Dr Sunitha Haneef
Lecturer in Tourism and Events
Department of Fashion, Marketing, Tourism and Events
Sunitha is a Lecturer in Events and Tourism within the Department of Fashion, Marketing, Tourism and Events and Programme Lead for MSc International Tourism and Events Management. She received her PhD from the University of Salford, UK in 2017.
Before joining GCU, Sunitha held several key positions within the academic and corporate industries in the UAE and India. Sunitha is also an Executive Coach with membership in professional bodies like IATA, IoH, and CIM, and she has conducted over 200 training sessions for professionals.
Sunitha uses innovative pedagogical techniques to impart and share knowledge with her class. She strongly believes in participation and experiential learning, and she is particularly enthusiastic about student development, experience, and employability. She closely collaborates with national and international organisations and companies to ensure the students’ participation in the industry and to help them gain real-world experience by providing networking opportunities.
Sunitha is actively involved in various research activities and her research interests are currently focused on event tourism, destination image, destination management and marketing, and digital marketing in tourism and events. She has published papers in peer-reviewed journals and participated in many academic and industrial conferences.
She has participated as an invited delegate in various aviation, tourism, and hospitality events organised by the government and public sectors in the UAE, India, and the UK. She was also involved in the planning of numerous corporate events, ranging from large-scale international meetings to intimate fundraising events.