recent advancements in tourism business, technology and social sciences: 10th international conference, iacudit, crete, greece, 2023 - vol. 1

Vicky Katsoni is Professor in Tourism Marketing and e-Tourism modules at the University of West Attica, Athens, Greece, and Director of the Tourism Distant Learning Programs of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Faculty of Business and Social Sciences. She has published over 16 books on tourism, many chapters in edited volumes, and numerous papers in highly academic journals. She is President of the non-profit ＂International Association of Cultural and Digital Tourism＂ and Member of the Editorial Board of many journals in tourism and marketing. She has directed and participated in several European and National research projects and works as expert, evaluator, and reviewer of projects requesting European Commission funding such as Horizon 2020, Erasmus + KA2, and Cost. Her research interests include e-tourism, tourism marketing, tourism destination strategies, DMOs, cultural tourism, tourism consumer behavior, and sustainability in tourism.

George Cassar is an Associate Professor at the Department of Tourism Management at the Facultry of Economics, Management & Accountancy of the University of Malta. Prof. Cassar is a historical sociologist whose main research interests include the history and sociology of education; the pedagogy of heritage, history and social studies; the history of history teaching; the study of the Order of St John (SMOM); the history and culture of Malta; heritage and culture; cultural tourism; and the culture and sociology of food. He is the author or editor of numerous books and academic journals, and has contributed many papers in journals and chapters in books related to his areas of interest. In recognition of his work Prof. Cassar was awarded the ’Gieh il-Mosta’ by the Mosta Local Council in 2007, the ’Commendatore pro-Merito Melitensi’ by the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta in 2009, the ’Grazzi Badge’ by The Scout Association of Malta in 2009, and a ’Rikonoxximent’ by the Hamrun Local Council in 2021. Between 2017 and 2020 he sat on the Board of Directors of the Malta Tourism Authority. He has participated and managed a number of EU projects related to heritage and cultural tourism.