Program

Dr Manuel Alector Ribeiro is an Associate Professor of Tourism Management at the University of Surrey and an international consultant in the field of tourism and sustainability. He has co-authored four books and published over 50 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals such as the Journal of Travel Research, Tourism Management, Annals of Tourism Research, and Journal of Sustainable Tourism. His research expertise lies in sustainable tourism development and consumer behaviour, focusing on social and environmental sustainability, overtourism in urban areas, circular economy, pro-environmental behaviour, corporate social responsibility, and emotional aspects of consumption. Dr Ribeiro actively contributes to the academic community as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Consumer Behavior in Tourism and Hospitality and sits on the editorial boards of leading journals such as the Journal of Travel Research, Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management, and International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. He has also secured over £23 million in research funding from prestigious institutions such as the European Commission, UK Global Challenge Research Fund, World Bank, or United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Álvaro Covões has worked in cultural events for over 35 years. He is the founder and general director of Everything Is New, one of the most important productors in music and cultural events in Portugal. Everything Is New has been responsible for some of the most important shows held in Portugal, bringing renowned artists such as Adele, AC/DC, Beyoncé, Bon Jovi, Cirque du Soleil, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Leonard Cohen, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Muse, Bob Dylan, One Direction, Guns N' oses, Sam Smith and many others. It is also responsible for the most important national music festival, NOS Alive, this year in its 15^th edition, featuring the world's biggest artists. Alvaro, also is co-founder of the Fado Festival since 2011, the largest international Fado show - present in more than 16 cities around the world. In 2013 he entered in the area of ​​art exhibitions: “Joana Vasconcelos at Palácio Nacional da Ajuda”, " Rubens, Brueghel and Lorrain (The Prado in Lisbon)“, “The Savoys, Kings and Maecenas”, “Banksy – Genial or Vandal”, “Harry Potter” and “Ai. WeiWei” the most visited exhibitions ever in Portugal. With the aim of boosting one of the most emblematic concert halls in Portugal, he took on the management of the “Sagres Campo Pequeno” since 2020.

Cristina is an Associate Professor in Tourism Management at the University of West London. With a BA in Economics and an MA in Public Administration, she was awarded a VC scholarship to conduct PhD research at the Cities Institute, examining the planning and management of tourism in London. She is the co-author of World Tourism Cities: A Systematic Approach to Urban Tourism, published in 2022 by Routledge, and the lead editor for the Handbook on Sustainable Urban Tourism, published in 2024 by Edward Elgar Publishing. Cristina is a Senior Associate Editor for the International Journal of Tourism Cities and a member of the Editorial Board for two other reputable journals in her field. Her research interests include world tourism cities, destination management, sustainable tourism, tourism planning, and local government. Cristina regularly presents at international conferences and is often invited to deliver guest lectures.

Soraya Genin is an architect with a Master's degree in Architectural and Urban Conservation and Rehabilitation and a PhD in Engineering from the Catholic University of Leuven. She is Vice-President of ICOMOS-Portugal and was President from 2018-2023. Professor in the Department of Architecture and Urbanism at ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Director of the Master's in Conservation and Sustainable Rehabilitation, she has been teaching in the area of Construction and Architectural Conservation since 2002. She coordinates the Research Unity ‘Conservation and Rehabilitation - Digital Tools’ which supports the PhD in Architecture of Contemporary Metropolitan Territories. Project Leader of the research projects ‘Franciscan-Atlas’ and ‘SizaAtlas. Filling the Gaps for World Heritage’. Soraya Genin is author of several Architectural Conservation projects that she coordinated in her office between 1999 and 2014, namely for the Jerónimos Monastery Church, Belém Tower, the Convent of Christ in Tomar, the French Embassy, the French Lycée and the Parlement in Lisbon. Her publications and communications focus on the History of Construction and Architectural Conservation, her main areas of research. In the context of ICOMOS, she is expert member of the Sustainable Development Goals Working Group (SDGWG) and is particularly interested in the dissemination of good practices and recommendations of the Cultural Tourism Charter.

Faruk Seyitoğlu is a researcher at the University of Aveiro, Portugal and an Associate Professor at Mardin Artuklu University, Türkiye. His research interests include technology and robots in tourism and hospitality, destination management and marketing, tourism planning and development, and tourist behaviour and experience. He is associate editor for the European Journal of Tourism Research and the Journal of Tourism & Development. He has also been included in the World’s Top 2% Scientists list, published by Elsevier and Stanford University (September 2024). The list can be found in the following link. https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/7

Craig Webster (Ph.D.) is an Associate Professor of Hospitality and Food Management in the Department of Applied Business Studies at Ball State University, USA. He studied Government and German Literature at St. Lawrence University, received an MA and Ph.D. in Political Science from Binghamton University in and an MBA Intercollege, Cyprus. He has taught at Binghamton University, Ithaca College, the College of Tourism and Hotel Management in Nicosia, and the University of Nicosia. His research interests include the political economy of tourism, robots and artificial intelligence in service industries, and public opinion analysis. Dr. Webster is the Editor-in-Chief of Tourism Today, has published in many peer-reviewed journals internationally, and is co-editor of the book Future Tourism: Political, Social, and Economic Challenges, an edited book published by Routledge. His most recent book is Emerald Publishing’s Robots, Artificial Intelligence and Service Automation in Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality, co-edited with Stanislav Ivanov. He currently teaches courses in Hospitality Management at Ball State University’s Miller College of Business.

Dr. Stanislav Ivanov is a Professor at Varna University of Management, Bulgaria (http://www.vum.bg) and Director of Zangador Research Institute (https://www.zangador.institute/en/). At VUM he served for 16 years as Academic Director, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Vice-Rector (Research). Prof. Ivanov is the Founder and (Co-)Editor-in-chief of two academic journals: European Journal of Tourism Research (http://ejtr.vumk.eu) and ROBONOMICS: The Journal of the Automated Economy (https://journal.robonomics.science). His recent research interests include robonomics, robots/AI/automation in tourism/hospitality, the economics of technology. For more information about Prof. Ivanov please visit his personal website: http://www.stanislavivanov.com

Fabio Carbone is a scholar and a humanitarian activist. His work focuses on the link between cultural heritage management, tourism, and the promotion of global understanding and peace in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, namely the SDG16+. He is senior Lecturer of the University of Northampton (UON), Head of the Special Interest Group "Peace & Development" at the UON Centre for Global Economic and Social Development, and University Lead for UN Academic Impact. He is Honorary Professor at Daneshpajoohan University in Isfahan (Iran), and the Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria, and visiting professor at the University Roma 3 (Rome). Author of several edge cutting scientific publications.

Beyond his academic pursuits, Fabio Carbone is actively involved in various humanitarian projects in regions afflicted by complex challenges (e.g. Gaza, Iran, Afghanistan, Ecuador, Bosnia, Serbia among others). He has several years of experience in humanitarian interventions of Education in Emergency: Save the Children (Italy), FlyUp Foundation (Afghanistan), ACADEMICS4GAZA (Gaza). His commitment to the field has earned him the title of Global Ambassador for the International Institute for Peace through Tourism and Special Envoy to Iran, embodying the ideals of peace, compassion and social progress

José Pimentel Furtado is a Political Administrator at the Council of the European Union since 2015, working in the Security and Crisis Management Directorate of the External Relations DG, where the international security crisis are monitored, outside and inside the European Union space. Before becoming an EU Official he worked for more than 10 years as a security and safety engineer and consultant, developing several projects in Portugal and abroad, mainly for critical infrastructures. During those ten years he also was an invited Professor in several Portuguese Universities in the areas of Security and Safety and Crisis Management at Events. For more than 28 years he served his country as a Cavalry Officer of the Portuguese Army.

Born in Palestine, Rami K. Isaac did his undergraduate studies in The Netherlands, graduate studies in the U.K. and earned his PhD from the University of Groningen, in Spatial Sciences, in The Netherlands. He is currently teaching at the undergraduate as well as postgraduate levels at the Academy for Tourism at Breda University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands. In addition, he is an associate professor at the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management at Bethlehem University, Palestine. His research interests are in the area of tourism development and management, critical theory, and political aspects of tourism. He published numerous articles and edited volumes on tourism and political (in)stability, conflict-ridden destinations, tourism and occupation, tourism and war, and dark/heritage tourism.

With over 25 years of experience in the aeronautics sector, Pedro Castro has a history of working in airlines, airports and tourism companies. His experience spans areas such as business development, hiring, revenue optimization, networking, alliances, sales strategy, distribution and loyalty. Pedro Castro is a former student of the University of Lisbon and Robert Schumann University, where he obtained his degree in Law. He also shares his knowledge by teaching the Transport Systems in Tourism Management course at ISCE. Pedro Castro is also a columnist, contributing with opinion pieces on airports, airlines and tourism to a diverse range of newspapers, magazines, television and radio channels, at regional, national and international levels.

Alfredo Dias is an Associate Professor with Tenure at the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Coimbra and a researcher at ISISE, where he has been conducting research in the areas of timber structures and mixed timber-concrete structures. He has been Vice-Rector of the University of Coimbra since 2019, with the areas of Heritage and Buildings. He is also responsible for the Tourism area of ​​the University of Coimbra. Throughout his career, he has authored and co-authored more than a hundred scientific publications in independently reviewed journals and scientific meetings. He has participated in more than three dozen national and international research projects, having been the Principal Investigator in most of them

Catheryn Khoo is a Professor of Tourism at Torrens University Australia and a recipient of Travel Weekly's prestigious Women in Travel Awards 2023. Globally recognized as one of the World's Top 1% Scientists for Leisure and Tourism, Professor Catheryn Khoo is a distinguished scholar in the field of Tourism and Hospitality. Professor Khoo's research includes consultations to tourism businesses, governments, not-for-profits and the United Nations Tourism to drive pioneering research towards positive tourism outcomes. She is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Tourism Management Perspectives.

Luis Araujo has a degree in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, having deepened his knowledge of economics, law and management, applying it to the various roles he has held as a legal advisor, member of the boards of directors of the companies where he has worked, and as President of three tourism organizations. He has spent more than 29 years working in the tourism sector, both in the private and public sectors. In the private sector, he was involved in various companies of the Pestana Group (Portugal's largest travel and tourism group) in Europe and South America. In the public sector, in addition to serving as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State for Tourism between 2005 and 2007, he contributed to the growth and sustainable development of three organizations between 2016 and 2023: the European Travel Commission (ETC), NEST - Centro de Inovação do Turismo, and Turismo de Portugal, IP. Since 2024 he has been a speaker at various events dedicated to tourism and innovation, and is also dedicated to consulting and supporting various social responsibility projects.

Kevser Çınar earned her bachelor’s degree from Middle East Technical University in 2003, and completed her master’s (2013) and doctoral degrees (2017) in Tourism Management from Necmettin Erbakan University. As an academic in the Department of Tourism Management and a Project Unit Coordinator at the Social Innovation Agency, Dr. Çınar has showcased adept leadership in numerous international EU projects, prominently including roles as coordinator in projects like iNCLUSION, Get2Action, TOURBAN, and TOURIBOOST, as well as partnership contributions to initiatives such as Heritage4Growth, SMARTDEMA, and SCOUT. Certified in curriculum development by the Institute of Educational Sciences, her research pursuits predominantly focus on innovative practices in tourism, consumer behavior, cultural heritage, and entrepreneurship, with over 50 published works comprising peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and she also serves on the Editorial Board of TÜBA Higher Education Research/Review (TÜBA-HER), and Turkish Academy of Sciences Journal of
Cultural Inventory her expertise to the academic discourse and shaping the scholarly landscape in higher education. She has actively organized high-profile events such as the 5th Annual Conference of EATSA and hosted various EU project gatherings in Türkiye. Additionally, Dr. Çınar is a TEDx speaker.

Ana Gonçalves is a senior lecturer at the Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies where she teaches in the scientific areas of Arts, Humanities and Foreign Languages and Tourism and Leisure. She holds a PhD (with a European title) in Literary and Cultural Studies (2013) and a post-doc in Geography (2019) and she has been a researcher at the Centre of Geographical Studies, Associated Laboratory of TERRA, IGOT-ULisboa, in the TERRiTUR – Tourism, Heritage and Space research group, since 2013. She has presented more than 90 talks at international conferences and she is the author and co-author of more 50 publications, including the book Reinventing a Small, Worldly City: The Cultural and Social Transformation of Cardiff, published by Routledge in 2017. She has been the recipient of more than 20 grants, awards and special mentions awarded by renowned institutions and she has been appointed as an external expert by the European Commission under different calls. Her research interests include urban cultural studies, cultural geography, tourism and leisure, the commons, and intergenerationality.

Ana Margarida Passos is Full Professor and currently Research Advisor of Universidade Europeia. She has a PhD in Social and Organizational Psychology with specialization in Organizational Behavior from ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa and an aggregation in Management with specialization in Human Resources and Organizational Behavior, obtained in the same University. Her research focuses mainly on the study of leadership and the cognitive, affective, and motivational processes that contribute to the adaptation and effectiveness of teamwork over time. She was Principal Investigator of several research projects funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the European Union. She has been participating in several international research networks such as INGRoup Network and EURAM - European Academy of Management.

Rita is VP Hotel Success at Guestcentric, an award-winning hotel website design, booking engine and tech company. Rita’s focus is on optimizing hotels' sales and marketing, whether through Great Hotels of the World, a representation brand for upscale hotels around the world, powered by Guestcentric; or via Guestcentric's inhouse digital marketing agency. Following several years in management consulting she moved into hotel Sales and Marketing – in small independent hotel chains and in larger, international groups. Fluent in five languages, she lived, studied and worked in several countries before settling in her native Portugal. Her academic background is in Management and Tourism Planning, furthered by Strategic Marketing post-graduate studies. Today, Rita also lectures in Hospitality Post-Graduate programmes at Lisbon’s top universities. Passionate about consumers and trends, Rita believes that hotel tech companies must stay ahead of the curve, to provide their clients with new opportunities, in different markets and segments.

Vera holds a degree in Psychology and has completed postgraduate studies in psychology, tourism and hotel management, people and team management, advertising communication and creativity. She also holds a master’s degree in Marketing and Communication, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Tourism. Professionally, she is a Project Manager at Turismo de Portugal, working within the training department. Her diverse educational background reflects her belief that learning is both a privilege and a responsibility, as well as her strong conviction that we can—and should—continually seek new paths for personal and professional growth. Vera is passionate about people, organizations, and communication. She approaches her work with conviction and a genuine desire to make a difference. For over 20 years, she has been a trainer in these areas, gaining extensive experience across a variety of professional and educational settings. She also has significant experience in event hosting and organization, and works as a Communication Coach and Designer. Vera considers herself a creative individual, skilled at building and leading teams in both professional and voluntary contexts. She is the co-founder of Comunidade Mulheres, a community dedicated to promoting the visibility of women.