Bleisure Tourism and the Impact of Technology

Swati Sharma earned her Ph.D. from Kurukshetra University, India and has qualified UGC NET twice. She is currently Associate Professor at Amity Institute of Travel & Tourism, Amity University, Noida. With 18 years of experience in travel & tourism academia and industry, she has made significant contributions to the area of tourism. Dr. Sharma has a strong interest in MICE Tourism and Destination Image and has published extensively on related topics. She has been invited to speak at numerous conferences and seminars on tourism and related fields. She keeps a track of the changing dimensions of business travel. Dr. Sharma’s previous works include one edited book on “Tourist Behaviour” published by Apple Academic Press, USA; one book on “Research Methodology” and one on “Ethical Aspects of Business in Tourism”. She brings a unique perspective to the current book, drawing on her extensive knowledge and experience in tourism and hospitality academia. Dr. Narendra Kumar is currently working as Assistant Professor at Amity Institute of Travel & Tourism, Amity University, Noida. With 23 years of experience in travel & tourism industry and academia, he has made significant contributions to the area of tourism education. Dr. Kumar has a strong interest in Business travel, tourist behaviour and visitor experiences has published extensively on related topics. In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Kumar is actively involved in helping young graduates of tourism and hospitality domain to help them in establishing their own start-ups. He has been invited to speak at numerous conferences and seminars on tourism and related fields and his current research focuses on student mentoring. Dr. Kumar’s previous works include one edited book on “Tourist Behaviour” published by Apple Academic Press, USA; one book on “Digital Marketing” and one on “Ethical Aspects of Business in Tourism”. Vasco Ribeiro dos Santos holds a Ph. D. in Business Sciences with specialization in Marketing from Fernando Pessoa University, Portugal. He also earned a PhD in Tourism from Seville University, Spain. Vasco also holds a Post-Doc in Innovation Management applied to Sustainable Luxury Tourism from Aveiro University, Portugal. Currently he is the coordinator of the Master Degree in Business Management at the Higher Institute of Management and Administration of Santarém (ISLA Santarém) along with coordinator of the Degree in Commercial Management at the Higher Institute of Management and Administration of Santarém. Vasco has been author of scientific papers and book chapters. His research areas include luxury tourism, sustainable tourism, ethical marketing, wine marketing, wine tourism, and employer branding. Karen Miranda-Fernandez holds a doctoral degree in Business Management specialized in Hospitality Management earned at Philippine Women’s University, Manila. She is the Vice President for Southeast Asia of the Asia Pacific Institute for Events Management (APIEM) and President of APIEM Events Management Services. She has been appointed as visiting professor in UCSI University, Management and Science University, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), and Olympia College in Malaysia; Universitas Maarif Hasyim Latif, Universitas Prasetiya Mulya, Sahid Tourism Institute of Surakarta, and Bandung Institute of Tourism in Indonesia; National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), Maha Sarakham University, Naresuan University, North Bangkok University, and Burapha University in Thailand; and Chung Hua University and Ming Chuan University in Taiwan. She was a postdoctoral scholar at School of Events, Tourism and Hospitality in Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom. She holds master’s degree in Business Administration major in Hotel and Restaurant Management earned at Philippine Women’s University, Manila. Her research interests include events management, sustainable tourism, and hospitality management.