Ivana Stević

Ivana Stević is a dedicated researcher at the University of Aveiro, where she serves as a Research Fellow at the Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism (DEGEIT) while pursuing her PhD in Tourism and Development. Her institutional affiliations include the Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policy (GOVCOPP) and the DSS-Lab, focusing on sustainable tourism development and policy analysis.

Her educational background features a Master of Science in Tourism Management and Planning from the University of Aveiro, forming the foundation for her doctoral research on tourism governance and cultural heritage preservation.

Dr. Stević's research centers on sustainable cultural heritage tourism, employing design thinking and action research to address preservation challenges in UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Oporto. She investigates destination governance structures, stakeholder networking dynamics, cross-border tourism market comparisons (e.g., Portugal-Serbia), and digital disruption impacts on traditional travel agencies, establishing her as a key contributor to sustainable tourism scholarship.

Analysis of her 2012-2016 publications reveals consistent thematic focus: human-centered design applications for heritage tourism, empirical governance studies in World Heritage contexts, and comparative market analyses. Her methodological preference for case studies and action research—primarily in Portuguese settings with international dimensions—highlights stakeholder collaboration as critical for tourism sustainability.

No scientific awards are documented in available materials, though her active contribution to the SPLACH research project demonstrates significant scholarly engagement.

As a PhD candidate, Stević does not supervise graduate students but serves as a research fellow on the 'Spatial Planning for Change' (SPLACH) project, investigating spatial planning frameworks for tourism development.

Within the University of Aveiro's research ecosystem, she actively collaborates with the DSS-Lab (specializing in decision support systems) and GOVCOPP (focusing on governance and public policy), leveraging these platforms to advance tourism destination competitiveness and sustainability research through community-based approaches.