Patrick L'Espoir Decosta

Contacts

Associate Professor, Research School of Management
ANU College of Business and Economics

Patrick hails from Mauritius. He obtained his BCom in Tourism Management from the University of South Africa and his Masters and PhD at the SHTM of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His PhD dissertation dealt with the legacy of colonialism in the tourism development of former island colonies.

Countries where Patrick taught: Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Sweden, Colombia, Poland, Germany, Australia and the USA.

Teaching

Courses lectured in:

  • Marketing
  • Strategic Tourism and Hospitality Marketing
  • Tourism and Hospitality Marketing Management
  • Airline Management
  • Events and Tourism Management
  • International Marketing
  • Cultural Branding
  • Grounded Theory
  • Advanced Qualitative Methods
  • Marketing Research
  • Tourism Planning and Policy

He also acts as an academic supervisor for Bachelors,' Masters' and Doctorate theses.

Teaching philosophy

Patrick's teaching philosophy goes beyond simply imparting knowledge; he also endeavours to enhance his students' learning experience by creating opportunities for inspiration and empowerment. His classroom motto is: " I am not interested to know what you know but in how you think." For Patrick, teaching is a two-way process that not only requires classroom participation but also draws on students' personal experiences and their diverse backgrounds.

Patrick believes in an interactive form of teaching that creates a synergistic classroom atmosphere through the direct involvement of students. He always endeavors to engage students in genuine inquisitive conversations on issues relating to both their knowledge base and beliefs. His goal is to cultivate rational analysis and critical judgement through in-class dialogue and critique, with due respect to each individual's dignity.

Others

Patrick is also an advocate of advances in education quality assurance and the use of evidence-based approach in curriculum and course development. He is the Accreditation Director of the Centre of Evidence Based Management (CEBMa).

Research interests

Patrick's current research interest lies in the relationship between colonialism and tourism and is at the crossroads between social sciences and history. He is intrigued by multi-disciplinary knowledge systems and is particularly drawn to qualitative research methods. His research interests include:

  • Creation of the tourism space, with an emphasis on peripheral and marginal tourism space as opposed to mainstream tourism.
  • Tourism in the postcolonial
  • Small island tourism destination development
  • Critical tourism studies (tourism and politics, knowledge production and transmission in tourism)
  • Tourism, travel, space and place
  • The role of social artifacts such as religion and culture on destination marketing and how they influence the tourism experience.
  • Destination marketing in general and the role of events and branding the building of a tourist destination
  • The role of social media destination image and promotion
  • Cultural heritage and disaporic tourism in general.
  • Tourism education and the incorporation of tourism curricula in business studies.
  • Marketing role in value creation in B2C, B2B and C2C context
  • Evidence-Based approach to curriculum development and teaching

Groups

Updated:  25 June 2024/Responsible Officer:  College of Science/Page Contact:  https://iceds.anu.edu.au/contact