Prof. Marie Avellino is the Director of the Institute for Tourism, Travel and Culture at the University of Malta which offers programmes ranging from Undergraduate to PhD level. Prior to entering academia, Marie had amassed over 30 years of tourism, training and management experience. With an MBA in Strategic Management and an Anthropology of Tourism Doctorate from the London Metropolitan University Business School, she is able to academically bridge Business and the Socio-Cultural aspects which are so important for the management of a sustainable tourism Industry. She has led and managed a number of EU-Funded projects.

Her research interests include social anthropology, cultural heritage, tourism, and culture with specialisation in the British tourism market, Senior, Social and Edu Tourism. Her current research is engaged with niche tourism especially that dealing with Lifestyle enhancement, Wellbeing and Health, as well a Gender issues in the female Tourism workforce

She is the President of Malta Women Directors Malta and is the secretry of the Executive Committee for EmPOWer, a platform for Maltese women's organisations under the patronage of the President Emeritus Marie Louise Coleiro Preca.

Chair: Island Tourism Platform
Vice Chair: Interpret Europe Supervisory Committee
Coordinator: Executive Master in Business Administration in Hospitality and Event Management
Reviewer: International Journal of Tourism Cities, hosted by Greenwich University, London
Reviewer: Turystyka Kulturowa (Cultural tourism) hosted by Jagellonia University, Krakow