Marina is an internationally renowned policy, planning and sustainable development expert and Professor of Tourism and International Development at Brighton School of Business and Law, which is an Affiliate Member of the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

She is a geographer with a background in economics, with significant experience of high-quality research, consultancy, PhD supervision, teaching and curriculumm development.

Between 2017 and 2021, she plaid a key strategic role as Academic Lead for the University’s Responsible Futures Agenda, an initiative aimed at fostering innovation through impactful  interdisciplinary research and consultancy collaborations, at local, national and international level, which laid the ground of the current Global Challenges Agenda.

She has advised on numerous international cooperation and research assignments funded by International Development Organisations (IDOs) such as: The World Bank, the European Union, The UN (UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO), the Commonwealth Secretariat, National Ministries and Tourism Boards, Regional Development Agencies and NGOs. Such work has provided the basis of 2 REF2014 and REF2021 highly rated Impact Case Studies. Examples of projects undertaken are also available here. 

In 2018 she was appointed as REF2021 panelist for UOA C24: Sport, Tourism and Leisure, a role she completed in 2021.

In 2021, she was also appointed as Alternate Member of the UNWTO World Committee on Tourism Ethics (2021-2025).

She is known globally for her excellence in leading and collaborating with multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder and multi-cultural teams and for her commitment to generating new knowledge on ways in which tourism can play a key role in sustainable development by stimulating local economies, conserving the environment, developing peoples and changing lives.

Her research spans across 3 main areas, including: 

- Innovation, responsible entrepreneurship and sustainability in tourism - i.e. British Council project on Innovationa for African Universities;  circular economy, contemporary arts and community development, contemporary arts for sustainble development in Africa.

- Policy, Planning and Governance - i.e. master-planning; training needs analysis and capacity building; responsible leadership.

- Development and Impact - i.e. impacts assessments of IDOs' interventions; monitoring and evaluation; participatory research methods; and niche (tourism) product development.

Marina's international reputation is broadly associated with the field of sustainability and innovation in tourism, and more specifically with her elaboration of the niche tourism concept and extensive empirically grounded research on tourism for sustainable development in Africa. She has written and advised extensively on a number projects across Africa (23 destinations), Europe and Asia.

Most recently, she has produced significant new elaborations of the Overtourism concept and interventions in the field of Contemporary Arts for Sustainable Development.

Her interdisciplinary research draws on human geography, innovation studies, economics, development studies and international politics as well as anthropology and sociology.

Her research has been designed and deployed to have impact beyond academia. Having secured funding through highly competitive streams (i.e. the World Bank, UN, MCC, EU and the Commonwealth Secretariat), she has deployed her own research frameworks drawing upon a number of qualitative, participatory and cross-disciplinary techniques, such as the Peer2Peer (P2P) collaborative approach and delivered research in various formats.

She is interested in the debates on global governance and innovative policymaking, especially  in relation to Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and how this plays out on the ground, how it is contested, challenged and resisted.

As social scientist, her research specifically addresses: sustainable tourism policy, planning and development; niche tourism development and management; rural diversification; community-based and responsible entrepreneurship in cultural industries,contemporary arts and tourism; tourism in the developing world, especially Africa; travel philanthropy - serious leisure and the act of giving beyond volunteering; TVET needs analysis, capacity building and curriculum development.

Marina’s research and consultancy engagements and contributions to knowledge are primarily in the field of: diagnostic, monitoring and evaluation studies; policy, governance and institutional development; destination planning and sustainable product development and value chain managemennt; cultural industries and arts for sustainable development in Africa; HRD - training needs analysis, capacity building, train-the trainers and curriculum development; service standards and optimisation processes in hospitality and tourism.

She has worked in several countries, including Botswana, Burundi, France, The Gambia, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Malawi, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, UK, USA, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

Marina’s PhD supervisory interests are closely aligned with her research interest and experience. These include: sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation in tourism; policy, planning annd governance; cultural industries and arts in Africa; sustainable tourism policy, planning and development; special interest and niche tourism development and management; rural diversification and regeneration through tourism; community-based and responsible tourism approaches; tourism in the developing and emerging economies (especially in Africa); travel philanthropy, serious leisure and the act of giving beyond volunteering; innovation in capacity building processes and practices; overtourism and tourismophobia; tourism and the circular economy.

Marina adopts a research led teaching approach. Her teaching is filled with knowledge emerging from her extensive portfolio of research and consultancy engagements, which makes it unique. Drawing on her extensive network of collaborators and practical experiences, she provides students with the opportunity to engage with ‘real world’ issues. 

Graduates and students from her programmes say:

 “Marina's wisdom and expertise have stayed with me far beyond my times at Brighton, informing my career choices and making a huge difference in the way I see travel and tourism both personally and professionally” Dr Claudia Dolezal (Austria)

“Professor Novelli was instrumental in shaping my career in tourism development as my professor at Brighton University and mentor. She inspired to pursue my goals, supported me through her professional networks in Africa and beyond. We published together, we worked on few projects and she never ceased sharing her knowledge and wisdom. She believed in my dreams and today I am grateful to call her a friend.” Dr Carmen Nibigira (Burundi)

“As a mature student, Prof. Novelli research informed teaching approaches inspired me to continue with my study at PhD level, through her mentorship and continued guidance, I was able to secure a ESRC scholarship and engage in a research programme on contemporary arts and tourism of great impact in West Africa” Clive Allanso (UK)