Placemaking and Destination Shaping

Rob Simons

The Netherlands

Rob holds a Master of Science in Marketing and a Bachelor degree in International Tourism Management. He has a strong affinity with everything online and in his role as coordinator of the graduation track E-tourism he is responsible to prepare the students for a position as E-professionals in the online travel industry. Rob teaches various courses at NHTV, ranging from online marketing and integrated marketing communication to service design and project development.

Marisa de Brito

The Netherlands

Dr. Marisa P. de Brito currently coordinates the research group Events and Placemaking, at NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences. Before this she has been academic manager and the program manager of the academic bachelor Leisure Studies and the professional master in Imagineering. She has a PhD on sustainable supply chain management and a Master on Urban Management from Erasmus University Rotterdam. Previously she has worked in Portugal and the UK. Her current research and professional interests lay in the area of sustainability of events and places and in relation to strategy, decision-making, and performance. Marisa publishes internationally in the field of leisure and events. She has co-edited a book on the Social Impacts of Events, with case studies from Europe, South Africa, and Australia. She teaches at several programs at NHTV, covering topics as sustainability, entrepreneurship, performance applied to leisure in general, and in particular on Events, Attractions and Placemaking. As member of the Dutch Expertise center on Leisure, Hospitality and Tourism (CELTH), she is also the project leader of a research about Sustainable Strategies for Events, of which the beneficiaries are Dutch festivals members of the Dutch Green Events platform, as well as, Leeuwarden 2018 Cultural Capital.

Attraction Theme Park Management

Klaus Hoven

The Netherlands

Klaus Hoven is senior lecturer Attractions & Theme Parks Management and teaches subjects related to online marketing and digital media to enhance meaningful experiences through interactive experience marketing. His research focuses on transmedia storytelling and the use of new technologies, like virtual reality, to enhance visitor interaction.

He is also program manager of the NHTV track Attractions & Theme Parks Management, in which he teaches and coaches on the attractions and theme park industry, business modeling and operational management and marketing. Over the last years projects were delivered for Europa-Park, Efteling, Zodiac Zoos, Coca-Cola and the Province of Noord-Brabant. He also participates actively in IAAPA’s Educational Programs, like the Institute for Attraction Leaders in Europe, delivering online marketing training and providing didactical advice and feedback.

“The experience un-packed” @ NHTV’s Neurolab

Ondrej Mitas

USA/Slovakia


Dr. Ondrej Mitas, born 1982 (Bratislava) and citizen of the US and EU, researches tourists’ emotions. His ultimate goal is to guide the tourism industry, governments, and tourists themselves to make choices that will maximize their enjoyment of life. To that end, his research explores the psychology of tourist and leisure experiences with a focus on emotions and well-being and quality of life outcomes. Specifically, he examines positive emotions in leisure and tourism experiences over time and the mechanisms of enjoyment, positivity, and flow in tourism and leisure experiences, and innovative research methods using longitudinal, biophysical, and mixed-method approaches. 

Ondrej brings an eclectic background to his research, with qualifications in arts studies with a minor in computer programming (BA), tourism with a minor in landscape architecture (MS), and PhD from Penn State (2008) on tourists’ emotions with a minor in psychology. Besides working as a lecturer in research methods and an applied academic researcher at NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences since 2008, Ondrej has been an active artist of flying kinetic sculptures and mixed graphic media all his life.

Wim Strijbosch

The Netherlands

Wim Strijbosch is a junior researcher at the Academy for Leisure NHTV Breda University of Applied Science. Having followed a bachelor’s program in Leisure Management and a master’s program in Leisure Studies (both at NHTV), he is now working on his PhD trajectory that focuses on exploring psychophysiological and brain imaging approaches to study leisure experiences. His main interests lie within applications of leisure and experience theories to the field of theme parks and attractions.

Dr. Fernando Lourenço

Macao, China

After completing the BA in Product & Furniture Design (Kingston University) and MSc in Manufacturing, Design & Sustainability (Cranfield University), he worked as a freelance designer.  He later completed MRes & PhD in Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Education with full scholarship and joined Manchester Metropolitan University Business School (MMUBS) in 2008 as a Senior Lecturer and Unit Leader.  In 2009 he was awarded the National Enterprise Educators Award (UK) for his contribution in entrepreneurship education. In 2012 he returned to Macao after spending 16 years in the UK to join The Institute for Tourism Studies as an Assistant Professor.  He is currently teaching Marketing and Retail Business Project, Store Design & Visual Merchandising and Entrepreneurship for various degree tourism and hospitality programmes.  Fernando has developed and is also developing a range of enterprises with a number of partners, stakeholders and entrepreneurs.  He is also proactively engaging in the art and creative industries with contributions in the film, design, music and product development industries.  His research interest ranges from education, creativity, entrepreneurship, sustainable development, ethics, cultural and creative industries, tourism and hospitality.