Professor Gill Pomfret PhD, PgDip, PGCFHE, BSc (Hons)
Associate Professor in Tourism
Summary
I am Associate Professor in Tourism and my key roles are research, teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and supervision of doctoral students. My research interests focus on consumer behaviour in tourism, particularly applied to adventure and outdoor activity contexts. I teach on a range of modules on tourism- and aviation-related courses.
About
I have extensive experience in teaching, course design, developing new modules, and leading tourism-related courses at UK universities. I currently teach on a range of tourism and management modules at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. I also supervise and examine PhD and DBA (professional doctorate) students in areas relating to my research expertise.
My research interests and publications focus on consumer behaviour in tourism, particularly applied to adventure tourism and outdoor natural environment contexts. Specific adventure themes include participation motives and benefits, wellbeing, constraint negotiation, experiential journeys, self-efficacy, and gender.
I have written peer-reviewed, published journal articles and book chapters, on mountaineering tourism and its tourists. I also co-authored one of the first textbooks on adventure tourism (Adventure Tourism: The New Frontier, 2003). My most recent publications explore family adventure tourism participation. I have published journal articles which conceptualise families’ shared adventure experiences as well as reporting on empirical findings regarding family wellbeing and subjective wellbeing.
I am also involved in several other projects concerned with subjective wellbeing from outdoor activity participation in natural environments, particularly national parks. One such project is with researchers at La Trobe University, Australia (SHU's strategic partner). I also carry out research on senior tourists, examining their motives and the benefits they gain from visiting heritage attractions.
I am a committee member of the Adventure Tourism Research Association (ATRA) and the Outdoor Recreation Research Group (ORRG). I am also involved in consultancy work, and my most recent project involved working with Sheffield City Council to develop The Outdoor City brand.
Senior Lecturer
Teaching
Department of Service Sector Management
Sheffield Business School
Tourism
I teach on the following courses:
- MSc International Tourism Management
- MSc International Hospitality and Tourism Management
- BSc (Hons) International Tourism Management
- BSc (Hons) Tourism and Hospitality Business Management
- BSc (Hons) International Tourism Management with Languages
- BA (Hons) Languages with Tourism
- BSc (Hons) Airline and Airport Management
2020-2021 modules:
- Consumer Behaviour in Aviation (L4);
- Introduction to Adventure Tourism (L5)
- Managing Visitor Attractions (L5)
- Research Project (L6)
- Tourism Consultancy Experience (L6)
- Visitor Attractions Management (L7)
Research
1. Contribution strategies within adventure tourism research
2. hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing from family adventure tourism
3. Managing temporal variations in tourism demand
4. Profiling and developing a typology of senior visitors to heritage attractions.
Collaborative research projects:
1. Project with researchers at La Trobe University exploring the links between adventure, wellbeing and national parks. The project investigates how adventure activity participation in the Peak District National Park and Wilson's Promontory National Park (Victoria, Australia) contributes towards the wellbeing of tourists and recreationists.
2. Project with researchers at the University of Applied Management (Germany) and IUBH International University (Germany) which explores the beneficial effects of adventure tourism participation through a systematic literature review and content analysis of International Adventure Conference proceedings.
Publications
Key Publications
Pomfret, G., & Bramwell, B. (2014). The characteristics and motivationaldecisions of outdoor adventure tourists: a review and analysis. Current Issues in Tourism, 19 (14), 1447-1478. http://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2014.925430
Pomfret, G., & Doran, A. (2015). Gender and mountaineering tourism. In Musa, G., Thompson-Carr, A., & Higham, J. (Eds.) Mountaineering Tourism. (pp. 138-155). Routledge: http://doi.org/10.4324/9781315769202
Swarbrooke, J., Beard, C., Leckie, S., & Pomfret, G. (2003). Adventure tourism : the new frontier. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. http://www.elsevierdirect.com/product.jsp?isbn=9780750651868&ref=CWS1
Pomfret, G. (2012). Personal emotional journeys associated with adventure activities on personal emotional journeys associated with adventure activities on packaged mountaineering holidays. Tourism Management Perspectives, 4, 145-154. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2012.08.003
Pomfret, G. (2009). Package mountaineer tourists holidaying in the French Alps: an evaluation of key influences encouraging their participation.
Journal articles
Pomfret, G. (2021). Family adventure tourism: Towards hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing. Tourism Management Perspectives, 39. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2021.100852
Pomfret, G., & Varley, P. (2019). Families at leisure outdoors: well-being through adventure. Leisure studies. http://doi.org/10.1080/02614367.2019.1600574
Doran, A., & Pomfret, G. (2019). Exploring efficacy in personal constraint negotiation: an ethnography of mountaineering tourists. Tourist studies. http://doi.org/10.1177/1468797619837965
Pomfret, G. (2018). Conceptualising family adventure tourist motives, experiences and benefits. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism.
Pomfret, G. (2011). Package mountaineer tourists holidaying in the French Alps: An evaluation of key influences encouraging their participation. Tourism Management, 32 (3), 501-510. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2010.04.001
Harlow, S., & Pomfret, G. (2007). Evolving environmental tourism experiences in Zambia. Journal of ecotourism, 6 (3), 184. http://doi.org/10.2167/joe182.0
Bramwell, B., & Pomfret, G.C. (2007). Planning for lake and lake shore tourism: complexity, coordination and adaptation. Anatolia, 18 (1), 43-66.
Pomfret, G. (2006). Mountaineering adventure tourists: a conceptual framework for research. Tourism management, 27 (1), 113-123. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2004.08.003
Books
Smith, A., Foster, N., Pomfret, G., & Whalley, P. (Eds.). (2004). Barcelona and Catalonia: A fieldwork guide. Sheffield Hallam University: Sheffield Hallam University.
Reports
Gregory, M., Pomfret, G., & Doran, A. (2020). The Outdoor City Adventure Breaks - Evaluation Report.
Theses / Dissertations
Lešnik, J. (2020). (Un)healthy lifestyles of Sheffield’s residents: Socio-economic and psychosocial deprivation. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Schofield, P., & Pomfret, G. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00366
Doran, A. (2019). Women's mountaineering tourism experiences: The constraint negotiation process and benefits of participation. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Pomfret, G. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00203
Pomfret, G. (2016). An exploration of adventure tourism participation and consumption. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Palmer, N.
Benur, A.M. (2013). Product diversification, product relationships, and the ecomic resilience of Libyan tourist destinations. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Bramwell, B., Pomfret, G., & Wang, Y.
Presentations
Pomfret, G. (2020). Families, outdoor adventure activities and wellbeing. Presented at: Family fun: Making active travel inclusive for families, Webinar
Pomfret, G. (2020). Family adventure tourism and wellbeing. Presented at: Explorers Connect: Adventure Mind Conference, YHA London Lee Valley
Pomfret, G. (2020). The shifting focus of adventure tourism: academic & industry perspectives. Presented at: Celebrating 30 years of outdoor programmes event, Solent University, Southampton
Pomfret, G. (2019). Families at leisure outdoors: well-being through adventure. Presented at: International Adventure Conference, Dumfries, Scotland
Pomfret, G. (2019). Sheffield: The Outdoor City. Presented at: Nature Tourism and Sustainability Conference (Jornadas sobre Turismo de Naturaleza y Sostenibilidad), Tolosa, Spain
Pomfret, G. (2018). An exploration of family adventure tourist motives, experiences and benefits. Presented at: 6th International Adventure Conference, Segovia, Spain
Pomfret, G. (2017). A conceptual framework for family adventure tourists. Presented at: INVTUR, Aveiro, Portugal
Pomfret, G. (2014). Active families and adventure tourism. Presented at: International Adventure Conference, Sogndal, Norway
Pomfret, G., & Doran, A. (2014). The role of gender in mountaineering tourism. Presented at: Adventure Tourism Research Association Seminar, Sheffield Hallam University
Pomfret, G. (2013). Outdoor adventure tourists: characteristics, motives and motivational influences.
Pomfret, G. (2012). Personal emotional journeys and packaged mountaineering holidays. Presented at: International Adventure Conference, Fort William, Scotland
Other activities
Adventure Tourism Research Association (ATRA): Steering group committee member
Postgraduate supervision
Current:
1. The impact of value chain governance on selected stakeholders of tourism clusters
2. (Un)healthy lifestyles of Sheffield's residents: socio-economic and psychosocial deprivation
Completed:
1. Women's mountaineering experiences: the constraint negotiation process and benefits of participation
2. Product diversification, product relationships and the economic resilience of Libyan tourist destinations