Hélder Manuel Faria Martins
Hélder Manuel Faria Martins, who has a degree in Tourism Management, has been President of the Board of AHETA – Association of Hotels and Tourist Resorts of the Algarve since 2022 and, from 2015 to 2023, has been the owner of Hotel Rural Quinta do Marco.
Previously, he worked as a Consultant for the NAU HOTELS AND RESORTS Group, was Director of the Quinta da Ombria Project, Hotel Spa & Golf Resort and Director of the CS Group. He has also held various positions in tourism organisations, such as President of the Algarve Tourism Region, President of the Algarve Tourism Association, President of Pavilhão do Arade, SA, President of the National Association of Tourism Regions, and President of Globalgarve Cooperação Desenvolvimento, SA.
He has also had experience in sports events, sports marketing, sponsor management, and catering. In addition, he is member No. 1 and was President of the Algarve Automobile Club from its foundation until 1995. He was also Chairman of the Board of Casa do Povo de Querença from 1993 to 1998 and Chairman of the Querença Parish Council for two terms.
Hugo Pinto
Hugo Pinto is an Economist and Professor of Regional and Urban Economics at the Faculty of Economics, University of Algarve. He is a member of CinTurs—Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability, and Well-being—where he currently coordinates the Tourism and Hospitality Management research line. He is also affiliated with the Centre for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra, since 2007.
Over the past 20 years, Hugo Pinto has collaborated with various R&D organizations in Portugal and abroad. His primary research interests include the economic geography of innovation, regional development and resilience, the political economy of tourism, smart specialization, and the blue economy. His work combines both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Additionally, he is an active member of the Portuguese Association for Regional Development (APDR) and the Portuguese Association for Political Economy (EcPol).
Paulo Alexandre de Oliveira Duarte
Paulo Alexandre de Oliveira Duarte is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management and Economics at the University of Beira Interior, teaching Marketing subjects, in particular Consumer Behaviour, Branding and Social Media Marketing.
He is a guest lecturer on the Master’s programmes in Management and Marketing at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa-Católica Porto Business School. He holds a PhD in Management with a specialisation in Marketing and from 2011 to 2023 he directed the Master’s in Marketing at the University of Beira Interior. Internationally, he collaborated on the University Master’s Degree in Management of Tourism Organisations and Resources: Hotel Management at the University of Extremadura in Spain.
His professional career has been divided between the private sector, where he has held positions as commercial director and company manager, and the public sector, having previously taught at the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda.
He is currently vice-coordinator for human resources and marketing at NECE-UBI (Research Centre in Business Sciences). He is the author of several books and scientific articles in the field of Marketing and Tourism. His main research interests are consumer behaviour, both online and offline; brand strategy, both commercial and territorial, and its role in sustainable development. He recently took part in the TWINE project – ‘Co-creating sustainable Tourism & WINe Experiences in rural areas’.