Michael Lever

Michael Lever

Assistant Professor,  
International School of Hospitality, Sports, and Tourism Management

CONTACT INFORMATION

Courses

• Research Methodology II
• Special Project
• Food & Beverage Management

Research

• Place Branding
• Destination Image
• Resident Attitudes
• Destination Advocacy
• Social Identity Theory
• Social Media
• Travel Sentiment

Education

• BCom(Hons), Ontario Tech University
• MSc, University of Ottawa
• PhD, University of Guelph

Academic Profile

Michael W. Lever is an Assistant Professor in the International School of Hospitality, Sports, and Tourism Management at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Vancouver, Canada. Prior to joining FDU, he was a Sessional Lecturer and Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of Guelph, where he completed his Ph.D. He holds a B.Comm (Honours) degree from Ontario Tech University and an M.Sc. from the University of Ottawa. He has industry experience working as a Market Researcher for The Nielsen Company and through his collaboration with Destination Canada.

Dr. Lever is a motivated researcher with both qualitative and quantitative research abilities, including latent class analysis, structural equation modeling, netnography, and eye-tracking study design. His research program incorporates his background in the areas of consumer behavior, management, and marketing and applies it to concepts in tourism, particularly those of destination image and place branding. In so doing, he hopes to understand how these related areas may influence both destination marketing practices and tourism and place theory.

His work has been published in several highly ranked journals (both A and A* based on the ABDC Journal Quality List), such as Journal of Travel Research, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, Journal of Vacation Marketing, and International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.

He is the recipient of multiple sources of internal and external funding, grants, and awards, including a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership Engage Grant ($24,741), Destination Canada Research Grant ($10,000), and Gordon S. Lang Experiential Learning Fund ($7,950).

Dr. Lever is currently serving as a reviewer on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Travel Research, and as the Secretary/Treasurer for the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) Canada Chapter Board.