Frans Melissen

Frans Melissen is a Transversal Professor of Sustainability Transitions at the Breda University of Applied Sciences, affiliated with the Academy for Hotel & Facility. His work focuses on enabling professionals, businesses, and organizations to navigate sustainability transitions through innovative models, ownership structures, and collaborative mechanisms. He emphasizes alignment with global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and explores frameworks like the Donut Economy and Circular Economy.

Key research areas include

• Co-design strategies for tourism destinations
• Immersive experience design in hospitality
• Authenticity in luxury accommodations
• Resilience-building through experiencescapes

His interdisciplinary approach integrates qualitative methodologies like Delphi studies and living labs.

He leads major projects such as KreativEU (European University collaboration) and SmartCulTour (cultural tourism sustainability), and has received the 2018 EuroCHRIE Best Research Paper Award. Melissen actively engages in public discourse on sustainability intelligence and critiques conventional economic growth paradigms.

His work bridges academia and practice through initiatives like the Smart City Hospitality Framework, fostering sustainable urban tourism planning via serious gaming simulations.