Marina is an internationally renowned policy, planning and sustainable development expert and Professor of Tourism and International Development at Brighton Business School, which is an Affiliate Member of the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
She is a geographer with a background in economics and Academic Lead for the University’s Responsible Futures’ Research and Enterprise Agenda, an initiative aimed at fostering internal and external interdisciplinary research and consultancy collaborations - https://www.brighton.ac.uk/research-and-enterprise/brighton-futures/responsible-futures.aspx.
She has advised on numerous international cooperation and research assignments funded by International Development Organisations (IDOs) such as: The World Bank, the European Union, The UN (UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO), the Commonwealth Secretariat, National Ministries and Tourism Boards, Regional Development Agencies and NGOs.
She is known globally for her excellence in leading and collaborating with multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder and multi-cultural teams and for her commitment to generating new knowledge on ways in which tourism can play a key role in sustainable development by stimulating local economies, conserving the environment, developing peoples and changing lives.
Her current research and consultancy work focus on 4 key research thematic areas: tourism policy and planning in Africa; travel philanthropy in Africa; arts and sustainable development in Africa; contemporary niche tourism, leisure and hospitality; tourism impacts and overtourism.