Dr. Apoorva Nanjangud is a cultural sociologist, with an expertise at the intersection of the media, tourism and the creative sectors, particularly in the context of India. Her PhD project (2016-2021) at Dept of Arts and Culture studies, at Erasmus University Rotterdam titled, ‘Finding Bollywood: A Comparative Analaysis of Bollywood Tourism in a Transnational Context’ studied how popular Hindi/Bollywood cinema (with its various transmedia expressions) inspires the travel practices and experiences of Indian tourists abroad. Her postdoctoral project is an extension of her interest in transnational travels by examining the craft cultures in India, and the role of (digital) media in the process. With her postdoctoral project ‘Indigenious Journeys’ she is interested in developing research projects at the intersection of digital media, cultural heritage and sustainable tourism. Apoorva is a qualitative researcher and specialise in context rich methods such as in-depth interviewing, online ethnography and participant observations.

She is interested in the media and creative industries (craft), placemaking and tourism mobilities and is interested in closely developing research projects examining the triad of digital media, cultural heritage and placemaking. Apoorva is enthusiastic about Indian craft and developing ways to enhance sustainable tourism flows to the Indian craft clusters.