Hupfeld Hoerder is an Assistant Lecturer with Tourism and Hospitality Management School. He joined the University of the South Pacific in 2011 after completing his Masters of Business in International Tourism and Hospitality Management at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. Prior to pursuing his Masters he was teaching at the Fiji Institute of Technology (now the Fiji National University), and was based in the School of Tourism and Hospitality for nine years where he was also the Industrial Attachment Coordinator. Whilst working with the Institute he was instrumental in setting up work placements, internships and employment opportunities for students in the Cook Islands, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. He was also the team leader during the school’s curriculum review program, liaising closely with tourism stakeholders and a member of the industry advisory board. Hupfeld has BA in Economics and Management from the University of the South Pacific.

In addition, he has had extensive experience in the hospitality industry in Fiji where he has worked at several resorts and hotels, mainly in the rooms division and the food and beverage departments. He has also gained experience in other areas like organizing and coordinating large events, meetings and conferences. In 2012, he collaborated with a global bridal magazine – Brides, based in America, to organize a show during the annual Bula Fiji Tourism Exchange Program. Currently, he is working on pursuing his PhD in the field of tourism marketing, focusing on wedding market tourism in Fiji.

Research and Scholarly Interests

• Tourism and Fashion: the link between retail clothing and accessories to shopping tourism in Fiji and the region.
• Tourism and the Bridal market: demand and the supply of tourism products and services; and customers’ expectations, experiences and challenges in Fiji.
• Hospitality Operational Systems: front of house and back of house operations.
• Tourism Marketing: opportunities and challenges of social media; ‘Instagram’, ‘Facebook’ and ‘Pininterest’ as marketing tools – impacts and challenges.