Deputy Head of Department, Griffith Business School
Contact details for Associate Professor Laura Jane Lawton
Dr Laura Lawton is an Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the Department of Tourism, Leisure, Hotel and Sport Management on the Gold Coast Campus of Griffith University, Australia. She was formally the Program Director for the Master of Business Programs in the Department. Previously she held appointments at the University of South Carolina and George Mason University, Virginia, USA. She previously taught at Bond University, Gold Coast.
Prior to entering academia she was Senior Research Officer/Policy Analyst for Saskatchewan Environment and Natural Resources in Canada. A/Professor Lawton holds a Master of Arts degree (Geography) and Bachelor of Arts (Honours – Urban Planning) from the University of Western Ontario (Canada). In 2002 she was awarded a PhD from Griffith University. Her thesis examined resident perceptions of tourist attractions on the Gold Coast.
Associate Professor Lawton has authored or co-authored numerous government reports, academic journal articles and book chapters in several areas, including protected areas, ecotourism, resident perceptions of tourism, and cruise ship tourism. She is the co-author of the tourism text ‘Tourism Management,’ published by John Wiley and Sons Australia, and served for five years as the Editor-and-Chief for ‘Tourism Review International’, an international refereed journal. She also sits on the board of four other academic journals. Finally, she is Board Member and registered accreditation auditor for the International Centre of Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality Education (THE-ICE).