Below are the ICTR Biographies of the Conference and Programme Chairs, Key Note Speakers and Mini-Track Chairs.
Conference and Programme Chairs
Eirini Vlassi is currently a lecturer in Neapolis University Pafos in the field of management and marketing of tourism business and tourism destinations. She is also an adjunct lecturer, teaching Strategic Tourism Management, in the MBA in Aviation and Tourism Management offered by the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Germany in collaboration with the University of the Aegean. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of the Aegean (Thesis title: The Airline – Airport –Tourism Destination Authority Relationship: A Strategic Internet Marketing Approach). Eirini is an associate of the Laboratory for Tourism Research and Studies (ETEM) of the University of the Aegean. She has also participated in the Joint Committee under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Athens Development and Destination Management Agency and the University of the Aegean with the aim to provide support and guidance to the development and promotion of the official digital guide of the city of Athens called “This is Athens”.
Despina Konstantinides holds a PhD in Educational Leadership. She has received her Doctoral degree with the highest honors by Neapolis University in co-supervision with the University of Peloponnese. She obtained a BA in Philology from University of Patras and MA from University of Cyprus, for which she has been awarded a Distinction. Despina worked for five years at the University of Cyprus as a Researcher, Specialist Scientist and Teaching Associate. At the present she is working at Neapolis University as Academic Development Officer at Rector’s Office, Member of Collaborative Teaching Staff and Academic Tutor for students. She cooperates closely with the Educational Research and Evaluation Center of the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth as Registrar and Corrector of Research Programs Data and she teaches at Study Programs of the same Ministry. Her research work and publications at International Scientific Journals and International Collective Volumes focus on evaluation systems of the public and private sector, aspects of human resources in various fields, elements of educational effectiveness and business excellence. Despina is actively involved in cultural committees of Municipalities and serves the good of students in schools as Member of the Board of Directors of the Child Protection and Welfare Committee and as elected School Board Member of Pafos Municipality.
Keynote Speakers
Professor Dimitrios Buhalis is a Strategic Management and Marketing expert with specialisation in Information Communication Technology applications in the Tourism, Travel, Hospitality and Leisure industries. He is Director of the eTourism Lab and Deputy Director of the International Centre for Tourism and Hospitality Research, at Bournemouth University Business School in England. He is the Editor in Chief of the most established Journal in Tourism: Tourism Review, and the Editor in Chief of the Encyclopedia of Tourism Management and Marketing. His research pioneers smart and ambient intelligence tourism with a particular focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and destination ecosystems management. Professor Buhalis has written and co-edited more than 25 books and 300 scientific articles. Dimitrios' current research focus includes: Real-Time and Nowness, Smart Tourism and Smart Hospitality, Social Media Context and Mobile Marketing (SoCoMo), Augmented Reality, Technology-enhanced Experience Management and Personalisation, Reputation and Social Media Strategies, Accessibility and Special Diet (Allergens) Tourism.
Dr. Theodoros A. Stavrinoudis is Professor in “Tourism Management and Human Resources Management” at the University of the Aegean (Department of Tourism Economics and Management and Postgraduate Program in “Strategic Management of Tourism Destinations and Hospitality Enterprises”) and Tutor at the Postgraduate Program in “Management of Tourism Enterprises” at the Hellenic Open University. He is the Head of Tourism Economics and Management Department, Director of the Laboratory of Innovative Tourism Entrepreneurship and Human Resources Development (“iTED Lab”) and Assistant Editor of TOURISMOS: An International Multidisciplinary Refereed Journal of Tourism. He is co-author of books, has contributed many collective editions, his research activity has been reflected in numerous published papers in international scientific journals in the field of tourism (Tourism Management, Current Issues in Tourism, Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality and Tourism etc.) and has presented papers at International Scientific Conferences.
Mini-Track Chairs
Prof. Dr. Carlos Rompante Cunha holds a PhD in Computer Science. He is currently Vice-Dean of the School of Communication, Administration and Tourism at the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, and professor in the Informatics and Mathematics Department. He is an integrated member of the Applied Management Research Unit, and a collaborative member of the Research Centre in Digitalization and Intelligent Robotics. He is/has been a member of several scientific committees of conferences and editorial board member of journals. He has published +100 papers in indexed journals, proceedings and book chapters. His main research interest is ICT applied to tourism namely IoT, Ubiquitous Computing, Machine Learning and Extended Reality.
Dr Fernanda A. Ferreira is a full Professor at the School of Hospitality and Tourism of Polytechnic of Porto, Portugal. She is Director of the Department of Information Systems and Mathematics. She holds a M.Sc. (in 2002), and a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Porto (in 2007). A researcher and coordinator of UNIAG (Applied Management Research Unit, since 2013), her publications, more than 120, cover her main research interest areas Tourism Research, Hospitality Management, Industrial Organization, and Operational Research. (ORCID ID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1335-7821).
Dr. Rekha Maitra is a Seasoned Academic with a PhD in Tourism and Hospitality (PHDTS). She has 20 years of teaching experience in the hospitality and tourism industry. Her Area of Expertise is Housekeeping, Front Office & Tourism. She has made 25 publications in Journals, Books, and Magazines. She received the Indian Hospitality Congress Award, i.e., Aspiring Researcher of Tourism and Hospitality 2014 Award. She was on the Editorial Board of ARC (International Journal of Research in Tourism and Hospitality (IJRTH) and Asian Mirror International research journal. She was associated with several publication houses as a Book Reviewer.
Dr Christopher Moon is a multiple award-winning eco and social entrepreneur and Senior Lecturer in eco-entrepreneurship at Middlesex University. He has a PhD from Imperial College and is a fellow of the RSA, HEA and EEUK. He was formerly Head of Sustainability at two companies and teaches sustainable tourism, sustainable business and entrepreneurship and sustainability. He has over 100 publications including in the International Journal of Hospitality Management 2018. Chris has taken tourism students to Mallorca on study tour regularly where Middlesex has an Erasmus agreement with UIB, Palma. He has presented at UIB international week and was interviewed by Spanish TV on sustainable tourism. He is Visiting Professor at NUP, Cyprus.
Dr Alcina Nunes, PhD in Economics, is a Professor in Business and Social Sciences at the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Portugal. She is responsible for the bachelor degree in International Business Management (European Degree) and is an integrated member of UNIAG. In the past was an integrated member of GEMF and researcher at the Office of Strategy and Studies of the Ministry of Economy (Portugal). She has collaborated with national and international higher education institutions throughout her academic activity, participated in research projects, and published scientific articles in conference proceedings, indexed scientific journals, and book chapters.
Dr Cândida Silva is Professor of Technologies and Information Systems, and President of Technical-Scientific Council, since July 2017, at School of Hospitality and Tourism of Polytechnic Institute of Porto (ESHT/P.PORTO), Portugal. PhD in Information Systems and Technologies by School of Engineering of University of Minho, since July 2015, with the thesis “Knowledge Model for crowdsourcing innovation brokers”. Master in Industrial Engineering, since June 2006, and a Degree in Computer Science Engineering, since September 2000, all by School of Engineering of University of Minho. Principal researcher of CiTUR – Centre for Tourism Research, Development and Innovation, since January of 2018. Researcher collaborator in the group of Information Systems and Technologies for the Transformation of Organizations and Society (ISTTOS) of the Algoritmi Centre of the University of Minho, since July of 2015. Founder and president of AIS Student Chapter of University of Minho (2010-2012), where organized two national competitions of case studies in Information Systems. Member of AIS (Association for Information Systems) and of AIS Portuguese Chapter.