Dr Michelle Thompson is a Senior Lecturer in the College of Business, School of Business and Law at CQUniversity's Cairns campus, providing academic support to the College’s suite of online, hyperflexible management and innovation courses. Michelle is the Head of Course – Graduate Certificate Social Innovation Leadership (CV88) and academic in the MBA (Leadership) (CL39) and nested courses. Michelle has taught across various business and management units, including communication, marketing, projects and tourism. She has received awards for her learning and teaching, and draws on her research experiences to inform her teaching. Michelle’s research interests focus on regional tourism development, including agri-tourism, food and wine tourism, nature-based tourism, rural and remote areas, crisis and disaster management, and sustainability. She also has an emerging interest in social innovation and impact. Michelle’s research experience reflects her passion for regional areas and applied research that provides industry and community outcomes. She has worked on a diverse range of projects, including delivering specialist workshops on agri-tourism development, engaging in contract research with industry partners, and nationally funded research projects. She has a PhD from James Cook University, where her research modelled the drivers and barriers to tourism development in agricultural regions.

James Cook University

Central Queensland University

James Cook University

2023 CAUTHE Fellows Award for Hospitaility, Tourism and/or Events Education (Mid-career Scholar)
2023 VC’s Commendation for Best Practice in Learning and Teaching (Higher Education) - MBA (Leadership) team
2023 Finalist in the Australian Financial Review Higher Education Awards, Teaching & Learning Excellence Award Category, for CQUniversity’s hyperflexible MBA (Leadership)
2022 Fellow with Advance HE (Higher Education Academy)
2019 CQUniversity Student Voice Award for Educators of the Year (TOUR20021)
2019 School of Business and Law Platinum Certificate for Top Rated Unit in Term 2, 2019 (TOUR20021)
2012 CAUTHE PhD Student Bursary $1,500.00
2012 CAUTHE’s Bill Faulkner Memorial Award for Best PhD Paper

Print - Art sector vital to city. The Cairns Post (N. Dalton), 22 September 2023
Radio - Young fun-seeker Queenslanders the new FNQ tourist: CQUni airport study. ABC Far North Queensland, 24 November 2021
Print - Young fun-seeker Queenslanders the new FNQ tourist: CQUni airport study. CQUniNews (M Bolling), 23 November 2021
Print - Young fun-seeker Queenslanders the new FNQ tourist: CQUni airport study. E-Global Travel Media, 24 November, 2021
Print - Aussie backyard travel. Be Magazine (P. Crighton), Issue 33, 2021
Print - Central Queensland could be in for an agri-tourism boom. Queensland Country Life (K Butterworth), 6 July, 2016

Member of the Council for Australasian Universities Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE) 2017 - current
Member of the Australian Regional Tourism Network (ARTN) 2017 - 2022

Milledge, R., Law, L., Prideaux, B., Thompson, M., & Cassidy, L. (2024). State of the arts in Cairns report 2023 (SoARTS). Cairns Regional Council: Cairns, Queensland, Australia. (Contributed as a researcher on a collaborative research project between Cairns Regional Council, James Cook University and CQUniversity). 

Milledge, R., Law, L., Prideaux, B., Thompson, M., & Cassidy, L. (2023). State of the arts in Cairns report 2021 (SoARTS). Cairns Regional Council: Cairns, Queensland, Australia. (Contributed as a researcher on a collaborative research project between Cairns Regional Council, James Cook University and CQUniversity). 

Law, L., Milledge, R., Prideaux, B., Thompson, M., & Cassidy, L. (2022). State of the arts in Cairns report 2020 (SoARTS). Cairns Regional Council: Cairns, Queensland, Australia. (Contributed as a researcher on a collaborative research project between Cairns Regional Council, James Cook University and CQUniversity). 

Milledge, R., Law, L., Prideaux, B., Thompson, M., & Cassidy, L. (2020). State of the arts in Cairns report 2019 (SoARTS). Cairns Regional Council: Cairns, Queensland, Australia. (Contributed as a researcher on a collaborative research project between Cairns Regional Council, James Cook University and CQUniversity).

Prideaux, B., & Thompson, M. (September, 2019). Visitor views and concerns about the Great Barrier Reef: Preliminary results of a 2019 survey. Report prepared for the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators Pty Ltd (AMPTO). Centre for Tourism and Regional Opportunities, CQUniversity: Cairns, QLD, Australia.

Prideaux, B., McGrath, J., & Thompson, M. (2018). Feasibility study into the viability of managing the Mon Repos Turtle Centre. Report prepared for Gidarjil and the Indigenous Land Council (ILC), Bundaberg. Centre for Tourism and Regional Opportunities, CQUniversity: Cairns, Queensland, Australia.

Prideaux, B., & Thompson, M. (September, 2017). A report on commission structures in the marine tourism industry in Cairns and the Whitsundays. Report prepared for the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators Pty Ltd (AMPTO). CQUniversity: Cairns, QLD, Australia.

Prideaux, B., Pabel, A., & Thompson, M. (March, 2016). Whitsunday capacity study. Report prepared for the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators Pty Ltd (AMPTO). CQUniversity & RRRC: Cairns, QLD, Australia.

Carmody, J., Prideaux, B., & Thompson, M. (2016). Regional Development Australia – Far North Queensland and Torres Strait: Regional roadmap - Regional overview 2016. Report prepared RDA Far North Queensland & Torres Strait (RDA FNQ&TS). CQUniversity, Cairns, Queensland, Australia.