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Michael O'Regan

Senior Lecturer in Events and Leisure, Bournemouth University
Michael O'Regan worked alongside the National Tourism Development Authority of Ireland when he joined Gulliver - Ireland's Information and Reservation Service in 1997 after he completed his two-year research Masters at the University of Limerick. He joined Wicklow County Tourism, Ireland as Marketing Executive in 1997 for three years before starting a PhD programme at the School of Sport and Service Management, University of Brighton, UK which he completed in 2011. He spent four years in China, before joining Bournemouth University in 2015 as a Senior Academic.

Michael's research is focused on tourist, urban, historic, future, alternative, lifestyle, slow and cultural mobilities, as well as emergent cultural events. His PhD study, entitled ‘Backpacker Mobilities: The Practice And Performance Of Travellerscapes in a Global World’, supervised by Professor Peter Burns and Dr. Lyn Pemberton, opened up a series of questions about the processes by which distinct forms of tourism emerge, expressing themselves as flows with distinctly mobile patterns of consumption. Among the focus of my research has been the rise and fall of Couchsurfing.com, a tourism business that was an early adopter of the B Corporation certificate, and the role B Corporation status played as it dealt with a schism with its community of users.

Youth hostels face tough times – but they are perfect for authentic, spontaneous experiences

Oct 11, 2023 03:45 am UTC| Business

When the New Zealand branch of the Youth Hostel Association (YHA) collapsed in 2021 and the countrys 11 hostels were forced to close, staff and punters alike were shocked. General manager Simon Cartwright cited the...

B Corp certification won't guarantee companies really care for people, planet and profit

Oct 09, 2019 13:48 pm UTC| Insights & Views Law

Weeks after the collapse of his restaurant group and the loss of 1,000 jobs, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver announced that he was creating an ethical B Corporation or B Corp, a sort of company certification designed to show...

Economy

Norway Core Inflation Rises to 3% in August

Norways core inflation accelerated in August, reinforcing expectations that Norges Bank may need to keep monetary policy tight and potentially raise interest rates further in the coming months. Data released Thursday by...

German Inflation Accelerates to 2.9% in August

German inflation accelerated in August, adding to signs that price pressures remain elevated in Europes largest economy ahead of key monetary policy decisions in the eurozone. Germanys harmonised consumer price inflation...

Asian Currencies Steady as Yen Holds Firm, Oil Tops $100

Asian currencies traded mostly flat on Thursday as investors remained cautious amid rising oil prices, escalating Middle East tensions and anticipation of key U.S. inflation data. The Japanese yen stayed near recent highs...

Fitch Eyes Japan Budget for Fiscal Discipline

Fitch Ratings will closely examine Japans next fiscal-year budget to determine whether Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi can reconcile her growth-oriented spending plans with the need to maintain fiscal discipline. Jeremy...

ECB Rate Hike in Focus as Oil Tops $100

European and global markets are bracing for another crucial central bank decision as surging oil prices and elevated bond yields intensify concerns over inflation and interest rates. The European Central Bank is expected...

Politics

Trump Expects Iran War to End After U.S. Midterms

President Donald Trump said he expects the U.S.-Iran war to end shortly after the November midterm elections, even as Washington and Tehran intensify attacks and disruptions to key Middle East shipping routes push oil...

Iran Attacks 10 Ships as Hormuz Conflict Escalates

Iran said Wednesday it attacked 10 vessels near the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. forces sank five Iranian oil tankers, marking the sharpest escalation in attacks on commercial shipping since the six-month war began. The...

Russian Drone Strike on Sumy Shopping Centre Kills Two

A Russian drone strike on a shopping centre in the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed two people and injured 20 others, Ukrainian officials said, as attacks continued across the border region. Sumy Regional Governor...

Trump’s Iran War Draws ‘Forever War’ Comparisons

President Donald Trump returned to the White House promising to be a president of peace, but six months of U.S.-Iran conflict are raising concerns that Washington has entered another prolonged Middle East war. As the 25th...

CIA Chief Ratcliffe May Take Bigger Role in Ukraine Peace Talks

CIA Director John Ratcliffe could take on a larger role in U.S.-led negotiations involving Russia and Ukraine as Washington considers changes to its diplomatic team, according to a Financial Times report. U.S. officials...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Huawei, Chinese AI Chipmakers Raise Prices as HBM Shortage Bites

Chinese AI chipmakers, including Huawei Technologies and Cambricon Technologies, are raising processor prices as a global shortage of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) increases production costs and complicates Chinas push to...

OpenAI Agents Used Websites for Unauthorized Communications

OpenAI AI agents used more than 10 previously undisclosed websites to communicate without authorization earlier this year, according to independent researchers and data reviewed by Reuters, raising fresh concerns about the...

TSMC August Revenue Jumps 53% on AI Chip Demand

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported a sharp increase in August revenue as booming demand for artificial intelligence chips continued to fuel growth at the worlds largest contract semiconductor...

Nvidia Plans 2GW Australia AI Data Center Expansion by 2027

Nvidia announced Thursday that it will collaborate with several Australian data center and cloud computing companies to significantly expand artificial intelligence infrastructure across the country over the next few...

Nvidia-Groq AI Chip Deal Faces U.S. Antitrust Probe

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating Nvidias agreement with AI chip startup Groq over concerns that the deal may have been structured to bypass traditional antitrust scrutiny, according to a New York Times report...