In late April, Dr Mark Hampton was in Malaysia giving guest lectures and presenting a paper at an international conference. Dr Hampton is Visiting Professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in Johor Bahru (a strategic partner of the University of Kent: http://www.utm.my/) where he gave a guest lecture to staff and postgraduate students on writing academic books based on his experience of publishing his latest book on backpacker tourism in the less developed world (http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415594189/).
He also gave an invited lecture at IRDA, the Iskandar Regional Development Authority, on the economic impact of independent travellers and backpackers. Dr Hampton then travelled to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo) to give an invited paper at an international conference on island, coastal and tropical tourism. He presented a paper – co-written with CENTICA Research Associate Julia Jeyacheya – on tourism development in the small island of Gili Trawangan, eastern Indonesia. Dr Hampton also chaired a conference session and joined the conference field trip on eco-tourism to nearby Gaya island organised by Sabah Parks.