Tourism industry veteran Marie Avellino has been promoted to Associate Professor at University of Malta (UM), she announced on Tuesday. Her new role comes after the University of Malta Council ratified the Promotions Board's recommendations.

“I am honoured that the university has recognised my contribution and dedication through research, publications, management of projects, lecturing, and directing the Institute for Tourism, Travel and Culture (ITTC),” she said.

Prof. Avellino joined UM as a Lecturer in 2004 and has since risen through the ranks to become Director of ITTC, a position she has held for almost five years.

Prior to her time in the academic scene, she was Manager of Sales, Marketing, and Management Training at Deloitte, as well as Ground Hostess PHS at Air Malta plc.

Prof. Avellino obtained her Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology from London Metropolitan University, with the dissertation titled “The Maltese Gift: Tourist Encounters with the Self and the Other in Later Life”. She also holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Strategic Management from Maastricht School of Management, as well as a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in Contemporary Mediterranean Studies, European Studies, Anthropology from UM.

Set up in 2010 to strengthen tourism education at UM, ITTC offers a number of courses related to tourism and culture, while also being involved in a range of European Union-funded research projects. It forms part of the wide array of faculties, institutes, and centres at UM, which sees over 3,500 students graduate in various disciplines annually.