DOCTORAL STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: DANIELLE BARBE and her work with social media and crisis communications

February 8, 2019

EFTI is always looking ahead for our future innovators, decision makers, and researchers in Tourism. One of our many outstanding students, Danielle Barbe is a doctoral student in the Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sports Management at the University of Florida (UF). Danielle’s research is focused on present-day trends, where she looks at the strategies behind social media influence and crisis communication in the tourism and hospitality industry.

At UF, Danielle works closely with the Tourism Crisis Management Initiative, conducting research on the ways to improve crisis management strategies in the tourism industry. Danielle also received her Master of Science degree at UF with her thesis relating to tourists’ engagement in risk mitigation behaviors, specifically focusing one engagement in behaviors to reduce the risks of passport theft while traveling internationally.

Her Work

Danielle began her academic career with Ryerson University where she received her Bachelor’s of Commerce in Hospitality and Tourism Management. While pursuing her degree, Danielle took part in a multi-stage, exploratory research study regarding technology adoption/non-adoption in festival contexts, with a specific focus on social media. Through her doctorate degree, Danielle is merging this background and expertise in social media with her newly found passion for research on risk and crisis management.

Danielle has recently completed multiple studies relating to on crisis communication and social media. These studies focus on a variety of crises, from terrorism to natural disasters, as well as on the different hospitality and tourism organizations who are responsible for communicating to tourists during these events.

Currently, one of the biggest research projects Danielle completed was her work on Assessing the impact of Instagram influencers on destination image and travel intentions: How cultural distance plays a role The findings of this study will be presented at the upcoming International Communication Associations conference in Washington, DC March 24-28. With influencer marketing being such a trend in the industry right now, a lot of research needs to be done to understand the strategies and decision-making process behind consumers and travelers. Danielle, along with the Tourism Crisis Management Initiative are making these strides everyday!

When she’s not Working

After asking Danielle what originally drew her to the industry, she talked of her passion for soccer, where she is and Arsenal FC fan. One of her favorite memories of when she first moved to Florida, as a native Canadian, was finding an Arsenal FC Supporters club in Gainesville, where she went to go watch the Arsenal FC team play at a sports bar and made a whole room of friends by the end of the night just from talking about the team. When she’s not researching or studying, you can find Danielle travelling the globe for a wide range of reasons, as she as an avid attendee for the World Cup and has attended in both Russia and Brasil. Aside from that, Danielle’s true passions lie in teaching where she loves to make an impact in the classroom everyday. Danielle Barbe is a wonderful piece of the EFTI team, and we are so thankful for her dedication and passion for success.