recreation). He joined Lancashire Business School in 2007 as Professor of Tourism.
Richard is second author on research paper ‘Consuming dark tourism: A Thanatological Perspective’ which is in the Top 10 Most Downloaded papers in the last 90 days in the 4* journal Annals of Tourism Research (April 2017)
Publications
Griffiths, Ingrid and Sharpley, Richard Anthony John (2012) Influences of nationalism on tourist-host relationships. Annals of Tourism Research, 39 (4). pp. 2051-2072. ISSN 0160-7383
Sharpley, Richard and Jepson, Deborah (2011) Rural tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 38 (1). pp. 52-71. ISSN 01607383
Sharpley, Richard (2009) Tourism and development challenges in the least developed countries: the case of The Gambia. Current Issues in Tourism, 12 (4). pp. 337-358. ISSN 1368-3500
Sharpley, Richard and Knight, Martin (2009) Tourism and the state in Cuba: from the past to the future. International Journal of Tourism Research, 11 (3). pp. 241-254. ISSN 10992340
More publicationsResearch
Current Research Projects
Tourism and rural entrepreneurship
Tourism and the State in Cuba
Dark Tourism
Contemporary approaches to the study of tourism
Completed Research Projects (Since 2001)
2006: Project: Visitor Survey for Lincolnshire Farm & Countryside Attractions Group.
2004: Consultancy project: Market Towns Initiative, ERYC/LEADER (Phase 1)
2004: Consultancy project: Interim Evaluation of Hadrian’s Wall Tourism Partnership SRB scheme.
2003: Consultancy project: desk-based research for development of tourism section of management plans for North Pennines AONB and Northumberland Coast AONB (for Countryside Agency, subcontracted via Land Use Consultants, Glasgow)
Grants
£10,000 funded (SRB6) review: Hadrian’s Wall tourism Partnership: Enrichment and Enterprise Scheme: Interim Evaluation and Exit Strategy
Research Degree Supervision (Completed And Current Since 2001)
Currently supervising 3 PhD students in the area of tourism / outdoor recreation
External Activities
External Examiner: Napier University (MSc Tourism Programme); Surrey University (Undergraduate tourism programme)
Series Editor: Tourism, Environment, Development, Earthscan, London
Teaching Activities and Responsibilities
Currently reaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in tourism and outdoor recreation. Also supervising a number of PhD students.