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 Breda University of Applied Sciences, ranging from online marketing and integrated marketing communication to service design and project development.

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 BUas 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.

Goof Lukken

The Netherlands

Goof Lukken is a senior lecturer Attractions & Theme Parks Management, tourism and leisure at Breda University of applied sciences (BUas.nl). He teaches in the field of marketing, communication and management. Goof has worked as a marketing manager for Libéma, on of the biggest leisure holdings in the Netherlands that owns several themeparks, zoo’s resorts and event locations. Within the Breda University, he is mainly involved the Europe’s first bachelor track in Attractions and Theme Parks management.  This track works in education closely together with several partners in the industry such as Disney World, the Efteling, several zoo’s and Europapark.  Goof is also a specialist in the field of the Dutch tourism and leisure industry.

Neuro Marketing

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 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 at Breda University of Applied Science. Having followed a bachelor’s program in Leisure Management and a master’s program in Leisure Studies (both at BUas), 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.

Loretta Tou

Macau

Working experience:

Loretta, who mainly teaches Financial & Managerial Accounting and Financial Management for Year 1 and 2 students for the past 10 years in IFT. She also teaches Human Resources Management for senior students for the past 5 years. She has extensive experience in teaching in the past 20 years. Besides, with a bachelor degree in accounting, she had experiences working in the accounting department in a renowned international hotel in Macau. Except delivering knowledge to students, she participated actively in students’ activities locally. Besides, she has much experience in attending exchange programmes with IFT students and students from other schools. She enjoys communicating and sharing with students outside the classroom. She is willing to help students when they have problems. She has interest in understanding more about the learning behavior of students.


Research Interest:

Learning behavior of students studying tourism and hospitality; Tourists behaviour;