Jenny Panchal

Dr Jenny Panchal was born, raised, and educated in Baguio City, Philippines. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in BS in Tourism from the University of Baguio. She was awarded as one of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines (CAR) in 2001. Much of her non-academic work experience was gained at the Marriott in Thailand and Amanpulo in Palawan. Dr Panchal received two international scholarships: the New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID) scholarship for her Master in Tourism Management at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Later, as an Australia Leadership Awards Scholarship (ALAS) recipient, she embarked on a PhD in Tourism at James Cook University (JCU) in Queensland, Australia. She was supervised by the late Distinguished Professor Philip Pearce and Associate Professor Laurie Murphy.

Dr Panchal is currently a Senior Lecturer at the College of Business, Law & Governance at James Cook University (JCU), Australia, teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In addition, she does consultancy work with travel agencies focused on health and wellness and resorts in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Her research interests include tourist behaviour and the application of positive psychology in different specific forms of tourism, such as wellness tourism, slum tourism, and tourism education, among others. She is mainly interested in Asian tourism, particularly in Southeast Asia. While in Australia, her involvement in the ASEAN Tourism Research Association (ASEAN) as Board Member and her connections with colleagues at various institutions across Southeast Asia are essential factors in keeping herself up-to-date with tourism development, challenges and opportunities across the ASEAN region. Further, Dr Panchal’s connections with Filipinos continue in Australia, where she is currently the President of the Filipino community in North Queensland.