Faculty

Dr. Sotirios Varelas is an Associate Professor at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus, specializing in "Strategy of Hospitality Enterprises and Tourism Organizations". He holds a PhD from the Department of Business Administration, School of Economics, Business and International Studies, University of Piraeus. He serves as President of the Board of Directors of the International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT) Greek Chapter.

He possesses 15 years of professional experience as a scientific consultant to tourism organizations and is the founder and manager of a virtual tourism startup, www.netourwork.com. Previously, he served as a scientific advisor to the Ministry of Tourism, the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), and the Region of Peloponnese. Within his responsibilities, he has designed and implemented destination management actions at national and regional levels, as well as marketing initiatives (airline attraction, digital marketing, B2B trade fair participation, familiarization/press trips, consultations, experiential products, brand identity creation, etc.).

He has authored and participated in over 40 research and consulting projects on subjects such as Tourism Observatories, Sustainability, Destination Management, Destination Strategy, DMMOs, Destination Marketing, and Branding. He has collaborated with various research centers including the Institute of Regional Development, the Research Committee (ELKE) of the University of Peloponnese, the Laboratory of Policy Evaluation and Program Development, and the Research Center of the University of Piraeus.

He teaches in the Postgraduate Programs in Tourism Management and Business Administration at the University of Piraeus, as well as the Undergraduate Program in Tourism Management at the Hellenic Open University. Since 2010, he has taught across several academic and professional institutions, including the University of Piraeus, University of West Attica, University of Peloponnese, ATEI of Kalamata, Institute of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (INSETE), Hellenic Management Association (EEDE), and the Air War College.

He has been appointed by the Department Assembly as Head of Student Internships and Coordinator of Academic Advisors at the Department of Tourism Studies. Dr. Varelas was the creator and coordinator of the Postgraduate Program in Tourism Business Administration and the International Tourism Research Center at Neapolis University. His scientific papers have been published in several international peer-reviewed journals, and he serves on the editorial boards of numerous journals and conference committees. He authors articles frequently and is a regular speaker on tourism and hospitality industry affairs.

Dr. Kristi Agapitou is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus. She teaches in postgraduate programs at leading universities, and her academic research focuses on Crisis Management in Tourism, Tourism Entrepreneurship, Business Strategy, Local Government, and Digital Transformation.

She possesses multi-year expertise and consulting experience in business strategy, business plan drafting, digital technologies, and local government. Previously, she founded her own business in sports tourism, served as Head of the Career Office at the University of Piraeus, actively supporting young professionals and entrepreneurs in their early career steps, and served as Head of the Career Office for the MBA International program at the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB).

She has also served as an auditor at the Large Enterprises Audit Center of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR).

Dr. Georgia Zouni teaches Tourism Marketing at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus. She holds a PhD in Strategic Tourism Destination Marketing from the University of Piraeus, an MBA in Tourism Management from the same institution, and a Bachelor's degree in Operational Research and Marketing (Marketing track) from the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB).

Since 2011, she has continuously taught Tourism Marketing and Tourism in undergraduate and postgraduate programs at the University of Piraeus (Tourism MBA, Executive MBA) and other Greek public universities (e.g., MSc in "Entrepreneurship and Consulting in Rural Development" at the Agricultural University of Athens, Hellenic Open University, etc.). To date, she has contributed to the tourism academic community with scientific papers in international journals, edited volumes, peer-reviewed book chapters, and presentations at international tourism and marketing conferences. She serves as a reviewer for marketing journals (e.g., European Journal of Marketing, Emerald), tourism journals (e.g., Tourism Economics, SAGE), and specialized destination marketing journals (e.g., Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, Elsevier). She actively supervises PhD, MSc, and undergraduate students.

She has a proven track record in international research projects, having participated in EU and Mediterranean funded programs (e.g., ENI CBC MED programs, Interreg, DG Regio Regio_Gnosis). In summary, her key tourism activities include:

• Senior Expert at the Council of Europe and the European Union, responsible for design, branding strategy, and certification of Cultural Routes.
• Head of the Greek Project Team of the European Union & Ministry of Tourism for Tourism Education in Greece.
• Special Advisor: Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Ministry of Health, etc.
• Design of professional tourism education programs and training over 5,500 tourism professionals through industry bodies (INSETE, EEDE).
• Founding member of the OpenTourism Network with over 16,000 tourism professional members.
• Lecturer in Entrepreneurship Seminars (e.g., ALBA Venture Garden).
• Startup mentor.

Dr. Christos G. Kampouris is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Department of Tourism Studies, School of Economics, Business and International Studies, University of Piraeus.

He holds a PhD in Financial Management from the University of Piraeus, a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), and a BA in Economics.

He has multi-year professional experience, having held positions of responsibility in both the private and public sectors across Tourism, Healthcare, and Industry. He has received professional training in Greece and abroad and serves as a board member of European professional associations.

His research interests lie in Corporate Finance, Valuation, Portfolio and Investment Management, and Corporate Governance, with a particular focus on the Tourism and Hospitality sector.

His research papers have been published in prestigious international scientific journals, and he has presented at numerous international academic conferences.

Dr. Ioannis Katsanakis is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus, in Information Systems Management in Businesses and Organizations, with an emphasis on Business Process Management. He holds a BA in Business Administration and an MSc in Business Administration – Total Quality Management from the University of Piraeus. He earned his PhD from the Department of Business Administration, University of Piraeus, specializing in Strategic Information Systems and the Use of New Technologies in Business, entitled: "Development and Evaluation of Information Systems in Modern Enterprises".

He has taught various undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the Department of Tourism Studies and the Department of Business Administration at the University of Piraeus, as well as undergraduate courses in the Department of Biotechnology at the Agricultural University of Athens, and in the undergraduate programs of Business Administration and Tourism Management at the Hellenic Open University, covering subjects such as information systems management, application of new technologies in business administration, digital transformation, business forecasting, and quantitative methods in business decision-making.

Furthermore, he has supervised over 20 Master’s dissertations in the MBA program at the Hellenic Open University and currently supervises three ongoing PhD dissertations at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus. His research interests focus on new technology adoption in business, strategic use of technology, information systems evaluation, systems analysis, e-business, knowledge management, e-learning, business forecasting, quantitative methods in decision-making, and machine learning applications in business management. He has worked on various research projects in entrepreneurship, ICT, and e-learning at the University of Piraeus.

Dr. Ioannis Konaxis is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus. He holds a Diploma in Architecture Engineering and a PhD in Landscape and Environment from the Sapienza University of Rome.

Internationally, he has taught Sustainable Tourism courses in the Master's Program (MAP-UPC) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona (2018) and the Interuniversity Master's Program in Landscape Design (PdP) in Rome, organized by UNISCAPE (European Network of Universities), CURSA (University Consortium for Socio-economic Research and the Environment), and the Cultural Association "Architect Simonetta Bastelli" (2017–2020). In Greece, he has taught Landscape Design and Urban Regeneration courses in the Master's Program "Urban Regenerations, Urban Development and Real Estate Market" at the Department of Spatial Planning, Urban Development and Regional Development, University of Thessaly (2020, 2021). At the undergraduate level, he has taught courses at the Department of Business Administration, University of Piraeus (2022, 2023, 2024).

His scientific and research interests focus on Sustainable Tourism, Landscape and Environmental Design/Management with an emphasis on protected areas (Natura 2000, UNESCO World Heritage list), spatial integration of tourism products, and destination branding for target regions.

He has publications in international scientific journals and conference proceedings, and is the author of the textbook titled Cultural Landscapes and Ecotourism (Franco Angeli, 2018).

Assistant Professor Dr. Ioannis Konaxis has extensive professional experience as a Hotel Management Consultant and as a consultant for companies managing dynamic real estate rental networks for tourism exploitation and service provision.

Dr. Olga Siskou holds a PhD in Healthcare Management and Organization from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA, 2006). In May 2021, she was elected Assistant Professor of Health Economics, Tourism, and Migration at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus. In the 2022–2023 academic year, she served as Academic Coordinator for the ERASMUS+ Program at the Department of Tourism Studies and currently serves as Deputy Academic Coordinator for the same program (2023–2024). She is currently supervising three ongoing PhD dissertations at the Department.

Since 2002, she has collaborated as a scientific associate with the Laboratory of Organization and Evaluation of Health Services at the Department of Nursing, NKUA, focusing her research on health economics, migration, and health tourism. From 2014 to 2021, she was an Academic Fellow at the Department of Nursing, NKUA. She also taught at the Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Applications, University of Central Greece (now University of Thessaly, 2008–2012) and served as Adjunct Academic Staff at the Open University of Cyprus (2008–2019).

She has served as National Representative on the Health Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 2008 to 2016 and from 2019 to date. In May 2021, she was appointed Expert Advisor to the Agency for Quality Assurance in Healthcare (ODIPY), and since November 2021, she serves as an alternate member on the National Committee of Public Health Experts (chaired by Professor Sotirios Tsiodras).

She served as Secretary General of the Public Administration & Local Government Sector of the Hellenic Management Association (EEDE, 2019–2020), Secretary General of the Hellenic Health Services Management Association (2017–2019), and Secretary General (2010–2013 & 2017–2019) and President (2013–2016) of the Society of Nursing Studies.

Dr. Alexandra-Paraskevi Chytiri is an Assistant Professor of Human Resource Management and Tourism at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus. She has worked and taught (as Assistant Professor, Lecturer, Visiting Professor, or Adjunct Faculty) at De Montfort University (UK), University of Kent (UK), International Hellenic University, Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB), Hellenic Open University, University of Patras, Neapolis University Cyprus, and IST College (programs of London South Bank University and Catholic University of Lyon) across undergraduate, postgraduate, executive, and distance-learning levels.

She holds a PhD in Human Resource Management from AUEB, an MA in General Management, and an MSc in Human Resource Management (Research pathway) from the University of Kent (UK), and a BA in Business Administration from the University of Piraeus. She conducted postdoctoral research at AUEB.

She is the co-author of two textbooks: Hotel Management (2023, Chytiris L., Chytiri A.P., Benos Publications) and Special Topics in Human Resource Management (2024, Chytiris L., Anninos L., Chytiri A.P., Kallipos Publications). She has authored book chapters and a research monograph on "The Career of General Managers in 4* and 5* Hotels in Greece". She has supervised bachelor's, master's, and doctoral dissertations.

She completed research methodology training at the University of Kent, the British Academy of Management, and AUEB. She holds a Certificate in Research Supervision and a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCertLTHE), and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK). She has presented at conferences and seminars worldwide.

Her research interests lie in Human Resource Management, Organizational Performance, the relationship between HRM Practices and Organizational Performance, Employee Performance, HRM in Crisis Times, HRM in Hospitality and Tourism, Emerging HRM Trends, Employee Skills, Work Environment, Employee Well-being, Work-Life Balance, Recruitment and Selection, Training and Development, and Diversity and Inclusion.

She has participated in several funded research projects in Greece and abroad. Her papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, festschriften, and global media publications. She acts as a peer reviewer for journals such as the International Journal of Human Resource Management, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Journal of Organisational and Innovation Studies, and Sustainability Journal, as well as annual conferences of the British and American Academies of Management, the European Academy of Management, and the International HRM Conference.

She is a member of the National Skills Committee, has served on evaluation committees for ASEP (Supreme Council for Civil Servant Selection), and serves as Academic Coordinator for the Erasmus+ Program at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus.