K Thirumaran
@jcu.edu.au
Academic Head, JCU Singapore Business School
James Cook University Singapore
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Cultural & Heritage Tourism
Luxury Tourism
38
Scopus Publications
507
Scholar Citations
10
Scholar h-index
10
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
- Luxury hospitality revisited: A Cambodian perspective
Emiel L. Eijdenberg, K. Thirumaran, and Zohre Mohammadi
Elsevier BV - Exploring the intersection of religious festivals and tourism approaches: a scoping review
Jasper Roe, K. Thirumaran, Caroline Wong, and Zohre Mohammadi
Inderscience Publishers - WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM INDUSTRY: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Directions
Magdalena Petronella (Nellie) Swart, Vanessa S. Bernauer, and K Thirumaran
Routledge - Introduction to managing people across the Asia-Pacific: An organizational psychology approach
- A scoping review of luxury yachting and wellness: study trends and research prospects
Thirumaran K, Emiel L. Eijdenberg, and Caroline Wong
Emerald
PurposeThis study aims to advance the scholarship of yachting in the context of wellness by exploring the following research question: in what ways is wellness created and experienced by luxury yachting?Design/methodology/approachSince the extant journal literature from 2012–2023 in peer-reviewed journals is limited on the topic that links luxury yachting and wellness, the authors drew on other sources such as books and chapters in edited volumes. A third layer of material was drawn from the grey literature such as mass media and business websites. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) method, the authors examined 18 publications relating to the intersectionality of yachting and wellness.FindingsManufacturing and charter companies in the yachting industry are focused on creating and emphasizing features onboard that create a self-caring and wellness experience. The yacht design, spatial influences and the leisure time spent at destinations on anchor can also add value to wellness. This study enables us to understand the kinds of signals received by manufacturers and the media from yachting clients. These signals relate to the types of wellness needs and activities, as well as how crews and chefs create the best hospitality experiences for their clients.Originality/valueGiven the scarce and niche nature of research on yachting and wellness, this paper explores future research areas in wellness through luxury yachting which include hospitality aspects of creating and co-creating wellness experience on board the yacht and viewing yachting as a lifestyle necessity product for all levels of wealth and well-being. - Guest editorial: (In)equalities in hospitality and tourism – exploring diversity and equity issues
Vanessa S. Bernauer, Abhishek Bhati, and K. Thirumaran
Emerald - Robotic life of casino employees: exploring well-being dimensions in the gambling industry in Malaysia
Kamelia Chaichi, Alexander Trupp, Mageswari Ranjanthran, and K. Thirumaran
Emerald
PurposeEmployee well-being in a casino work environment is crucial for the quality of work-life and employees' performance. This study examines the dimensions of well-being at a casino in Malaysia to gain deeper insights into employee challenges and motivational factors to arrive at practical mitigation efforts.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a qualitative approach involving 14 semi-structured interviews with casino employees in Malaysia. Interviews lasted 30 min to 2 h at a time when Covid-19 was raging in 2021. Responses were analysed via a data-driven approach and coded using NVivo software to delineate the contents into analytical categories of well-being dimensions.FindingsThe findings suggest that employees at the casino face challenges in achieving work-life balance. Employee's well-being suffers from insufficient break time, irregular working hours affecting family time, managing customer temper tantrums and lack of emotional support systems and remunerations altered by the pandemic. Women employees were particularly vulnerable.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings suggest a need to create better working conditions and address well-being with counselling support for stress management, a balanced approach by employers to the “customer is always right” mantra, creating promising career pathways and supervisors to have better oversight of workaholics. The research focused only on one casino and there was limited access to management departments for an organizational perspective.Originality/valueThis study adds to the body of knowledge on employee well-being in the context of a casino. It suggests hospitality and tourism organizations review their human resource practices that would ease the stresses at the workplace and create support systems to promote employee well-being. Crucially, in a pandemic crisis, well-being dimensions must be accommodating and integrative to employee sentiments, sensitivity and self-actualization. - CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE ON PRODUCT-SERVICE SYSTEM: A CUSTOMER-DOMINANT LOGIC VIEW
Chang H. Kim, Adrian T. H. Kuah, Pengji Wang, and K Thirumaran
Academy of Management - The Eurasian Economic Union and Silk Road Tourism: Qualifying Resources, Amplifying Messages
K. Thirumaran, Redeem Faith Sabacan, Zahra Pourabedin, Hong Hanh Nguyen, Haejin Jang, Benedict Atkinson, and Jacob Wood
Springer Nature Switzerland - Economic Development Along the New Silk Road: A Vehicle for Driving Sustainable Tourism
Redeem Faith Sabacan, Hong Hanh Nguyen, Emiel L. Eijdenberg, Haejin Jang, K. Thirumaran, and Jacob Wood
Springer Nature Switzerland - The Role of the Belt and Road Initiative in Driving Tourism in the Post COVID-19 Era
Jacob Wood, Haejin Jang, Zahra Pourabedin, Redeem Sabacan, Benedict Atkinson, Hong Hanh Nguyen, and K. Thirumaran
Springer Nature Switzerland - Women’s education in tourism entrepreneurship: Trends and issues emerging from Africa
(Magdalena Petronella) Swart Nellie, Vanessa S. Bernauer, and Kailasam Thirumaran
Routledge - Transformed landscapes, tourist sentiments: the place making narrative of a luxury heritage hotel in Singapore
K. Thirumaran, Zohre Mohammadi, Simona Azzali, Emiel L. Eijdenberg, and Gerardine Donough-Tan
Informa UK Limited - In focus 5-Religious tourism in the urban setting of Varanasi in India
K Thirumaran, Simona Azzali, Zilmiyah Kamble, Yash Prabhugaonkar, and Manisha Agarwal
Edward Elgar Publishing - Morphology for circular economy business models in the electrical and electronic equipment sector of Singapore and South Korea: Findings, implications, and future agenda
Chang H. Kim, Adrian T.H. Kuah, and K. Thirumaran
Elsevier BV - Luxury tourism in Vietnam: A political economy analysis
K Thirumaran and Dam Xuan Minh
Emerald Publishing Limited - Affinity Tourism
K. Thirumaran
Edward Elgar Publishing - Tourism in the tropics: Emerging themes and keyword analysis
K Thirumaran, Gohar Feroz Khan, and Jacob Wood
Routledge - Business, Industry, and Trade in the Tropics
Jacob Wood, Taha Chaiechi, and K Thirumaran
Routledge - Virtual pets want to travel: Engaging visitors, creating excitement
K. Thirumaran, Shailey Chawla, Roberto Dillon, and Jagdeep Kaur Sabharwal
Elsevier BV - The impact of value perceptions on purchase intention of sustainable luxury brands in China and the UK
Pengji Wang, Adrian T. H. Kuah, Qinye Lu, Caroline Wong, K. Thirumaran, Emmanuel Adegbite, and Wesley Kendall
Springer Science and Business Media LLC - COVID-19 in Singapore and New Zealand: Newspaper portrayal, crisis management
K Thirumaran, Zohre Mohammadi, Zahra Pourabedin, Simona Azzali, and Karen Sim
Elsevier BV - The role of social media in the luxury tourism business: A research review and trajectory assessment
K Thirumaran, Haejin Jang, Zahra Pourabedin, and Jacob Wood
MDPI AG
The luxury tourism industry immediately conjures up thoughts of exclusivity, with access to it confined to a small and elite group of travelers often located within their own social bubble. Our systematic literature review seeks to understand how tourism scholarship has addressed the issue of luxury travel based on social media pronouncements and the areas of concentration in which earlier studies have been conducted. Literature was sourced using the following key terms “luxury tourism”, “elite travel”, “social media”, and “sustainability” in various combinations using the OneSearch online platform, the Proquest Database, and Google Scholar. Only peer-reviewed journals were used for the critical analysis. Three main thematic areas were identified and reviewed: (1) the role of social media in luxury tourism; (2) the behavioral attributes of luxury travelers’ when using social media; and (3) the methodologies employed in the extant literature, given the limitations of accessing specific data for the luxury tourism market. The selected period for the journals and articles reviewed was the last ten years, from March 2010 to March 2020. NVivo version 12 was used to decipher the themes and focus areas as well as quantify the significance of social media to luxury tourism. Drawing from these literature review outcomes, the study explores future research areas and issues that require new theoretical and methodological frameworks to further our understanding of the intersection between social media and the luxury tourism business. - Emerging Yachting Tourism and Luxury Policy Mobility: Singapore and the Southeast Asian Extension
Emiel L. Eijdenberg, K Thirumaran, and Caroline Wong
Springer International Publishing
RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
- Luxury hospitality revisited: A Cambodian perspective
EL Eijdenberg, K Thirumaran, Z Mohammadi
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 58, 409-418 2024 - Business Anthropology Approaches in Tourism: A Scoping Review
Z Yang, K Thirumaran, Z Kamble, J Pryce
Detay Yayincilik 2024 - Exploring the intersection of religious festivals and tourism approaches: a scoping review
J Roe, K Thirumaran, C Wong, Z Mohammadi
International Journal of Tourism Anthropology 9 (3), 237-260 2024 - Indigenous entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia
EL Eijdenberg, K Thirumaran, P Wang, C Wong
Palgrave Macmillan 2024 - Women's Entrepreneurship in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Directions
MPN Swart, VS Bernauer, K Thirumaran
Routledge Handbook on Gender in Tourism, 270-288 2024 - Women's education in tourism entrepreneurship: Trends and issues emerging from Africa
M Petronella, S Nellie, VS Bernauer, K Thirumaran
Routledge Handbook of Trends and Issues in Tourism Sustainability, Planning 2024 - Analysis of travellers’ experiences with petty crimes using biopsychosocial model A systematic scoping review
K Thirumaran, JK Sabharwal, S Goh
7 Experiences Summit 2023 1 (1) 2023 - Introduction to Managing People Across the Asia-Pacific: An Organizational Psychology Approach
ES Ng, JE Ramsay, J Wood, K Thirumaran
Elgar Companion to Managing People Across the Asia-Pacific, 2-18 2023 - Elgar Companion to Managing People Across the Asia-Pacific: An Organizational Psychology Approach
ES Ng, JE Ramsay, K Thirumaran, J Wood
Edward Elgar Publishing 2023 - Assessing consumer adoption of Product-Service Systems: A methodological approach emphasizing customer-centricity
ATH Kuah, CH Kim, K Thirumaran
International Conference on Connecting the Dots on Circular Economy for 2023 - Guest editorial:(In) equalities in hospitality and tourism–exploring diversity and equity issues
VS Bernauer, A Bhati, K Thirumaran
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal 42 (4), 465-468 2023 - A scoping review of luxury yachting and wellness: study trends and research prospects
K Thirumaran, EL Eijdenberg, C Wong
Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes 15 (4), 371-385 2023 - A Scoping Review of the Hospitality Industry and Tertiary Partnership to Prepare Work-ready Graduates
HH Nguyen, K Thirumaran, Z Kamble
ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism 21 (1), 48-63 2023 - Employee Wellbeing in Casino Environment: Perspectives from Malaysia
K Chaichi, A Trupp, M Ranjanthran, K Thirumaran
3rd Critical Tourism Studies - Asia Pacific Conference, 35 2023 - Economic development along the new Silk Road: A vehicle for driving sustainable tourism
JW Redeem Faith Sabacan, Hong Hanh Nguyen, Emiel L Eijdenberg, Haejin Jang ...
International conference on Silk Road sustainable tourism development and 2023 - Circular economy and consumer acceptance on product-service system: a customer-dominant logic view
CH Kim, ATH Kuah, P Wang, K Thirumaran
Academy of Management Proceedings 2023 (1), 10868 2023 - Transformed landscapes, tourist sentiments: the place making narrative of a luxury heritage hotel in Singapore
K Thirumaran, Z Mohammadi, S Azzali, EL Eijdenberg, G Donough-Tan
Journal of Heritage Tourism 2023 - Robotic life of casino employees: exploring well-being dimensions in the gambling industry in Malaysia
K Chaichi, A Trupp, M Ranjanthran, K Thirumaran
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion,, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. 2023 - Informing the Curriculum: Graduate Employability Skills for the Tourism and Hospitality Industry in Australia during a Pandemic
J Scarinci, J Pryce, K Thirumaran
The SAGE Handbook of Graduate Employability, 222 2023 - A new world during COVID-19: Employability skills in tourism, hospitality, and events organizations
J Scarinci, J Pryce, K Thirumaran
Domestic Tourism and Hospitality Management, 111-133 2022
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
- The impact of value perceptions on purchase intention of sustainable luxury brands in China and the UK
P Wang, ATH Kuah, Q Lu, C Wong, K Thirumaran, E Adegbite, W Kendall
Journal of Brand Management 28 (3), 325 2021
Citations: 87 - COVID-19 in Singapore and New Zealand: Newspaper Portrayal, Crisis Management
K Thirumaran, Z Mohammadi, Z Pourabedin, S Azzali, K Sim
Tourism Management Perspectives 38, 100812 2021
Citations: 58 - Integrating souvenirs with tourism development: Vietnam's challenges
K Thirumaran, MX Dam, CM Thirumaran
Tourism Planning & Development 11 (1), 57-67 2014
Citations: 50 - Luxury tourism, emerging destinations: research review and trajectories
KTR Mohit
Asian Journal of Tourism Research 2 (2), 137-159 2017
Citations: 46 - The role of social media in the luxury tourism business: A research review and trajectory assessment
K Thirumaran, H Jang, Z Pourabedin, J Wood
Sustainability 13 (3), 1216 2021
Citations: 40 - Morphology for circular economy business models in the electrical and electronic equipment sector of Singapore and South Korea: Findings, implications, and future agenda
CH Kim, ATH Kuah, K Thirumaran
Sustainable Production and Consumption 30, 829-850 2022
Citations: 23 - Renewing bonds in an age of Asian travel: Indian tourists in Bali
K Thirumaran
Asia on tour, 143-153 2008
Citations: 21 - Virtual pets want to travel: Engaging visitors, creating excitement.
JK Thirumaran, K., Chawla, S., Dillon, R., & Sabharwal
Tourism Management Perspectives 39 (100859) 2021
Citations: 17 - Transformed landscapes, tourist sentiments: the place making narrative of a luxury heritage hotel in Singapore
K Thirumaran, Z Mohammadi, S Azzali, EL Eijdenberg, G Donough-Tan
Journal of Heritage Tourism 2023
Citations: 14 - Managing graffiti at tourist attractions
K Thirumaran
Proceedings of the International Conference on Managing the Asian Century 2014
Citations: 13 - Service Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality
K Thirumaran, D Klimkeit, CM Tang
Springer, Cham 2021
Citations: 9 - Celebrity chefs and the enhancement of culinary tourism experiences in Singapore
JHPKT Adam Abidin
In: Balancing Development and Sustainability in Tourism Destinations. From 2017
Citations: 9 - Conceptualising Destination Membership Cards for Elite Travellers
K Thirumaran, EL Eijdenberg
Journal of Tourism Science - Zeitschrift fr Tourismuswissenschaft 13 (1), 1-21 2021
Citations: 8 - The politics of tourism: ethnic Chinese spaces in Malaysia
K Thirumaran
In: Burns, Peter, and Novelli, Marina, (eds.) Tourisms and Politics: Global 2006
Citations: 8 - Robotic life of casino employees: exploring well-being dimensions in the gambling industry in Malaysia
K Chaichi, A Trupp, M Ranjanthran, K Thirumaran
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion,, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. 2023
Citations: 7 - Introduction: Service excellence in Asian tourism and hospitality
D Klimkeit, CM Tang, K Thirumaran
Service Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality: Insights from Asia, 1-7 2021
Citations: 7 - Mitigating impact from natural disasters, building resilience in tourism: the case of Kerala.
WCWJ Azzali S, Kamble Z, Thirumaran K
Economic Effects of Natural Disasters: theoretical foundations, methods, and 2020
Citations: 7 - 旅游与社会文化变迁 (二)
NB Salazar, 张进福, AC Bunten, J Devine, K Thirumaran, 黄宜瑜, 谢素卿, ...
旅游学刊 2013
Citations: 5 - Geophysical and Cultural Realities: Tourism Policy of Bhutan and Maldives
MX Dam, RFJ Sabacan, KS Sim, K Thirumaran
Tropical Constrained Environments and Sustainable Adaptations: Businesses 2021
Citations: 4 - Singapore Royal Tourism: What!?
K THIRUMARAN
Tourism and Monarchy in Southeast Asia, 214 2016
Citations: 4
Publications
Books
K Thirumaran, Dirk Klimkeit and Tang Chun Meng. Eds. (2021). Service Excellence in Hospitality and Tourism Management: Insights from Asia. Springer Nature, Frankfurt, Germany.
Simona Azali and K Thirumaran. Eds. (2021). Tropical Constrained Environments and Sustainable Adaptations. Springer, Singapore.
Dirk, Klimkeit and K Thirumaran. Eds. (2018). Management of Shared Service Centers in Asia: Examples from Malaysia and Singapore. GRIN Verlag, Munich, Germany.
Foo Koong Hean and K Thirumaran, Eds. (2015). First Class Behaviours for First World Nation. JCU Singapore: Singapore. [ISBN 978-981—09-8281-2]
Goh, S., Sabharwal J.K. & Thirumaran K. (2021). A Paradigmatic Shift in a Hallmark event extending well-being to a non-host city: “One People One Nation, One In Allan Stewart Jepson and Trudie Walters (Eds.) Events and Well-Being. Routledge, New York, pp. 70- 88.
Fiala, Serafin and Thirumaran, K. (2021). Hospitality and Tourism Management: Adopting Lean Six Sigma, Achieving Service Excellence. In K Thirumaran, Dirk Klimkeit and Tang Chun Meng (Eds.) Service Excellence in Hospitality and Tourism Management: Insights from Asia. Springer Nature, Frankfurt, Germany, .
Klimkeit, Dirk, Tang Chun Meng, and Thirumaran, K. (2021). Service Excellence in Asian Tourism and Hospitality. In K Thirumaran, Dirk Klimkeit and Tang Chun Meng. (Eds.) Service Excellence in Hospitality and Tourism Management: Insights from Asia. Springer Nature, Frankfurt, Germany,