Shayan Lallani,
PhD

Shayan contributes to destination development and research projects at the Culinary Tourism Alliance. He works with destinations to develop strategic plans and tourism products such as food trails, ambassador programs and accreditation initiatives. He also leads the organization’s academic engagements, including liaising with academic partners and sharing research through conferences and publications.

Shayan has long been interested in the relationship between food, identity and place. Raised in multicultural cities like Miami, Orlando and Toronto, this early curiosity deepened during a family cruise in 2011 where he became fascinated by how cruise lines represent global cultures through cuisine.

This interest ultimately shaped his academic path. After completing a BA in History at the University of Toronto, Shayan pursued an MA in Food History focusing on the evolution of cruise ship dining. He later earned a PhD from the University of Ottawa, studying how mass-market cruise lines transformed cruise vacations into curated cultural experiences by using themed environments to produce commercialized interactions with global cultures.

Shayan’s research has taken him throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. His work appears in journals including Globalizations, Food Culture & Society and Journal of Tourism History. His forthcoming book on the mass-marketization of Caribbean cruise vacations is under contract with the University of Illinois Press.

Outside of work, Shayan enjoys wildlife photography, muay Thai, reading, baking and travelling.