Professor Adele Ladkin is a specialist in tourism human resources focusing on human capital development and addressing the human resource challenges of the tourism labour force. She is a Professor in the International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research, School of Tourism at Bournemouth University. Her academic leadership roles have included Head of two research centers (The MICE Research Unit and the Centre for Event & Sport Research, at Bournemouth University), Associate Dean in the School of Tourism (Tourism & Hospitality Academic Group), and Associate Dean (Administration) in the School of Hotel & Tourism Management, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Professor Ladkin’s research interests lie in the ‘human’ aspects of the tourism industry. She gained a PhD from the University of Surrey in 1996 funded by a human resources bursary, exploring the career paths of hotel general managers in the UK. This was the beginning of her interest in careers and employment, which has been an underlying theme of her subsequent research. This includes the role of education in developing human capital for tourism and hospitality workers and human resource issues.
Her interests and publications are mainly in the areas of labour migration, education and labour mobility and career development in tourism, hospitality and the conference industries.
Her early research was quantitative and grounded in work histories, but more recently is in qualitative research and increasingly the use of mixed methods. Driven by national and international agendas to examine the world of work and its implications for societies, organisations and individuals, tourism labour research is receiving greater attention from both academics and practitioners. Her recent research has moved into the area of technology and tourism, specifically in relation to the role of technology in connecting migrant workers and the work life balance of the mobile workers in tourism.
Professor Ladkin has many years research experience, having worked with a number of research clients including the UNWTO, the Commonwealth Tourism Centre, The European Universities Association, the London Development Agency, the London Chambers of Commerce Commercial Educational Trust, British Airways, OYC Hotels and Intercontinental Hotels. She is the author of 35 refereed journal articles, more than fifty conference papers and is the and co-author of two textbooks, International Perspectives of Festivals and Events published by Elsevier in 2008 and Tourism Employment: Analysis and Planning published by Channel View Publications in 2002.
Professor Ladkin was joint editor in Chief for the International Journal of Tourism Research 2003-2009, and currently serves on the Editorial Boards for Annals of Tourism Research, (Co-coordinating Editor) Tourism Economics, The International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, The Journal of Teaching in Travel And Tourism, ACTA Turistica, The Journal of Convention& Event Tourism the Journal of Event Management Research and The Journal of Tourism & Development. Professor Ladkin holds a Visiting Professor position at the University of Zagreb, Croatia.