Nella Athina

Assistant Professor

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Athina Nella serves as an Assistant Professor of Tourism Marketing at the Hellenic Open University. She obtained her doctoral degree in Tourism Marketing through a prestigious scholarship from the State Scholarships’ Foundation.

Dr. Nella’s academic journey began with Bachelor’s degrees in Marketing & Communication (Athens University of Economics & Business) and Sociology (Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences). Additionally, she holds a Master of Science in Services Management (Athens University of Economics & Business).

In parallel with her academic pursuits, she holds considerable working experience in the private and public sector (Procter & Gamble Hellas, Hellenic Ministry of Education, Institute of Educational Policy, Greek National Tourism Organisation).

Research Interests

Her scholarly interests encompass the domains of destination marketing, services marketing, tourism behavior, sustainability, and special forms of tourism.

Teaching Experience

She has extensive teaching experience in various Universities in Greece (Hellenic Open University, University of West Attica, University of Patras, University of the Aegean, Intenational Hellenic University). Courses and seminars that she has taught include: Tourism Marketing, Communication and Crisis Management, Marketing, Consumer Behavior, B2B Marketing, Sales Management, Marketing & Communication for Educational Organisations, Marketing & Economic Valuation for Design, Communication & Social Media, Wine & Beverage Marketing, Wine Tourism Management, Management, Human Resources Management & Leadership, Marketing in the Public Sector.

Selected Publications

Stergiou D. & Nella, A. (2024). ChatGPT and tourist decision making: An accessibility-diagnosticity perspective. International Journal of Tourism Research. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jtr.2757
Nella, A. & Stergiou D. (2024). Birdwatching Tourism: Perspectives, Impacts, and Sustainability Considerations. In the Book: Niche Tourism & Sustainability. (Eds: Singh, P., Farmaki, A. & Hassan, V.). CABI. (accepted for publication)
Nella, A. & Dimopoulou, F. (2024). Glamping in Greece: Preliminary Findings from a Mixed-Methods Approach. In: Katsoni, V., Cassar, G. (eds) Recent Advancements in Tourism Business, Technology and Social Sciences. IACuDiT 2023. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54342-5_36
Nella, A. (2023). Destination Brand Personality at the Spotlight. In A. Masouras, S. Daskou, V. Pistikou, D. Dimitriou, & T. Friesner (Eds.), Global Developments in Nation Branding and Promotion: Theoretical and Practical Approaches (pp. 46-76). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-5902-7.ch003
Nella, A. (2023). A Review of Destination Personality Literature: Focus on Articles Published in the Last Decade (2013–2022). In: Katsoni, V. (eds) Tourism, Travel, and Hospitality in a Smart and Sustainable World. IACuDiT 2022. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26829-8_28
Nella, A., & Christou, E. (2021). Market segmentation for wine tourism: Identifying sub-groups of winery visitors. European Journal of Tourism Research, 29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v29i.2414
Nella, A. & Christou, E. (2016). “Extending Tourism Marketing: implications for targeting the senior tourists’ segment”, Journal of Tourism, Heritage and Services Marketing, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 36 -42. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.376336
Christou, E., & Nella, A. (2016). Web 2.0 and pricing transparency in hotel services. In Social media in travel, tourism and hospitality (pp. 133-148). Routledge.
Christou, E., & Nella, A. (2016). Web 2.0 and Networks in Wine Tourism: The Case Studies of www.greatwinecapitals. com and www.wineandhospitalitynetwork. com. In Social Media in Travel, Tourism and Hospitality (pp. 11-24). Routledge
Nella, A. & Christou, E. (2014). “Linking Service Quality at the Cellar Door with Brand Equity Building”, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, Vol. 23, No. 7, pp. 699-721, (DOI:10.1080/19368623.2014.891959).
Nella, A. & Christou, E. (2014). “Segmenting wine tourists on the basis of involvement with wine”. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing Vol. 31, No. 7, pp. 783-798, (DOI:10.1080/10548408.2014.889639).

Research Activity

Her research focus currently is on destination marketing, brand personality, brand equity, influencer marketing, AI effects on marketing. She is a member of the European Marketing Academy (EMAC) and the Association for Netnographic Research.