Member (2021-2025)
Undersecretary for the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research for Cultural Cooperation

Professor of Tourism, Hospitality and Heritage studies at Helwan University in Egypt. Ms. Belal is the Undersecretary for Culture Cooperation at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) and the founder and director of the Helwan University International Relations Office (IRO) and the founder and ex-director of Helwan University Marketing Center.

She is the representative of MoHESR in the National Commission for UNESCO as well as in the Egyptian Delegation for the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Ms. Belal is a member of the board of directors for the Joint Master in Heritage Conservation & Sits Management between Brandenburg University of Technology in Cottbus, Germany and Helwan University in Cairo, Egypt. She is also member of the Supreme Committee of the Ministry of Higher Education to develop the academic bylaws and curricula for the Egyptian newly established National universities as well as Higher Institutes of Tourism & Hospitality as well as member of the steering committee member of the university strategic plan entrusted with internalization pillar and trainer at the ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Member (2021-2025)
President, Basque Country Ethics Cluster 

José Ignacio chairs since 2015 the Basque Country Cluster of Ethics Foundation whose mission is to contribute to the knowledge and application of ethical values in individuals, companies, social organisations and public institutions.

He has previously chaired the Social Council of the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz and the Alava/Araba Committe of UNICEF. In addition, he has been Secretary General and Deputy Director General of Caja de Ahorros de Vitoria y Álava, Caja Vital Kutxa and Caja de Ahorros Provincial de Álava, financial institutions whose profits were destined to develop social welfare in their areas of activity. He has also been a member of their foundations and a member of the board of entities dependent on these institutions. He has also been vice-president of the Basque Writers' Association and arbitrator and mediator in the Basque Labour Relations Council.

Graduate in Law from the University of Deusto and in Economics and Business from the Commercial University of Deusto, he has been a lecturer in Labour Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Deusto and in Commercial and Labour Law at the UNED University. He is a member of the Bar Associations of Álava and Madrid. He is the author of six books of poetry: El ámbar Gótico, Poética de la Tierra Herida; Poesía para seducir a la tristeza; 20 Poemas de Jazz para Haití; Un poeta ante la guerra; El bosque herido, and the novel Los círculos del deseo.

He has also written numerous opinion articles, lectures and essays, including: Una aproximación a la Ética de las Fundaciones and La responsabilidad de los avales en la contratación mercantil.

Besides, he has chaired the conferences on Ethical Leadership, Ethics and Communication, Ethics and the Climate Challenge, and The Consequences of War.

Member (2019-2023)
Member Senior Lecturer in Tourism, University Externado de Colombia Former Secretary General, Colombian National Tourism Board

Philosopher, Educator, and Lawyer, specialist in legal process, specialist in Ethics, MBA in Canon   Law, MBA in Philosophy, PhD in Legal Sociology.

Fields of Research: Theory of Tourism, Ethics and Tourism Legislation, Sociology of Tourism and  Leisure.
Last books:

• “Teoría Turística-  un enfoque integral del hecho social” (“Tourist Theory – an holistic approach of the social fact”);
• “Pensar las Instituciones Lúdicas – Una propuesta para interpretar de modo genealógico la historia conceptual del Turismo y demás instituciones de vida feliz” (“Thinking about the Leisure Institutions - A proposal to interpret in a genealogical way the conceptual history of Tourism and other institutions of happy life”);
• “Las construcciones jurídicas para el Ocio – Entre la Ética y la Norma Positiva” (“Legal constructions for Leisure - Between Ethics and Positive Law”);
• “Papeles de Trabajo para el Seminario de Legislación y Normatividad del Turismo” (Working Papers for the Seminar on Legislation and Regulations of Tourism);
• “La razón y la sinrazón – Ensayo sobre la herencia filosófica moderna, una visión desde la vida lúdica” (“Reason and Unreason. Essays on the modern philosophical heritage - a vision from happiness”)

Main previous jobs and positions held:

• Colombian National Tourism Board – General Secretary (1976 – 1989)
• ECOSALUD S.A Colombian Health National Office – General Secretary (1991 – 1992)
• Colombian Ministry of Education – External Consultant (1993 – 1996)
• Colombian Ministry of Economical Development – External Consultant for the New General Tourism Law (1995 – 1996)
• Fundación para el Avance Social (Private Organization for the Social Development). Main purposes and objectives in the fields of education, leisure, tourism, ethics, recreation, environment, human rights, culture and creative use of free time. – CEO (1997 – 2019)

Member (2021-2025)
General Secretary, International Union of Food, Agriculture, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers Associations (IUF)

 Sue Longley joined the IUF in 1994 and was responsible for establishing the IUF’s new agricultural workers trade group and developing the IUF’s work in the agricultural sector. Prior to this she worked for the IUF’s UK affiliate, Unite the Union (then known as the Transport and General Workers Union).

As the IUF’s agricultural and plantations officer she travelled extensively in Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Europe and Latin America.

Her work included extensive cooperation with organisations involved in CSR and ethical issues.

These included: Fairtrade International The Common Code for Coffee, International Cocoa Initiative, and Elimination of Child Labour in Tobacco Foundation.

Legal and human rights experience include: Secretary to the Workers Group responsible for the development of ILO Convention 184 and Recommendation 192 on occupational health and safety in agriculture.
IUF representative in the UN Human Rights Council Working Group drafting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas.

Originally from Manchester, she is now based in Geneva (but continues to support Manchester United with unfailing loyalty).

Member (2019-2023)
Member Professor, Department of Geography and Resource Management The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Dr. Lawal Marafa, is a Professor at the Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is also the founding Director, Postgraduate programme in Sustainable Tourism since 2007. Dr. Marafa was awarded the “Exemplary Teacher Award” in 2005 and received the Royal Belum Inaugural Ecotourism Award, Perak, Malaysia, 2007. He served as a facilitator at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2008. Dr. Marafa serves on the Board of Directors of the World Leisure Organization and currently serves as the Vice Chairman and also as a Senior Fellow of the World Leisure Academy. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Dr. Marafa worked with various organizations in Nigeria including as a Principal Land Use Planning Officer at the World Bank assisted Sokoto Agriculture and Rural Development Authority; and as a Principal Forest Planning Officer, Federal Department of Forestry, Abuja. Prof. Marafa has also served on the Presidential Council of the Nigerian Tourism Master Plan Implementation Committee 2007-2008 and is also a Senior Fellow of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI), 2007.

Prof. Marafa has also been a visiting Professor/scholar to many Universities across the globe including in Canada, China, Malaysia, South Africa as well as Nigeria. Although residing in Hong Kong, Dr. Marafa acts as a bridge between Africa and Asia. He serves as the regional coordinator for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, Business Group (NEPAD-BG), and coordinates for the African Business Roundtable in Asia. He has attended the African Development Bank Board of Governors meeting in Shanghai, 2007; the African World Business Congress, Arusha – Tanzania in 2007, and served as a resource person and keynote speaker at the TICAD-UNDP-World Bank Fifth Africa-Asia Business Forum for Sustainable Tourism (AABF V) in Kampala, Uganda in 2009.

Dr. Marafa’s teaching and research interests cover Tourism, Environment and Climate Change, Ecotourism, Leisure, Recreation Planning and Management, Agriculture and Natural Resource Management, Sustainable Development etc. Over the years, Dr. Marafa has published over 150 articles in various outlets and presented at about 50 international conferences. Professor Marafa speaks fluent Russian, conversational French and Basic Chinese, Cantonese.

Member (2019-2023)
Member Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Health

Hiroaki Matsuura is currently Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs of Shoin University in Japan. As of 2019, he is the youngest provost in the country. He also has the appointment of Associate Professor in the Faculty of Tourism, Media, and Cultural Studies, where he had served as Dean of the Faculty from 2017 to 2019. Before joining Shoin University, he was Departmental Lecturer in the Economy of Japan at the University of Oxford’s School of Interdisciplinary Studies. In the past ten years, he has contributed to policy-relevant research in the field of economic demography and human rights, and worked for four different UN organizations (UNDP, UNFPA, UNU-WIDER, WFP) and three think tanks (NBER, CGD, and ESRI). In addition to his academic background, he has served as a member of the university evaluation committee at the Japan Institution for Higher Education Evaluation and a board member in various health care and education organizations. He received his B.A. in Economics from Keio University, M.A. in Social Science from the University of Chicago, M.S. in Project Management from North western University’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Sc.D. in Global Health and Population (Economics track) from Harvard University’s School of Public Health.

Member (2021-2025)
Former Chief Executive Officer, Skal International

  Former CEO of Skal International for 6 years (November 2016 until October 2022) , Daniela Otero led the world´s largest network of Travel and Tourism professionals, with nearly 14,000 members and a global presence in over 100 countries.

She was member of the Board Directors of UNWTO Affiliate Members from 2019-2021.

Specialized in business strategy and with more than 25 years of international experience in the public and private sectors, Daniela Otero has worked leading teams in the areas of marketing, communication and institutional relations.

Member (2021-2023)
Member Full Professor, Business and Tourism Faculty, Bucharest University of Economic Studies

Professor Gabriela TIGU has been performing both didactic and research activity within the field of higher education, since 1994, at The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania, namely being specialized in tourism expertise of business ethics, destination management, tourism operations management, human resources management, ecotourism and sustainable development. In 2012-2016, she was the Vice Rector of the university for Education and Long Life Learning, and in 2008-2012 the Director of Tourism and Geography Department within the named university.

She also worked as researcher at National Institute of Research and Development in Tourism (1992-1994), as well as buying and purchasing expert in a tourism and commerce company (1989-1992).

She is now an author of 22 published books, more than 130 articles and scientific papers, as well as 30 national and international research projects; as a visiting professor she was involved into didactic activities and doctoral thesis committees within universities from France (Metz, Strasbourg, Montpellier, Toulouse), Spain (Cartagena), Sweden (Lundt), and Italy (Messina).

She is also a scientific Ph.D. supervisor in Business Administration at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, member of the Faculty Council and of the Senate of the university.

Member of the scientific board for several international congresses and symposiums on tourism (Romania, Tunisia, Turkey); Member of the editorial board for three scientific journals; Member of Advisory Board of Competition Council of Romania; Member of Transylvanian Spa Tourism Cluster; Counsellor of Romanian Ministry of Tourism and Regional Development, for the brand strategy and Romania marketing plan, 2011; Vice President of Romanian Tourism Press Club FIJET (Federation Internationale des Journalistes et Ecrivains de Tourisme), since 2014; member of FIJET International Committee for the Young Journalists Academy.

Alternate Member (2021-2025)
Chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, Bangladesh Chapter
Chairman & Founder, SH’otel Hospitality Management & Consultancy Ltd

Shahid Hamid FIH served as an Executive Board Member of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) from 2018 to 2020. Incidentally, he is the first Bangladeshi to be elected to the post in the history of PATA. He represented Bangladesh on the Board of PATA between 2014 and 2018 and is, currently, serving his fourth consecutive term as Chairman of PATA Bangladesh Chapter. He received a Fellowship from the Institute of Hospitality, UK in 2011.

He is a Board Member of SKAL International Bangladesh and is also on the Advisory Board to the Ministry of Tourism & Civil Aviation of Bangladesh. Aside from his Honors Degree in Political Science and Masters’ Degree in Public Administration from Dhaka University, he is also a Cornell University Alumni from having successfully completed Sales & Marketing courses and the General Manager’s Program in Hotel Management. His career of 44 years has seen him serving across the globe, including posts in international chain hotels in North America, South and Southeast Asia, and Australia. Over the last decade, he received numerous awards and recognitions, including a “Lifetime Achievement Award”, from international and Bangladeshi hospitality panels.

Shahid is considered one of the forerunners of modern-day hospitality and tourism industry in Bangladesh. He is the Chairman and Founder of SH’otel Hospitality Management & Consultancy Ltd., a company that he originally established in 1996 and which has played an active role in the development of numerous award-winning hospitality products in Bangladesh. In his long career, Shahid kept himself affiliated to an impressive number of travel-based associations, including but not limited to International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (ICHRIE), Cornell Hotel Society (CHS), and Bangladesh International Hotels Association (BIHA). During its inception, he also served as the Chief Advisor to Regency Hospitality Training Institute (RHTi), the first ever vocational foundation in Bangladesh to be affiliated with American Hotel & Lodging Association Educational Institute (AHLEI), Institute of Hospitality (IoH) UK, and Centre of City & Guilds UK.

It is Shahid’s life goal to establish the first ever training and application hotel in Bangladesh catered to the brand culture of global chains for the improvement of service standards in his home country and true global emancipation of Bangladesh hospitality workforce.

Alternate Member (2021-2025)
Professor of Tourism and International Development, University of Brighton  

Professor Marina Novelli (PhD) is a globally renowned Tourism and International Development expert and Professor of Tourism and International Development at the University of Brighton (UK). https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/persons/marina-novelli

Her contribution to the study of tourism is associated with the concept of Niche Tourism, elaboration of the Overtourism phenomenon and empirically grounded studies on sustainable tourism in Africa. She distinguishes herself for her inclusive leadership practice and excellence in collaborating with multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholders and multi-cultural teams making her a preferred research partner and a particularly active member of the global tourism community.

With a background in economics and a keen interest in international development, she has written and advised extensively in the field of international tourism policy, planning, development and management in Africa, Europe and Asia for institutions such as the World Bank, the EU, UNESCO, UNIDO, the UNWTO, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, National Ministries and Tourism Boards, Regional Development Agencies, private sector and NGOs.

She brings a vast set of skills through her extensive advisory roles, which focus on: diagnostic, monitoring and evaluation studies, sustainable development and responsible management approaches; alternative and niche tourism product development; value chain diversification and regeneration; community-based development; impact assessments; training needs analysis, workforce capacity building, train-the trainers programmes and curriculum development; governance and institutional development; CSR and inclusive growth; service standards and optimisation in hospitality and tourism.

Prof. Novelli’s work has demonstrated to have considerable impact on the sector (see for example: https://impact.ref.ac.uk/casestudies/CaseStudy.aspx?Id=39773) with implications far beyond tourism, by contributing to more effective economic growth, improved environments and more inclusive societies. She is committed to generating new knowledge on ways in which tourism can play a key role in sustainable development by stimulating local economies, conserving the environment, developing people and changing lives.