Tourism Teacher was created by Dr Hayley Stainton to support students, teachers and industry professionals who want to understand the travel and tourism industry in greater depth.

Tourism is frequently described as one of the largest and most significant industries in the world. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, travel and tourism contributed US$11.6 trillion to global GDP in 2025, representing 9.8% of the global economy. The World Bank also highlights tourism as a major driver of employment, economic development and international visitor spending, supporting hundreds of millions of jobs worldwide. These figures demonstrate why it is so important that tourism is understood not simply as a leisure activity, but as a major global system with wide-reaching economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts.

Despite its scale and significance, tourism is often underestimated. Many people think of tourism only in terms of flights, hotels and holidays. In reality, the industry is far more complex. Tourism is deeply interconnected with global economics, employment, transport systems, destination development, cultural exchange, environmental management, technology, education and international relations. It shapes communities, influences policy, supports livelihoods and affects how people and places are represented, consumed and experienced.

Tourism Teacher exists to make this complexity easier to understand. The aim of the website is to take academic research, industry insight and educational expertise and present them in a way that is clear, accessible and useful. Rather than keeping tourism knowledge confined to academic journals, specialist textbooks or industry reports, Tourism Teacher helps translate important ideas into content that can be understood by a wider audience.

The website provides accessible, high-quality educational content on tourism management, sustainable tourism, aviation, cabin crew, geography, travel careers, tourism theory, global destinations, travel trends and tourism teaching resources. It is designed for learners, educators, industry professionals and anyone who wants to develop a more informed understanding of the global travel and tourism sector.

Alongside the website, Dr Stainton also shares tourism education through the Tourism Teacher YouTube channel and short-form tourism content across digital platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. These videos are designed to make learning about travel and tourism more accessible, engaging and relevant to the way people consume information today. By combining academic knowledge with clear explanations and real-world examples, Tourism Teacher aims to help more people recognise the importance of tourism and understand the forces shaping the future of the industry.

Tourism Teacher is used by learners, educators and tourism professionals around the world and has grown into a trusted online resource for anyone studying, teaching or working in travel and tourism. Its purpose is not only to explain the industry, but to show why tourism matters.

About Dr Hayley Stainton

Dr Hayley Stainton is a tourism academic, educator, author, examiner and founder of Tourism Teacher, one of the world’s leading platforms for travel and tourism education.

With a PhD in tourism and two decades of experience across teaching, academic leadership, curriculum development, examining and educational publishing, Hayley has built her career around making travel, tourism, aviation, geography and global education more accessible, engaging and academically rigorous.

Her academic expertise focuses on tourism education, sustainability, development, aviation and global mobility. Her PhD examined English language teaching as a form of tourism, leading to the development of the concept of TEFL tourism.

Her wider research interests include sustainable tourism, volunteer tourism, digital marketing, netnography, travel influencers, aviation, cabin crew education, tourism ethics, vocational assessment, generative AI in education, global development and broader issues in business and management.

Hayley has published several books and published her research in a range of academic journals including Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Geographies and Tourism Management Perspectives. Her work has also been featured by the BBC, CNBC and TES, and she is a TEDx speaker.

Alongside her academic work, Hayley has substantial experience in education leadership. She has held roles including Higher Education Programme Manager, Assistant Headteacher, Head of Sixth Form and Senior University Lecturer. She has also undertaken work as a Chair of Examiners, Standards Verifier, Assessment Specialist and External Standards Verifier. Her leadership work has included curriculum development, academic quality assurance, teacher development, inspection preparation and pastoral management. Hayley is also a recognised Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, Examiner and a trained instructional coach.

Hayley also has substantial industry experience across the travel, tourism, aviation and hospitality sectors. She has worked as a travel agent, long-haul and short-haul cabin crew, a resort representative, and in a variety of hospitality and customer-service roles. More recently, she has developed her entrepreneurial experience through building Tourism Teacher into a global online platform for travel and tourism education.

This combination of academic expertise, leadership, entrepreneurship and real travel industry knowledge allows Hayley to provide practical, credible and research-informed guidance for students, teachers and people who want to build a career in travel and tourism.

Academic publications by Dr Hayley Stainton

Dr Hayley Stainton’s publications span academic journals, edited books, professional texts and educational resources. Her work explores tourism as a global industry and as a field of study, with particular attention to education, sustainability, mobility, aviation, digital media and development.

Selected publications are listed below:

• Stainton, H. and Tham, A. 2026. Towards More Inclusive Travel and Tourism Education: Curriculum and Assessment Adaptations for Neurodiverse Learners. In progress.
• Stainton, H. 2026. Vocational Assessment in the Age of Generative AI: A Reflective Research Note on Authenticity, Workforce Readiness and the Limits of Explanatory Coursework. International Review of Education. Under review.
• Tham, A. and Stainton, H. 2024. End-of-life hospitality? A preamble for supply-side notions of suicide tourism. Journal of Tourism, Heritage & Services Marketing, 10(1), 90–93.
• Stainton, H., Adu-Ampong, E. and George, R. 2021. Word-of-Mouth Redefined: A Profile of Influencers in the Travel and Tourism Industry. Journal of Smart Tourism, 1(3), 31–44.
• Stainton, H. 2022. TEFL Tourism. In Buhalis, D. Encyclopedia of Tourism Management and Marketing. Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Stainton, H. 2021. Wildlife Tourism and the Education of Children. In Hughes, S. Children in Responsible and Sustainable Tourism. Bingley: Emerald Publishing.
• Stainton, H. 2019. TEFL Tourism: Principles, Commodification and Sustainability. Wallingford: CABI Publishing.
• Stainton, H. and Iordanova, E. 2019. Cognition, Emotion and Trust: A Comparative Analysis of Destination Image Projected by DMOs and Online Bloggers. Tourist Studies, 19(4), 496–519.
• Stainton, H. 2019. Becoming Cabin Crew: Everything You Need to Know about the Application Process, Cabin Crew Training and Life in the Skies. UK: CreateSpace Publishing.
• Stainton, H. 2019. Becoming Cabin Crew: A Course Textbook Designed to Support BTEC, NCFE and City & Guilds Qualifications. UK: CreateSpace Publishing.
• Stainton, H. 2018. The Commodification of English Language Teaching in Tourism: A Sustainable Solution? Tourism Management Perspectives, 25, 123–130.
• Stainton, H. 2018. TEFL Tourism: The Tourist Who Teaches. Tourism Geographies, 20(1), 127–143.
• Stainton, H. 2017. Inside the Thai Classroom: A Stakeholder Insight. The New English Teacher, 11(1).
• Stainton, H. and Iordanova, E. 2017. An Ethical Perspective for Tourism Researchers Using Blog Analysis as a Research Method. Methodological Innovations, 10(3), 1–7.
• Stainton, H. 2016. The Blogosphere as a Platform for Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis: The Case of TEFL Tourism. Current Issues in Tourism.
• Stainton, H. 2016. A Segmented Volunteer Tourism Industry. Annals of Tourism Research, 61, 213–214.
• Stainton, H. 2015. Life of a Hostie: Everything You Need to Know to Become Cabin Crew. UK: CreateSpace Publishing.
• Wright, H. 2014. Volunteer Tourism and its Misperceptions: A Comparative Analysis of Tourist and Host Perceptions. Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 13(4), 239–250.
• Wright, H. 2014. Becoming Cabin Crew: The Ultimate Guide to the Application Process, Cabin Crew Training and Life in the Skies. UK: CreateSpace Publishing.

Dr Hayley Stainton has shared her work at conferences in the UK and internationally, contributing to discussions on tourism, education, mobility and industry change.

Selected conference papers and presentations are listed below:

• Stainton, H. 2020. Tourism Recovery: Thoughts from China. TTRA Asia Pacific Chapter Conference. Brisbane. 8 December.
• Stainton, H. 2020. Life after COVID: Lessons from Asia and Europe. SMART Talk: Smart Tourism and Research Consultancy. Panama. 21 May.
• Stainton, H. 2020. The Economic Impacts of Coronavirus. The World Economy After the COVID-19 Pandemic. MUBS. 11 May.
• Stainton, H. 2018. TEFL Tourism. Conference of Sustainable Tourism. 16–18 May.
• Stainton, H. 2017. TEFL Tourism in Thailand: Teacher Characteristics, Motivations and Experiences. ICOT Conference, Place and the Tourist Experience: Heritage, Sustainability and Economy. 28 June–1 July.
• Stainton, H. 2016. TEFL Tourism: A Typological Examination of Those Teaching English as a Foreign Language. ATLAS Annual Conference, Tourism, Lifestyles and Locations. 14–16 September.
• Stainton, H. 2016. TEFL Tourism. Bucks New University Research Colloquium. 29 June.
• Stainton, H. and Iordanova, E. 2016. An Ethical Perspective for Tourism Researchers Using Blog Analysis as a Research Method. The 6th ICOT Conference, New Challenges and Boundaries in Tourism: Policies, Innovations and Strategies. 29 June–2 July.
• Stainton, H. 2016. TEFL Tourism: Three Minute Thesis, winner. Staffordshire Post Graduate Research Conference. 19 May.
• Stainton, H. 2016. TEFL Tourism: An Introduction. Tourism Research Network PhD/ECR Symposium. 19 April.
• Stainton, H. 2015. TEFL Tourism: Moving Volunteer Tourism Research from the Broad to the Specific. The 24th Nordic Symposium in Tourism and Hospitality Research. 29 September–3 October.
• Wright, H. 2015. The Blogosphere: An Ethical Debate. The International Conference of Qualitative Research, Beyond the Fractured Future. 15–17 July.
• Stainton, H. 2017. Special session chair, TEFL Tourism. ICOT Conference. 28 June–1 July.

Join the conversation

Connect with Dr Hayley Stainton on social media to continue the discussion beyond the website. Follow for new ideas, professional reflections, short-form videos and updates from Tourism Teacher.

Work with Dr Hayley Stainton

Dr Hayley Stainton welcomes enquiries from individuals, organisations and institutions interested in research collaboration, consultancy, advertising, promotional partnerships and other professional opportunities.

To discuss a potential project or collaboration, email drhayleystainton [at] tourismteacher.com.