I hold a PhD in Tourism Management (2014) from Leeds Metropolitan University, as well as a MA in Environmental Studies (2003) and an MSc in Social Psychology (2004), both from Utrecht University, the Netherlands. I currently work as a Professor New Urban Tourism, where I specialise in overtourism, city hospitality and slum tourism.

I have been involved in tourism research projects in Europe, Latin America and Africa and has experience with qualitative and quantitative research methods. The focus of my research projects is the governance of tourism from a systemic approach as well as the ideas and choices of stakeholders involved in or affected by tourism .

In my free time, I am an avid leisure cyclist and a perennial-beginning marathon runner who enjoys being involved in theatre productions.