Dr Anja Pabel is a Senior Lecturer in the Learning Design and Innovation Directorate at CQUniversity. She is currently Manager & Academic Lead of the Leadership and Innovation Courses. Her research interests are tourist behaviour, nature-based tourism, marine tourism, humour research, and student experience in higher education. Anja completed a Bachelor of Business with first class honours in 2009 at James Cook University (JCU). After finishing her degree, she worked as a research assistant at JCU’s tourism department for one year. In 2015, she completed her PhD in tourism at JCU. Her PhD research investigated the role of humour in tourism settings. More specifically she examined in what ways humour influences the tourist experience in making tourists feel comfortable, connected and more mindful. In recent years, she has become active in publishing work on student experience using qualitative data from social media. She has received awards for her commitment to learning and teaching.

2020 - Student Voice Award for Educators of the Year (TOUR20022)

2019 - School of Business and Law Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research for Outstanding Early-Career Researcher

2019 - CQU Publication Recognition Award for Level B Academic

2019 - Student Voice Commendation for Educators of the Year (TOUR20020)

2018 - School of Business and Law Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research for Outstanding Early-Career Researcher

Print ‘Loved to death’ – Be Magazine (Mary Bolling), Issue 31, 2020

Print ‘Event’s a funny story’ – Cairns Post (Andrea Falvo), 03 February 2018

Radio ‘Australasian Humour Studies Network conference’ - ABC Far North Queensland (Adam Stephen), 02 February 2018

Print ‘Giant boomerang to return big gain’ - Cairns Post (Daniel Bateman), 25 January 2017

Print ‘Cultural tourism loses its appeal: Indigenous providers advised to start reinventing their attractions’ – Cairns Post (Daniel Bateman), 19 January 2017

Print ‘Laughing matters say tourism academics’ - Tropic Now (Sam Davis), 22 November 2016

Radio ‘New data which will change how the Tropical North Queensland tourism industry operates’ – ABC Far North (Kier Shorey), 21 November 2016

Print ‘Tourism Talk’ - Port Douglas & Mossman Gazette (General News), 26 November 2015

Prideaux, B., Carmody, J., & Pabel, A. (2017). Long term implication of the 2016 and 2017 Great Barrier Reef coral bleaching events on the tourism industry and tourism dependent coastal communities. Report prepared for the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre (RRRC). Centre for Tourism and Regional Opportunities, CQUniversity: Cairns (95pp.).

Prideaux, B., Pabel, A., & Thompson, M. (2016). Whitsunday Capacity Study. Report prepared for the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators Pty Ltd (AMPTO). CQUniversity & RRRC: Cairns (52pp.).