Dr Abel D. Alonso

Honorary Senior Fellow

Telephone:  
Email: a.alonso@ecu.edu.au   
Campus:  
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Background

Abel grew up working in a family business. Following this, Abel worked for over eleven years in Switzerland’s hospitality industry, two years in London’s hospitality industry, two years in property administration in Spain, and over five years in tertiary education in the United States as a tutor and lecturer. During the completion of his doctoral studies in New Zealand, Abel worked with several lecturers in the areas of management, marketing, and hospitality, and upon completion of his studies he began as a lecturer and researcher in Wellington.

Staff qualifications

  • 2005 - PhD, Tourism Management, Lincoln University, New Zealand
  • MBA, Western Michigan University
  • BA, Western Michigan University

Awards and recognition

  • 2011 and 2012 - Dean's Honour Roll for Top Researchers in the Faculty of Business and Law.

Research

Research interest

  • Entrepreneurial aspects of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in urban and rural areas, including in the agriculture, tourism, and hospitality sectors. 

Recent publications

Selected refereed journal articles

  • Alonso, A.D., Bressan, A., O’Shea, M., & Krajsic, V. (2013). To what extent do wineries study their consumers and visitors? Implications for wine tourism development. Tourism Analysis, 17(5), 643-657.
  • Alonso, A.D., & O’Shea, M. (2013). ‘You only get back what you put in’: Perceptions of professional sport organisations as community anchors. Community Development, 43; forthcoming.
  • Alonso, A.D., Bressan, A., O’Shea, M., & Krajsic, V. (2013). Educating winery visitors and consumers: An international perspective. Current Issues in Tourism, forthcoming.
  • Alonso, A.D., & Northcote, J. (2013). Climate, vulnerability and farming: A preliminary study among Australian food growers. International Journal of Sustainable Society, forthcoming.
  • Alonso, A.D., & Liu, Y. (2012). Visitor centres, collaboration and the role of local food and beverage as regional tourism development tools: the case of the Blackwood River Valley in Western Australia. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 36(4), 517-536.
  • Alonso, A.D., & Liu, Y. (2012). Old wine region, new concept: Winery entrepreneurs’ perceived benefits from wine tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20(7), 991-1009.
  • Alonso, A.D. (2011). Opportunities and challenges in the development of micro-brewing and beer tourism: A preliminary study from Alabama. Tourism Planning and Development, 8(4), 415-431.
  • O’Shea, M., & Alonso, A.D.A. (2011). Opportunity or obstacle? A preliminary study of  professional sport organisations in the age of social media. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 10(3/4), 196-212.
  • Alonso, A.D., & Liu, Y. (2011). The potential for marrying local gastronomy and wine: the case of the ‘fortunate islands.’ International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30, 974-981.
  • Alonso, A.D., & O’Neill, M.A. (2011). Investing in the social fabric of rural and urban communities: A comparative study of two Alabama farmers’ markets. Community Development, 42, 385-401.

Conference papers in proceedings

  • Alonso, A.D., & O’Neill, M., & Liu, Y. (2011). Food culture in the Southern United States:  Preserving traditional foods or slow death? In M. Mair and D. Wagner (eds.). Proceedings of the 2011 First European Culinary Tourism Conference, March 3-4, 2011, Vienna, Austria (pp. 89-107). Springer Wien. 
  • Alonso, A.D. (2007). Leisure or business? An exploratory study of alpaca  ownership/entrepreneurship in New Zealand. Proceedings of the 2007 International Council of Small Business (ICSB) Conference, Turku, Finland. 
  • Alonso, A.D., Fraser, R.A, & Cohen, D.A. (2006). Wine tourism experiences and gender: A comparative study of male and female winery visitors in New Zealand. Proceedings of the 2006 MasterCard World Wine & Travel Summit,Margaret River, Western Australia;
  • Alonso, A.D., Fraser, R.A, & Cohen, D.A. (2006). Wine tourism in New Zealand: An investigation of winery visitor demographics. Proceedings of the International Tourism Conference in Alanya, Turkey, November 2006;
  • Alonso, A.D., Fraser, R.A, & Cohen, D.A. (2006). The wine involvement index (WIX): An alternative tool to study winery visitors. Proceedings of the Inaugural New Zealand International Hospitality Management Conference, November 2006, Hamilton, New Zealand.