Ilze Mertena

Dr. Ilze Mertena is a Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) International Tourism Management at the University of Manchester Metropolitan University's Department of Marketing, International Business and Tourism, within the Faculty of Business and Law. She holds qualifications including MPhil, FHAE, and PGCert. Her research focuses on tourist transport experiences, slow tourism, and train tourism mobilities, emphasizing embodied practices and governance frameworks. Mertena teaches modules such as International Tourist Experience Design and collaborates extensively with industry partners to enhance employability. She leads a project on in-store experience design for UK micro and small enterprises in Stockport, addressing digital transformation and business innovation challenges. Her work bridges academic research with practical industry needs, advocating for policy improvements in rural train tourism.

• PhD: Focused on train tourism experiences and embodied mobility practices
• Industry background: 9 years in tourism roles in Latvia and Manchester

Research interests include multimodal mobility bundles, tourist skills, and the interplay between transport and holiday experiences. She supervises PhD topics in transport tourism, slow travel, and cultural tourism. Collaborations with industry ensure curriculum relevance for employability in hospitality, aviation, and tourism sectors.

• Key Industry Partnerships: Curriculum design, field trips, and work experience initiatives
• Recent Project: Exploring MSEs' needs in high-street environments