Dr Irma Booyens
Senior Lecturer
Work, Employment and Organisation
Personal statement
I am a Senior Lecturer (equivalent to Associate Professor) in the Work, Employment and Organisation department, mostly on our tourism and hospitality courses. Tourism is one of my key research interests which I have approached from the theoretical frameworks of human geography, development studies, tourism management and innovation studies.
Before joining the Strathclyde Business School, I was a Senior Research Specialist in the Economic Planning and Development unit at the Human Sciences Research Council in Cape Town where I worked on various projects with policy impact. I also have experience as a tourism and business studies lecturer and as a consultancy researcher.
I am affiliated as an associate researcher with the School of Tourism and Hospitality at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, where I held a post-doc position and also completed my PhD.
Area of Expertise
I understand the research process well and have been involved at all of its stages from conceptualization and proposal writing to research design, supervision; and co-supervision of various projects; collaboration on large national projects/ studies; data collection (primary and secondary), data analysis, synthesis and interpretation; report writing and dissemination.
Futher areas of expertise are:
- Mixed method research
- Project management
- Policy and/ strategy formulation
- National surveys
- Indicator development
Prize And Awards
- TWAS/DFG Collaborative Visit Grant
- Recipient
- 2019
- Newton Mobility Grant
- Recipient
- 2018
- NRF researcher rating
- Recipient
- 2018
- Scarce Skills Doctoral Scholarship
- Recipient
- 2012
- Young researcher excellence award
- Recipient
- 2010
- Best student in course work: Masters in Development Studies
- Recipient
- 2008
Qualifications
PhD Geography, University of Johannesburg, 2015
Masters in Development Studies, University of the Free State, 2008
Post-graduate Certificate in Education, University of Pretoria, 2002
B.Com Tourism Management, University of Pretoria, 2000
Publications
- Reframing creativity in the city : on the emergence of contemporary township creativity
- Booyens Irma
- Regional Studies, pp. 1-15 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2025.2495797
- The mobilities of visual artists : the case of South Africa
- Hracs Brian J, Booyens Irma, Comunian Roberta, Brydges Taylor
- Environment and Planning A (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X251347429
- The paradox of workplace abuse and dignity in the Scottish hospitality sector
- Hadjisolomou Anastasios, Cunningham Tayler, Booyens Irma, Nickson Dennis, Baum Tom
- Unpacking Hospitality Work Realities Insights and Advocacy from the Global Hospitality Research Alliance (2025) (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.23912/978-1-917433204-5836
- Hospitality employment : historical analysis
- Williamson David, Booyens Irma, Baum Tom
- Unpacking Hospitality Work Realities Insights and Advocacy from the Global Hospitality Research Alliance (2025) (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.23912/978-1-917433204-5836
- Theorising township tourism : moving beyond the 'slum'
- Booyens Irma, Hoogendoorn Gijsbert
- Annals of Tourism Research Vol 111 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2025.103918
- Path creation for an electricity transition in South African tourism
- Booyens Irma, Hoogendoorn Gijsbert, Langerman Kristy, Rivett-Carnac Kate
- Tourism Geographies Vol 26, pp. 194-213 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2023.2274836
Teaching
Tourism and business studies lecturing and supervision
Research Interests
My research interests include social innovation; innovation measurement; tourism innovation; tourism sustainability; tourism livelihoods, employment and workplace issues; creative industries - employment and spatial perspectives.
Professional Activities
- Assessing Fair Hospitality Work: Scotland in a Multi-Country Comparative Perspective
- Contributor
- 1/5/2025
- The Employment Experiences of South African Visual Artists
- Speaker
- 2/4/2025
- Innovation for Tourism Sustainability: A Focus on Social Innovation
- Speaker
- 2024
- Enhancing Hospitality Workplace Culture in Scotland
- Speaker
- 2024
- Tourism Geographies (Journal)
- Editorial board member
- 2024
- Addressing Sexual Harassment in the Hospitality Industry
- Organiser
- 2024
Projects
- Confronting customer abuse and harassment during the Covid-19 crisis? Evidence from Scotland’s hospitality industry
- Hadjisolomou, Tasos (Principal Investigator) Baum, Thomas (Co-investigator) Booyens, Irma (Co-investigator) Nickson, Dennis (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2021 - 31-Jan-2022
- Artist mobilities, work and careers in South Africa
- Booyens, Irma (Principal Investigator)
- Collaboration with colleagues at Kings College London and University of Southampton. Round 1 2018/19; Round 2 2022/23. 30 interviews completed.
- 01-Jan-2018 - 28-Jan-2023
- Township creativity - creative economies and entrepreneurship
- Booyens, Irma (Principal Investigator)
- Participation in policy engagement project - township economy project. AHRA funding for creative economy workshops (Kings College London). Own follow-up interviews
- 01-Jan-2018 - 31-Jan-2022
Contact
Dr
Irma
Booyens
Senior Lecturer
Work, Employment and Organisation
Email: irma.booyens@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 553 6109