The main objective of Ostelea’s Tourism Research Dissemination and Innovation Centre (IDITUR) is to generate knowledge applied to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sector, and for society in general.
Through its close working relationship with companies in the sector, IDITUR responds to and understands the needs of dynamic and emerging sectors through the generation of scientific and informative knowledge in an innovative way, underpinned by a rigorous scientific and academic foundation.
IDITUR Departments:
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Research: its activities focus on conducting theoretical and applied research projects, scientific publication and the organization and participation in various scientific forums, as well as bringing together research, academic activities and professionals in the field of tourism, leisure and hospitality.
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Teaching Innovation: its objective is to describe, analyse and reflect on the field of teaching, identifying problems and areas for improvement in order to develop and promote different pedagogical tools that facilitate and enhance teaching innovation and its implementation in the classroom.
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Dissemination and Knowledge Transfer: its key goal is to convey and publicize the knowledge generated at the School.
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Tourism Consultancy and Advisory Services: this department offers specialist support and guidance in the sectors of hospitality, tourism and leisure to entrepreneurs, startups, small and medium companies, private and public organizations, city councils and Autonomous Communities, among others.
Members of IDITUR-Ostelea:
IDITUR is comprised by eight research lecturers, all of whom have a PhD in a range of disciplines that enrich the department, as well as the reports and articles that they produce.
María del Pilar Leal, the Director of IDITUR, leads the team based in Barcelona and Madrid, coordinating the contents, research and congresses that they produce or take part in.
Dr. María del Pilar Leal L.
International consultant and specialist on gastronomic tourism. International PhD and awarded the accolade of Summa Cum Laude unanimously, in Geography, Regional Planning and Environmental Management from the Universitat de Barcelona (2013). She has a Master in Geography, Regional Planning and Environmental Management majoring in local and regional development from the same University (2009). In 2010, she received a grant from the Catalan Government and the European Social Fund to carry out her doctoral thesis on gastronomic tourism in Catalonia. She is a member of SICTUR (Tourism Scientific Research Information System) of the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, and the AEPT (Spanish Association of Tourism Professionals). She also belongs to the Universitat de Barcelona’s Regional Planning Research Group (ANTERRIT) and the Interdisciplinary Tourism Research Group (GRIT). Professionally, she has been and international consultant in Berlin and Bogotá, and the academic director of official postgraduate programs at Ostelea for the 2015/2016 academic year. Currently, María del Pilar is the director of the Bachelor Degree in Tourism and Leisure and the Director of IDITUR, Ostelea’s Tourism Research Dissemination and Innovation Centre.
Dr. Claudio Milano
PhD in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and a Master in Social and Cultural Anthropology (Cultural Differences and Transnational Processes) from the same institution. Bachelor Degree in Tourism from the Faculty of Economics of the Universitá degli Studi di Nápoli Federico II. Visiting Researcher at the University of Lumiere2 Lyon (France) and Stockholm University (Sweden).
Dr. José Antonio Mansilla
PhD in Social Anthropology from the Universitat Barcelona (UB), Master in Rural and Regional Development from the Universidad de Córdoba (UCO) and Bachelor Degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED). He forms part of the UB’s GRECS research group into Social Exclusion and Control, as well as the OACU (Observatory of the Anthropology of Urban Conflict).
Dr. Elsa Soro
PhD in Language and Communication Sciences from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona jointly supervised at an international level by the Università Degli Studi di Torino. Master in Semiotics from the Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna. Bachelor Degree in Intercultural Communication from the Università degli Studi di Torino.
Dr. Sheila Sánchez
PhD in Tourism and Leisure, awarded the accolade of Summa Cum Laude, from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Bachelor Degree in Law from the Universidad de La Habana. Lawyer affiliated to the Barcelona Illustrious Association of Lawyers (Associate nº 42410).
Member of the International Forum of Travel and Tourism Advocates (IFTTA).
Dr. Yadur González
PhD in Culture and Heritage Management. Bachelor Degree in Business Administration from the Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico. Master in Business and Institutional Communication from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Master in Cultural Heritage at the Universitat de Barcelona, where he also earned his PhD.
Dr. Pablo Díaz
PhD in Environmental Studies (Ecological Anthropology and Tourism strand) from the Universidad Pablo Olavide in Seville. Master in Social Research Applied to the Environment from the same university. Bachelor Degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology and Law from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM). (LinkedIn)
Dr. Raúl Travé
PhD in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the Universidad Miguel Hernández in Elche (UMH), DEA in Anthropology applied to Social Development (UMH), Bachelor Degrees in Social and Cultural Anthropology (UMH) and in Journalism from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM). (LinkedIn)