Faculty

Dr. Sotirios Varelas is an Associate Professor at the Department of Tourism Studies, School of Economics, Business and International Studies at the University of Piraeus, in the field of "Hospitality and Tourism Organization Strategies". He holds a PhD from the Department of Business Administration at the University of Piraeus, with a dissertation on tourism business development strategies, an MBA in Total Quality Management (MBA-TQM), and a degree in Statistics and Insurance Science. His academic career includes serving as an elected faculty member at Neapolis University Pafos, teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at the University of Piraeus, the Hellenic Open University, and the University of West Attica, as well as supervising doctoral and postgraduate theses. His research focuses on strategic management in tourism enterprises and organizations, with an emphasis on destination management and marketing (DMO/DMMO), carrying capacity and sustainable tourism development, indicator frameworks and observatories, consulting studies for tourism organizations, and the digital transformation of tourism. He has published in international peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes, and conference proceedings, and serves on editorial boards of international journals. He directs the Tourism Excellence Research Laboratory of the Department of Tourism Studies and has served as coordinator of the Centre of International Tourism Research (CITR) at Neapolis University Pafos. Alongside his academic work, he has extensive experience in tourism policy formulation and applied research for public and private sector bodies, having served as a scientific advisor to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), and the Region of Peloponnese. He is also the founder of a start-up in virtual tourism and virtual events. His consulting and study portfolio includes over 60 studies concerning tourism development, strategic planning, and destination management, including the White Book for the Transformation of Greek Tourism 2030–2035. He has served as principal investigator for projects regarding the creation of DMMOs, National and Regional Sustainable Tourism Observatories, and the Athens Sustainable Tourism Observatory. He is a former Chairman of the Board of the Greek Chapter of IFITT and a member of international scientific associations such as AIEST and ITAP, maintaining an active presence as a keynote speaker at conferences and academic events.

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

She has extensive professional experience and specialization as a business consultant in strategy, business plan development, digital technologies, and local government. Previously, she founded her own enterprise in sports tourism, served as the Head of the Career Office at the University of Piraeus—actively supporting young professionals and entrepreneurs in their first career steps—and managed the Career Office of the MBA International at the Athens University of Economics and Business.

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

Dr. Alkmini Gritzali is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus, in the field of "Marketing of Alternative and Special Forms of Tourism". She holds a degree in Marketing and Communication from the Athens University of Economics and Business, an MA in Creative and Media Enterprises from the University of Warwick, and an MRes and PhD from Bayes Business School, City St George’s, University of London.

Before joining the University of Piraeus, she served as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Tourism, Ionian University (2021–2026). From 2014 to 2021, she was a Senior Lecturer at the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Surrey, where she also served as Programme Director of the MSc in International Tourism Management. She has also taught in undergraduate and postgraduate programs at Bayes Business School, ESCP Business School, Athens University of Economics and Business, International Hellenic University, Hellenic Open University, and Open University of Cyprus.

Her research focuses on destination marketing and branding, with a particular emphasis on how destinations and their images are shaped and transformed through popular culture, cinema, digital and non-digital narratives, and social media. She also examines destination image management during crises, value co-creation, sustainability marketing, and the development of resilient and sustainable tourism destinations.

Her scientific work has been published in leading international journals, including Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Management, Journal of Travel Research, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, and Journal of Business Research. She has participated in national and European research projects and collaborated with international organizations such as the UN Tourism, UEFA, and the City of Barcelona. She is also co-editor of the academic textbook "Digital Marketing", published in 2025 by Kritiki Publications.

Research Interests:

• Destination marketing and branding
• Alternative and special forms of tourism
• Film tourism and popular culture
• Digital and non-digital narratives
• Value co-creation in tourism
• Sustainability marketing
• Destination resilience and crisis management

Dr. Stavros G. Efthymiou is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus. He holds a PhD from the Department of International and European Studies, School of Economics, Business and International Studies at the University of Piraeus. He has years of experience and specialization as a business consultant in strategy, investments, and competitiveness, actively participating in the management and support of research and European programs. His research has been published in esteemed peer-reviewed international scientific journals, and he has participated in numerous international scientific conferences. His scientific and research interests focus on international economics, with an emphasis on foreign direct investment, economic growth and adjustment in the international environment, as well as tourism competitiveness and development.

Dr. Georgia Zouni teaches Tourism Marketing at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus. She holds a PhD in Strategic Destination Marketing from the University of Piraeus, an MBA in Tourism Management from the same university, and a degree in Operational Research and Marketing from the Athens University of Economics and Business, specializing in Marketing.

Since 2011, she has continuously taught Tourism Marketing and Tourism in postgraduate and undergraduate programs at the University of Piraeus (MBA in Tourism, Executive MBA) and other Greek public universities. She has contributed to the academic community through scientific papers in international journals, book chapters, and participation in international tourism and marketing conferences, and acts as a reviewer for marketing and tourism journals (e.g., European Journal of Marketing, Tourism Economics, Journal of Destination Marketing & Management). She is actively involved in supervising PhD, Master's, and undergraduate students.

She has a proven track record in international research projects, having participated in European and Mediterranean-funded programs (e.g., ENI CBC MED, Interreg, DG Regio Regio_Gnosis). Her professional and expert activities include:

• Special Expert at the Council of Europe and the European Union as Head of Strategy, Branding Design, and Certification of Cultural Routes.
• Head of the Greek Project Team for the European Union & Ministry of Tourism on Tourism Education in Greece.
• Special Advisor to the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Ministry of Health, etc.
• Design of vocational tourism education programs and teaching over 5,500 tourism professionals through professional bodies (INSETE, EEDE).
• Founding member of the OpenTourism network with over 16,000 tourism professional members.
• Entrepreneurship seminar instructor (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, an MBA, and a Bachelor's degree in Economics (BA in Economics).

He has extensive professional experience, having held managerial positions in both the private and public sectors across the fields of 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 Management, Investments, and Corporate Governance, with a strong emphasis on the tourism and hospitality sector.

His research papers have been published in peer-reviewed international scientific journals, and he has participated in numerous international scientific conferences.

Dr. Ioannis Katsanakis is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus, in the field of Management of Information Systems in Enterprises and Organizations, with an emphasis on Business Process Management. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a Master's Degree in Business Administration – Total Quality Management from the University of Piraeus. He holds a PhD from the Department of Business Administration at the University of Piraeus, focusing on Strategic Information Systems and the Use of New Technologies in Business, with a dissertation titled: "Development and Evaluation of Information Systems in Modern Enterprises".

He has taught various undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the Departments of Tourism Studies and 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 Business Administration and Tourism Management at the Hellenic Open University, covering information systems management, new technology applications in business, digital transformation, business forecasting, and quantitative methods in decision making.

Furthermore, he has supervised over 20 master's theses in the MBA program at the Hellenic Open University and is the primary supervisor for three ongoing doctoral dissertations at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus. His research interests focus on the application of new technologies in business, strategic use of information systems, information systems evaluation, systems analysis, e-business, knowledge management, e-learning, business forecasting, quantitative decision-making methods, and machine learning applications in business management. He has also worked on research projects related to 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 is a certified Architect Engineer and holds a PhD in Landscape and Environment from the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’.

Abroad, he has taught Sustainable Tourism in postgraduate programs at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (MAP-UPC) in Barcelona (2018) and in the interuniversity postgraduate program ‘Master in Landscape Design (PdP)’ in Rome, run 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 in the postgraduate program of the University of Thessaly "Urban Regenerations, Urban Development and Real Estate Market" (2020, 2021). At the undergraduate level, he has taught courses in the Department of Business Administration at the University of Piraeus (2022, 2023, 2024).

His scientific and research interests focus on Sustainable Tourism, Landscape and Environment design and management, with emphasis on protected areas (Natura 2000, UNESCO Cultural Heritage list), spatial integration of tourism products, and the formation of tourism identity (Branding) for targeted regions.

He has published scientific papers in International Scientific Journals and Conference Proceedings and is the author of the book 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 real estate networks for tourism exploitation and service provision.

Dr. Sofia Mastrokoukou teaches Accessibility and Inclusion at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus. She holds a PhD from the University of Milano-Bicocca in the field of teaching effectiveness in higher education. For several years, she has taught Developmental and Educational Psychology in undergraduate and postgraduate programs at Italian universities (e.g., University of Turin, University of Salerno, Universitas Mercatorum). She has also taught as a Visiting Professor at international universities (e.g., Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya; Riphah International University, Pakistan; Universidade Europeia de Vitória, Brazil). Her contributions to psychology and education include scientific papers in top international journals such as Journal of Adolescence (Wiley), Computers in Human Behavior (Elsevier), British Journal of Educational Psychology (Wiley), Child Abuse & Neglect (Elsevier), Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (Springer), and Journal of Learning Disabilities (SAGE). Her work also includes peer-reviewed book chapters and international conference participation. She is a reviewer for psychology journals (e.g., Trauma, Violence & Abuse, SAGE; Scientific Reports, Springer Nature), higher education journals (e.g., The Review of Higher Education, Johns Hopkins University Press; IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies, IEEE), and specialized inclusion journals (e.g., International Journal of Inclusive Education, Taylor & Francis). She actively supervises PhD, Master's, and undergraduate students and has a proven record of participating in European-funded research projects (e.g., Erasmus+, Jean Monnet).

Summary of Activities:

• Over 45 publications in peer-reviewed international journals (Scopus), predominantly in Q1 journals, with an h-index of 12.
• Associate Editor for Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (Springer Nature).
• Research Fellow at the Department of Psychology, University of Turin.
• Editorial Board member of the international journal Disability & Society (Taylor & Francis / Routledge).
• Guest Editor of special issues in international journals (e.g., Emerald, Springer Nature).
• Participation in over ten European Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership research projects in collaboration with universities and organizations from Europe and Africa.
• Visiting Professor of Disability Psychology at foreign universities.
• Teaching Research Methodology at the Doctoral School of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC).
• Member of international psychological associations (e.g., American Psychological Association, ISSBD).
• Certified proficiency in Italian Sign Language, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), knowledge of Greek Sign Language, and certification in Greek and Italian Braille.

Dr. Olga Siskou is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus, in the field of "Economics of Health, Tourism, and Migration". At the undergraduate level, she teaches courses such as Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Tourism Economics - Tourism Sociology, and Health Tourism (Medical, Thermal, Wellness). At the postgraduate level, she teaches "Health Systems and Insurance Organizations" in the university's Healthcare Management MSc program. She is an academic advisor for the department's PhD candidates. She has extensive research and publication work with international recognition, and serves as Guest Editor for the Special Issue “Health Tourism: Challenges and Innovations” in Tourism and Hospitality. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Piraeus Property Management and Exploitation Company, as well as a member of the Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Committee of the institution. Additionally, she collaborates in research with the Laboratory of Health Services Organization and Evaluation at NKUA, works with the World Health Organization, and serves as the National Representative on the Health Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Dr. Natalia Chatzifoti is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Tourism Studies, University of Piraeus, in the field of Knowledge Management, Innovation Management, and Economic-Technical Analysis. She holds a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Piraeus, an MBA in Business Administration – Total Quality Management, and a Bachelor's degree in Geology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She has extensive academic and research experience, with teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, supervision of master's theses, and participation in numerous research projects. Her scientific work includes publications in international peer-reviewed journals, conference papers, and book chapters. Alongside her academic career, she brings over 20 years of professional and managerial experience, having held key positions in the design and implementation of significant scientific, research, and educational initiatives. Her research interests focus on Knowledge and Innovation Management, Economic-Technical Analysis, Research & Development, Human Factor in Management and Innovation, Tourism Management, Health and Wellness Tourism, as well as Clinical Trials.

Dr. Alexandra-Paraskevi Chytiri is an Assistant Professor in Human Resources 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 of Cyprus, and IST College (programs of London Southbank University & Catholique University of Lyon), across undergraduate, postgraduate, executive education, and distance learning programs.

She holds a PhD in Human Resource Management from the Athens University of Economics and Business, a Master's degree in General Management and Human Resource Management (with research component) from the University of Kent UK, and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Piraeus. She has conducted postdoctoral research at the Athens University of Economics and Business.

She is co-author of two books: "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 chapters in academic textbooks as well as a research monograph on the "Careers of 4* and 5* Hotel General Managers in Greece". She has supervised undergraduate and postgraduate theses, as well as PhD students.

She has received training in research methodology at the University of Kent, the British Academy of Management, and the Athens University of Economics and Business. She holds a Certificate in Research Supervision and PGCertLTHE, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK. She has participated in conferences and seminars worldwide.

Her research interests lie in the fields of Human Resource Management, Organizational Performance, Relationship between HRM Practices and Organizational Performance, Employee Performance, HRM in times of crisis, HRM in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry, New trends in HRM and its practices, Employee Skills, Work Environment, Workplace Well-being and Satisfaction, Work-Life Balance, Attraction and Selection, Training and Development, Diversity and Inclusion.

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

She is a member of the National Skills Committee, has served as a member of the ASEP Evaluation Committee, and is the Academic Coordinator of the Erasmus+ Program for the Department of Tourism Studies at the University of Piraeus.