ITSA’s work is governed by an Executive Committee of scholars who volunteer their time to support the work of ITSA, and who are elected to serve for defined terms of office.
ITSA President – Professor Dr. Cine Van Zyl, University of South Africa, SA.
Cinà van Zyl is a professor in Tourism Management at the University of South Africa and formerly chair of the Department of Applied Management. She is currently president of the International Tourism Studies Association (ITSA). Her research interest is in the leisure and business tourism market, more specifically the festival and sport event sector of the tourism industry. She also dabbles in the field of transport economics and higher education practice. Cinà is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management as well as a member of the International Journal of Tourism Cities. She is the author and co-author of journal publications, contributed to several books, and read papers at national and international conferences.
Email: [email protected]
Postal address: Department of Applied Management, University of South Africa (UNISA), Preller Street, Muckleneuk, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa
ORCID number: 000-0002-9302-6677
Vice President – Prof. Dr. Vanessaa GB Gowreesunkar, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Vanessa (Gaitree) Gowreesunkar, Ph.D. is a citizen of Mauritius Island. She is currently serving as Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh, India, and as Associate Editor at the Emerald International Journal of Tourism Cities. She is the Vice President of the International Tourism Studies Association (ITSA) and assumes the role of Observer at the Tourism International Network. With over 15 years of experience in teaching, training and research, Vanessa has brought her contributions to various international universities and educational institutions. Vanessa is also an elected member of the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee and a specialist member of the World Commission on Protected Areas and Tourism and Protected Areas (IUCN). She serves as an editorial board member of several international scientific journals. Vanessa has varied interests in tourism and her areas of expertise include Tourism Management & Marketing, Tourism Education, Post-Colonial and Post-Conflict Destination Management, Sustainable Tourism, Cultural Tourism, Research Methodology, Employability and Organisational Management Skills, Social Entrepreneurship and related topics. Vanessa aspires to be a reference to the academic community and a role model to the global community. Her vision is to contribute to the existing body of knowledge and make a positive impact on the economy, society and the environment.
Vice President – Professor Dr. Alastair Morrison, University of Greenwich, UK
Alastair M. Morrison, Ph.D. is a Research Professor at the University of Greenwich in London, UK and formerly a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Purdue University, USA specializing in the area of tourism and hospitality management and marketing. Prof. Morrison is one of the original founders of the International Tourism Studies Association (ITSA) and served as its President for four years. He has published 300 academic articles and conference proceedings. He is the author of six books, World Tourism Cities (Routledge, 2022); Marketing and Managing Tourism Destinations, 2nd edition (Routledge, 2019); The Tourism System, 8th edition, (Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 2018); Global Marketing of China Tourism (China Architectural & Building Press, 2012); Hospitality and Travel Marketing, 4th edition (Delmar Publishers, Inc., 2010); and Tourism: Bridges across Continents (McGraw-Hill Australia, 1998. He is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Tourism Cities.
In addition to having lived and worked in five different countries, Professor Morrison has had a wide variety of experience in the global tourism industry. Most recently he has conducted training programs and provided marketing and development advice for Australia, Bahrain, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, China, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, New Zealand, Palestine, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, and Vietnam.
Prof. Morrison received several teaching awards and honors at Purdue University. He is a Founding Member of the Purdue University Teaching Academy and his name has been entered in Purdue’s Book of Great Teachers. His College chose him twice as its nominee for The Purdue University Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award. He was selected as one of the winners of Purdue University’s Charles B. Murphy Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching, Purdue University’s most prestigious award for undergraduate teaching
Vice President – Lina Zhong, Ph.D, Beijing International Studies University, CHINA
Lina Zhong, Ph.D., is the executive dean of China Institute for Big Data Research in Culture and Tourism, Beijing International Studies University. She serves as an international expert for the United Nations World Tourism Organization, and editorial positions in several academic journals. Her research areas are smart tourism and digital humanities, including digital culture, cultural and tourism big data and cross-cultural communication in digital era. She is good at text quantitative analysis and spatial analysis based on big data, and has strong innovation ability, scientific research ability and teaching ability. Ranked 2nd among Mainland Chinese scholars in Google Scholar’s tourism management category, with a total of 1357 citations, an H index of 18, and an I10 index of 31. Published 86 papers and applied for 8 patents. She is a young scholar with strong academic potential in the field of tourism and culture. In the past ten years, she has published 86 papers, including 53 papers in English, 38 papers in SSCI, 6 papers in ISTP, and 3 papers in EI. 16 CSSCI Chinese journals. 8 patents and 1 software copyright. Participated in the preparation of 15 books. Invited to write 5 English book chapters. Served PI in 79 scientific research projects, with a total of RMB 18.75 million, and has rich ability to apply for and host major projects in tourism culture, digital humanities, and cultural tourism big data research. She has presided over and participated in 38 vertical scientific research projects, including 6 national fund projects, 3 international institutional cooperation projects, and 20 national ministries and commissions projects. She has presided over RMB 2.95 million for vertical projects and RMB 15.8 million for horizontal scientific research projects, totaling RMB 18.75 million. She has taught 8 Chinese and English bilingual courses, and has strong teaching organization and bilingual teaching ability. Among the 8 courses, 2 courses are taught in English, and the course score is the first in the school. Opened 1 online course in MOOCs in Chinese universities, with over 10,000 students enrolled, ranked first in tourism-related courses, won 3 teaching awards, compiled 2 textbooks, and guided students to win 15 national and provincial awards.