Robert Charles Capistrano
-
Mail code: 4020Campus: Tempe
-
Robert Charles Garcia Capistrano (Bob) is an Assistant Professor jointly appointed in the School of Community Resources and Development at Arizona State University and the Hainan University–Arizona State University International College (HAIC) in Haikou, China. His research program sits at the intersection of critical social theory, postcolonial studies, qualitative methodology, and disability studies, examining populations whose lives and ways of knowing have been rendered invisible within academic knowledge production: from social workers navigating burnout in Philippine welfare agencies, to Filipino Muslim families in leisure and tourism spaces, to indigenous women leaders in Hainan's hospitality sector, to nonprofit leaders whose organizational survival is shaped by the geopolitics of Northern philanthropy.
Since joining ASU in 2019, initially as a Lecturer, and subsequently as Assistant Professor from 2022, Capistrano has published peer-reviewed articles in journals including Tourism Management Perspectives, Tourism Geographies, Journal of Vacation Marketing, Journal of Leisure Research, and Leisure Sciences. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in qualitative research methods and inclusive community development. Prior to his academic career, he worked as a conservationist and community researcher at Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources in the Philippines -- experience that continues to ground his commitment to communities at the margins of institutional power.
Doctor of Philosophy in Tourism Management, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Dissertation: Host-guest interactions: First-generation Filipino immigrants in New Zealand and their Visiting Friends and Relatives from the Philippines.
Master of Marine Management, Dalhousie University, Canada.
Graduate Project: An Institutional Analysis of Community Participation on Marine Protected Areas within Tourism Sites in the Philippines.
Master of Arts in Humanities major in Women’s Studies (with distinction), St. Scholastica’s College, Manila, Philippines.
Thesis: The Role of Women as Maninilay (Fisherfolk) in Community-based Coastal Resource Management in Bolinao, Pangasinan.
Bachelor of Science in Biology, De La Salle University. Manila, Philippines.
Bob's work is organized across five interconnected thematic clusters: (1) intergenerational care, family mobilities, and social solidarity; (2) postcolonial hospitality, critical tourism, and marginalized tourism actors; (3) occupational burnout, social welfare, and Asian cultural epistemologies; (4) embodied knowledge, disability, and transnational precarity; and (5) civil society, environmental governance, and sustainable communities. Methodologically, he draws on critical discourse analysis, constructionist interviewing, ethnography, interpretive phenomenological analysis, collaborative autoethnography, and historiography. His research is primarily situated in Southeast Asian and East Asian contexts, with a sustained focus on the Philippines and China.
Refereed Journal Articles - note: * - as corresponding author
Notorio, P.A.C., Capistrano, R.C.G., Aquino, R.S., & Bricker, K.S. A critical discourse analysis of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in destination management organization (DMO) websites: A study of provincial DMOs in the Philippines. Tourism Management Perspectives 59, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2025.101404
Youn, H., Kim, J-H., & Capistrano, R.C.G. Perceived Benefits and Risks of Grandtravel: Senior Tourism in China. Leisure Sciences, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2025.2555514
Huang, T., Hu, C., Xia, M., Liu, Z., Zhou, W., & Capistrano, R.C.G.* (2025). An Exploratory Study on University Students’ Perceptions of Flagship Species: Implications for Sustainable Tourism. Asia-Pacific Social Science Review 25(2), 24-38. https://doi.org/10.59588/2350-8329.1568
Malabi, J.J., Chavez, C.J.H., Capistrano, R.C.G.*, & Manala-O, S.D. (2024). Exploring inclusivity in travel and leisure: Insights from Filipino Muslim families. Journal of Leisure Research, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222216.2024.2424208
Perez, M.E., Maniego, K.Y., Capistrano, R.C.*, & Delayco, M.L. Understanding the Drive Experience of Motor Vehicle Club Members in the Philippines. Journal of Vacation Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1177/13567667221129882
Capistrano, R.C., & Muñoz, K.E. (2022). Tourism mobilities in the Philippines: a historiographical analysis of travel and tourism activities from pre-1950s. Journal of Tourism History, 14(1), 28-46. https://doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2022.2085817
Cuevas, S.V., Franco, C.A., Capistrano, R.C.*, & Guia, J. (2022). Exploring the potential of halal tourism through institutional analysis of halal certifiers in the Philippines. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, 10(2), 60-77. https://doi.org/10.21427/73k7-4855
King, S., Capistrano, R.C.*, & Lopez, E (2021). Tourists really do behave responsibly toward the environment in Camiguin Province, Philippines. Tourism Geographies, 23(1), 573-598. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1833970
Capistrano, R.C. & Notorio, P. (2021). A content analysis of the future of tourism through the presidential state of the nation address in the Philippines (1987-2019). Journal of Tourism Futures, 7(1), 131-146. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-05-2020-0075
Capistrano, R.C.G.*, & Weaver, A. (2018). That's what friends are for: Emotional solidarity, friendship and social interactions between first-generation immigrants and their visiting friends. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 36, 57-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2018.07.003
Capistrano, R.C.*, & Bernardo, M. A. C. (2018). Mother knows best: exploring the matrilineal influence in family tourism among Filipinos living in New Zealand. Young Consumers, 19(2), 218-236. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-08-2017-0072
Capistrano, R.C.G.* & Weaver, A. (2017). Host-guest interactions between first-generation immigrants and their visiting relatives: social exchange, relations of care and travel. International Journal of Culture, Tourism, and Hospitality, 11(3), 406-420. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-11-2016-0115
Capistrano, R.C.G.* (2013). Visiting Friends and Relatives Travel, Host-Guest Interactions and Qualitative Research: Methodological and Ethical Implications. Asia-Pacific Journal of Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism, 2(1), 87-100. https://fslmjournals.taylors.edu.my/wp-content/uploads/APJIHT/APJIHT-2013-2-1/APJIHT-2013-P6-2-1.pdf
Capistrano, R.C.G.* & Charles, A. T. (2012). Indigenous rights and coastal fisheries: A framework of livelihoods, rights and equity. Ocean & Coastal Management, 69: 200-209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2012.08.011
Capistrano, R.C.G.* (2010). Reclaiming the Ancestral Waters of Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines: The Tagbanua Experience with Fishing Rights and Indigenous Rights. Marine Policy, 34: 453-460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2009.09.012
Book Chapter
Bagadion, A.M.F., & Capistrano, R.C.G. (2022). Exploring Residents’ Perceptions of Tourism in a Pilgrimage Destination: The Case of Our Lady of Peñafrancia in Naga City, Philippines. In R.S. Aquino & B.A. Porter (Eds.), Tourism in the Philippines: Communities, Hosts and Guests (pp. 17-33). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
Delas Alas, P.A.E., Pagador, A. M. M., & Capistrano, R.C.G. (2022). Community-Based Tourism: An Analysis of Ugong Rock Adventures Stakeholders’ Social Capital in Facilitating Community Participation. In R.S. Aquino & B.A. Porter (Eds.), Tourism in the Philippines: Communities, Hosts and Guests (pp. 35-55). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
Capistrano, R.C. (2006). Lessons Learned in Community-based Coastal Resource Management in Bolinao, Pangasinan, Philippines. In Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Experiences in Strengthening Rural Poor Organizations in Asia. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC), and Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP). p. 107–112.
Muñoz, J.C. & Capistrano, R.C.G. (2003). The Broad-based Coastal Management Training Program: Capacity Building towards a Responsive Coastal Resources Management. In Building on Lessons from the Field: Protected Area Management Experiences in Southeast Asia. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Birdlife International, Conservation International-Philippines, Foundation for the Philippine Environment, and Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources. p. 246-249.
Dissertation and Thesis
Capistrano, R.C.G. (2014). Host-guest interactions: First-generation Filipino immigrants in New Zealand and their visiting friends and relatives (VFR) from the Philippines. Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Capistrano, R.C.G. (2010). Indigenous peoples, their livelihoods and fishery rights in Canada and the Philippines: Paradoxes, perspectives and lessons learned. Thesis dissertation, United Nations - The Nippon Foundation of Japan Fellowship. 107 pp.
Capistrano, R.C.G. (2007).An institutional analysis of community participation on MPAs within tourism sites in the Philippines. Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Capistrano, R.C.G. (2006). The role of women as maninilay (Fisherfolk) in community-based coastal resource management in Bolinao, Pangasinan. St. Scholastica's College, Manila, Philippines.
Courses
2022 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| TDM 593 | Applied Project |
2021 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| TDM 593 | Applied Project |
2018. Outstanding Professor Award. De La Salle University.
2017. Outstanding Professor Award. University of the Philippines-Asian Institute of Tourism.
2016. Recipient, PhD Incentive Award - Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Development - University of the Philippines (grant amount: US$ 8,000).
2011-2014. Recipient, Victoria Doctoral Scholarship and Victoria Submission Scholarship – Victoria University of Wellington (grant amount: over NZ$ 85,000).
2012. Finalist, Best Student Paper Award. 4th Asia-Euro Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy Conference 2012 sponsored by Taylor’s University - School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts held in Selangor, Malaysia. Presented the paper: “Visiting Friends and Relatives Travel, Host-Guest Interactions and Qualitative Research: Methodological and Ethical Implications.”
2009-2010. Recipient, United Nations - The Nippon Foundation of Japan Fellowship (grant amount: over US$ 60,000).
2009. Finalist, The 10th Global Development Conference (Medal Competition) on Natural Resources and Development held in Kuwait City. Presented the paper, “An Institutional Analysis of Community Participation on Marine Protected Areas within Tourism Sites in the Philippines” for the theme/category: Society and Natural Resource Management (grant amount: over US$ 4,000).
2006-2007. Recipient, Canadian International Development Agency – Marine Scholarship Program in pursuing a one-year master’s degree in marine management at Dalhousie University (grant amount: over CAD$ 65,000).
Reviewer:
Anatolia
Current Issues in Tourism
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management
Journal of Leisure Research
Journal of Tourism Futures;
Ocean and Coastal Management
World Development
2018
Mary Stephanie King. Environmental Sustainability in Island Tourism: Exploring Tourists’ Environmentally Responsible Behaviour in Camiguin Province, Philippines. Master’s Thesis. De La Salle-College of St. Benilde.
Rosie Jane Mosquera. A Study of Philippine Tourism Destinations enlisted as Sagisag Kultura Pilipinas (Philippine Cultural Icons). Master’s Thesis. De La Salle-College of St. Benilde.
2017 - 2019 - Associate Professor, De La Salle University - Marketing and Advertising Department
2016 - Associate Professorial Lecturer, De La Salle - College of St. Benilde, School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management
2015 - 2017 - Assistant Professor, University of the Philippines - Asian Institute of Tourism
2011 - 2014 - Tutorial Coordinator, Victoria University of Wellington - School of Business (Tourism Management)
2011 - Project Coordinator, Foundation for a Sustainable Society, Inc (Philippines) . - Integrating Forestry and Local Governance with Sustainable Enterprise (European Union-funded project)
2008 - 2009 - Resource Mobilization Officer, Foundation for a Sustainable Society, Inc. (Philippines)
1999 - 2004 - Sustainability and Innovations Officer/Community-based Coastal Resource Management Researcher, Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources (Philippines)
2019 - Facilitator, Drafting the ASEAN Gender and Tourism Framework with support from the Department of Tourism - Philippines (Policy Group)