Prof Slabbert is currently the Director of TREES (Tourism Research in Economics, Environs and Society), the tourism research unit at North West University. She holds a PhD in Tourism Management with a research focus on tourism marketing, travel behaviour, and destination branding. She serves on the editorial boards of a number of national and international journals. She has authored and co-authored 60 peer-reviewed articles and 10 accredited conference proceedings.

Since 2005, 55 Masters students and 26 Doctorate students completed their studies with success under her guidance. At an international level she has presented more than 50 papers at international conferences. This led to the development of various international network opportunities and international cooperation agreements with countries such as Germany and France.

Prof Slabbert has also presented 18 papers at national conferences, co-authored 5 books, 15 chapters in books, 64 research reports, 6 in-service training manuals and served as external examiner for 32 post-graduate studies. She served on the Research Forum of the Minister of Tourism for eight years (2012-2020).

In 2010 she received the best paper award at the International Tourism Conference on Sustainable Tourism. Together with colleagues, she received the award for the best environmental abstract at the 2013 International Conference on Events.

In 2013, she was the second-runner up for the Women in Science Award by the Department of Science and Technology. She is a rated researcher for the National Research Foundation (2019- C3). Her voice can be heard over the radio and television from time to time where she shares her knowledge aimed at taking the industry forward.

Prof Slabbert is currently the chairperson of the Southern African Institute for Management Scientists and the Tourism Educators of South Africa. She is referee for the National Research Foundation (NRF) and various accredited journals.