Determining and making sense of recruitment practices for tourism academics in the UK

Purpose: This study examines the influence of neoliberalism and managerialism on the recruitment of tourism academics in the UK. We analyse how sustainable recruitment and retention of talents are in the tourism industry. Importantly, we provide particular focus on sustainable tourism roles, as well as the impacts of COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative content analysis focuses on academic jobs in tourism advertised on Jobs.ac.uk between June 2020 and July 2021. Findings: Study findings reveal how, in the case of the UK, current educational ideologies, including neoliberalism and managerialism, significantly influence curriculum and recruitment. Such an approach facilitates the hidden curriculum of undisciplined tourism programmes and significantly constrains the prominence of sustainability principles. The development of curriculum, student life course and recruitment of academics are influenced by several variables (personal, environmental, behavioural), which must be identified to enable decision-makers to engage in efficient planning. Originality: We provide a unique focus on the recruitment of tourism academics encompassing crucial factors like sustainable tourism and COVID-19. The proposed framework creates the foundation for the investigation and discussion of academics' recruitment in different contexts. We also offer several new avenues for future research