Maree Thyne

Maree Thyne is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor of marketing at the University of Otago, specialising in consumer behaviour, particularly cruise tourism.

Academic career

Thyne holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Tourism, and a graduate diploma. She completed a PhD titled Social distance and resident support for tourism at the University of Otago in 2001. She has been a member of the university senate and as of 2024 she is the Pro Vice Chancellor of Commerce and the Dean of the Business School.

During her tenure in senior leadership, the university’s marketing department was the subject of media reports describing low morale and concerns including bullying and racism, based on internal documents reported by the Otago Daily Times in April 2025. Subsequent reporting described an external facilitation process and concerns about workplace culture. In October 2025, Thyne wrote to the Otago Daily Times defending university management in response to coverage of the department.

Thyne's research focuses on consumer behaviour in tourism, including the interactions between tourists, cultural tourism and the motivations of cruise ship passengers. Thyne works with stakeholders such as Cruise New Zealand Association, National Port Authorities, regional tourism organisations and individual tourism operators to understand tourism behaviour. As part of Otago's research theme on Food Waste Innovation, she is also involved in research on consumer and producer behaviour around food waste and waste reduction strategies. Thyne is also part of the Research Network for Sustainable Business at Otago.

In 2004 Thyne co-edited the book Hospitality, tourism, and lifestyle concepts: Implications for quality management and customer satisfaction (published by Haworth Hospitality Press) with Eric Laws.

Thyne is or has been on the editorial board of a number of international journals, including the Journal of Travel Research, and Tourism Management Perspectives.

Selected works