Maria Teresa Simone-Charteris

Maria Teresa Simone-Charteris serves as Lecturer in Travel & Tourism Management within the Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Events Management at Ulster University Business School, Coleraine campus. She concurrently holds the role of Placement Tutor for international travel and tourism management degree students.

Her academic credentials include:

• BSc Hons Travel and Tourism Management (Ulster University, 2005)
• Level 2 Intermediate Certificate in Wines and Spirits (WSET, England, 2006)
• Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice (Ulster University, 2016)
• PhD candidate researching religious-political tourism interconnections in Northern Ireland

Research focuses on religious pilgrimage tourism and dark/political tourism within conflict-affected regions, examining how tourism facilitates peace reconciliation processes. Her work extends to food and wine tourism economies, analyzing craft beverage tourism's regional development impacts through festivals and distillery experiences. Current investigations explore digital mediation in sensitive heritage contexts.

Publication trends reveal consistent engagement with Northern Ireland's post-conflict tourism landscape, evolving from political mural studies toward digital experience innovation and generational consumer analysis in dark tourism contexts, while maintaining strong industry-academia linkages.

Professional recognition includes:

• Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy
• SEDA's 'Enhancing Academic Practice in the Disciplines' award (2016)

With 14+ years of industry experience spanning restaurant supervision, tour guiding, language training, and pub management, she integrates practical insights into undergraduate/postgraduate teaching across tourism, transport, and management modules. External roles include journal reviewing for Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion and International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, visiting lectureship at HTMi Switzerland, and CABI subject reviewing. Her research demonstrates measurable impact with 96 Scopus citations and h-index of 4.

Active participation in academic networks includes editorial board contributions and international collaborations focused on tourism's role in sustainable development.