NHTV Breda is an international higher education institution with about 7,700 students from over 60 countries. NHTV was founded in 1966 as an institute offering management programmes in tourism and leisure and in this field, it is the largest and leading education institution in the world.

Today NHTV offers professional and academic bachelor’s and master’s programmes in the disciplines of Games & Media, Hotel, Facility, Logistics, Built Environment, and Tourism & Leisure.

Nearly all NHTV’s study programmes rank first in their categories in the national rankings and some bachelors are even qualified as top rated programme. International accreditations from, for instance, the UN World Tourism Organization, the World Leisure Organization and the International Facility Management Association, underline the quality of education. All study programmes focus on four areas which are unique to NHTV: cross-cultural understanding, social responsibility, imagineering and entrepreneurship.

Established in 1995, the Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) offers the most extensive selection of tourism and hospitality related bachelor degree programmes in Macao, and about twenty thousand participants attend its vocational and professional training courses annually. IFT collaborates with 97 universities and tourism organisations around the world, and builds strong links with 500 leading tourism and hospitality corporations to offer internship opportunities to its students.

Being the first institution accredited by the UNWTO.TedQual Certification System for tourism education, IFT has now 7 bachelor degree programmes with the Certification. Currently, the Institute has the most number of bachelor degree programmes certified under the System of any tertiary education establishment worldwide. IFT has received the Medal of Merit in Tourism from the Macao SAR Government, and won twice the Gold Award in ‘Education and Training’ from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

Marisa de Brito
The Netherlands

Dr. Marisa P. de Brito currently coordinates the research group Events and Placemaking (together with Prof. Greg Richards), at NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, in the Netherlands. 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.

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.

Goof Lukken
The Netherlands

Goof Lukken (MBA) is a senior lecturer in Tourism, Leisure, Attractions & Theme Park Management at the Academy for Tourism of NHTV. He has more than 20 years experience in the leisure and tourism industry, mainly as a marketeer. Goof was PR-manager of one the biggest Leisure holdings in the Netherlands, Libéma, that is the owner of several zoo’s, two museums, theme parks, resort and event locations. He was one of the core team members that developed the unique new track Attractions & Theme Park management. The last years he was involved in a lot of projects in cooperation with the industry. The Dutch media often ask his expert opinion on trends in leisure and tourism. Goof’s specialty lies in the field of zoo management.
Goof is still working as a consultant in the industry and owns his own consultancy firm called Vrijetijdskennis.nl (Dutch for Leisure Knowledge).

Frank Crucq
The Netherlands

Frank is a lecturer in the fields of leadership and process design in the Performatory at the Academy for Leisure, NHTV. In co-creation with students, the working field and experts he develops and facilitates internal and external programmes. His background is in individual and group coaching and he holds a Master degree in Human and Organizational Behaviour.

Celiane Camargo Borges
Brazil

Celiane is a lecturer, researcher and practitioner working at the interface of psychology, health/wellbeing, community building, education, process design and organizational development. She holds a Ph.D. from her native Brazil, at the University of Sao Paulo.

Celiane has been a lecturer and coach at the Master programme in Imagineering for several years and currently works at the programme of Master in Tourism Destination Management.

Suzan Lindhout
The Netherlands

Suzan holds a Master degree in Imagineering and a Bachelor degree in Leisure management. She has applied the Imagineering methodology in her work in health care and traffic safety industries. Currently she is a coach at the programme of Master in Imagineering and project leader of several projects where Imagineering is applied in various industries.

John Ap
Macao, China

Dr. John Ap is a professor of tourism management who has had a 20-year plus association with the attractions and theme park industry. He has conducted studies on behalf of the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions (IAAPA) and conducted the twice-yearly guest surveys for Ocean Park Hong Kong over a 19-year period. In addition, he has conducted a longitudinal study on Community Perceptions Toward Hong Kong Disneyland. Besides his close ties to the industry he also developed and taught courses in ‘Attractions Management’ and ‘Theme Parks & Attractions’ since 2003. Dr. Ap is a certified town planner with over 11 years professional experience in Australia prior to becoming an academic. He is a specialist recreation & tourism planner who brings a different perspective towards tourism and attractions development.