Rate My Professor Stu Hayes

Dr Stu Hayes is a Lecturer in the Department of Tourism at the University of Otago's Otago Business School, having joined the department in 2021. He earned his PhD and Master's degrees in tourism from the University of Otago, complemented by a Bachelor's degree in tourism studies from the University of Central Lancashire. With over 15 years of professional experience in the tourism industry across the UK and Europe, Hayes transitioned into academia following his doctoral studies. Between 2020 and 2023, he worked as a Research Fellow on the Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden-funded project "Good Nature, Bad Nature." Additionally, he has undertaken consultancy work for Fish and Game New Zealand, notably an economic impact analysis of the Te Manahuna Mackenzie Basin hydro canal fishery. Hayes currently chairs DunedinHOST, the key industry body representing tourism operators in and around Dunedin, New Zealand, and supervises PhD and Master's students on topics such as tourism live streaming, regenerative tourism education, and spiritually intelligent leadership.

Hayes' research interests centre on higher tourism education and its transformative potential, the intersection of tourism, recreation, and natural resource management, technology's role in tourism, and social tourism's feasibility in New Zealand for inclusive communities. He teaches postgraduate courses in events management and 'business for good', and undergraduate papers in event management and ecotourism. Hayes contributes to academia through editorial advisory board memberships for Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education, and SCHOLE: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education. His achievements include the Best Professional Practice Fellow award at the 2020 Otago Business School Awards, Outstanding Early Career Researcher in 2022, and Excellence in Teaching in 2023. Key publications include McKeeman, H., Hayes, S., & Tucker, H. (2026). Problematising inclusivity in regenerative tourism planning. Journal of Sustainable Tourism; Tunjungsari, K. R., Hayes, S., & Carr, N. (2025). Critical reflections on performing the dramaturgy in research interviews. Qualitative Research; Hayes, S., Holmes, G., & Snyders, K. (2025). Exploring the potential of arts-based learning and assessment in tourism education. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education; Hayes, S., Lovelock, B., & Carr, A. (2025). 'They sure do have a pretty colour palette!': The problematic promotion of invasive species as tourism icons. Tourism Recreation Research.