Melanie Smith, Phd Email & Phone Number

A creative and dynamic University Lecturer, Researcher, Expert Advisor, Author and Keynote Speaker. More than 25 years of experience in numerous countries in the fields of city development, cultural tourism and wellbeing. More than 120 academic publications. A strong communicator who is focused, efficient and highly reliable. Melanie graduated from Oxford University with an MA in Modern Languages. After teaching English in Nice, France for 2 years, she gained a Distinction in an MSc in Tourism Management at the University of Surrey, where she specialised in Cultural Tourism (Heritage and Arts). She worked for a Cultural Tour Operator before being offered a lecturing job at the University of Greenwich, London in 1997. There, she established and ran a BA in Tourism Management as well as MA Programmes in Cultural Tourism, Heritage, Arts, Museums and Cultural Industries Management. During 8 years at the University of Greenwich, she gained a Post Graduate Certificate in Higher Education as well as a PhD which focused on urban planning and cultural regeneration. She was actively involved in tourism, arts, World Heritage Site management and cultural and creative industries development in the London Borough of Greenwich. She wrote one of the first international text books on cultural tourism (Issues in Cultural Tourism Studies, Routledge, 2003).Her personal and research interests in wellness started to converge due to her passion for dance, yoga and holistic practices. Along with Dr Catherine Kelly, she edited a special edition of Tourism Recreation Research journal on Wellness Tourism in 2005. In 2007, she became a Visiting Professor at the University of Tartu Pärnu College on their Masters in Wellness and Spa Service Design and Management.In 2005, she moved to Budapest, Hungary to be with her Hungarian husband, fellow academic, researcher and consultant Dr László Puczkó. There, she developed her research in health, wellness and spa tourism further. Together with Lászlo Puczkó, she published the first comprehensive text book on Health, Wellness and Spa Tourism. Subsequent research projects and publications were undertaken and she jointly organised and co-chaired three major international conferences for TTRA, ATLAS and EuroChrie. She also became Chair of ATLAS (The Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research) for seven years (2007-2014). She is regularly invited to speak about Health and Wellness Tourism around the world. She is also involved in research on overtourism, cultural tourism and urban quality of life.