Verônica Feder Mayer
Verônica Feder Mayer is Full Professor at the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality of the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) and a faculty member of the Postgraduate Programme in Tourism at both UFF and the University of São Paulo (USP). She holds a PhD in Administration from COPPEAD/UFRJ, during which she conducted part of her research in the United States under the supervision of Professor Kent B. Monroe; and a Postdoctoral Fellowship at USP funded by CAPES/PNPD. In 2025, she conducted a research and teaching stay at the University of Alicante (Spain), by invitation of the CYTED Network and the Economics of Innovation and Artificial Intelligence Research Group (ECO-IA) of the Institute of International Economics, with collaborations with the Tourism Economics, Natural Resources and New Technologies Research Group (INNATUR) and the International Network of Tourism Economics and Management (REDEGETUR). Her academic career is distinguished by the integration of teaching, research, and applied projects, with significant contributions in Brazil and internationally.
Her main study areas include responsible and sustainable management in tourism and consumer behaviour applied to tourism. As a researcher, she leads LABCONS (Laboratory for Behavioural Studies in Tourism) and collaborates with research groups such as NEAT-USP, as well as international networks including CYTED (Ibero-American Programme for Science and Technology for Development) and REDGETUR (Red Iberoamericana de Gestión del Turismo). Her research focuses on heuristics and biases in tourist decision-making, pro-environmental behaviour in tourism, destination management, digital transformation, and innovative marketing strategies. She has published in prestigious international journals, including the Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Tourism Economics, the Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, and the Journal of Smart Tourism, and has contributed regularly to Brazil’s top academic journals in tourism and hospitality. Verônica Mayer is an Associate Editor of Revista Brasileira de Pesquisa em Turismo (RBTUR), the leading scientific journal in the field in Brazil, and actively serves as a peer reviewer for several high-impact academic journals.
She has also been actively involved in strategic projects funded by the Ministry of Tourism that have contributed to the post-pandemic recovery of the tourism sector. She has participated in Experiências do Brasil Rural (Experiences of Rural Brazil), which strengthens family farming through tourism, and Experiências do Brasil Original (Experiences of Original Brazil), which promotes community-based tourism in indigenous and quilombola communities. Additionally, she also coordinates and participates in projects on sports, nautical and maritime tourism, with a focus on sustainability research and specialised training. Notable initiatives include the national E-learning programme “Condutor de Turismo Náutico”, the “Mapeamento e Promoção do Turismo Náutico em Niterói – RJ”, and a recent study on alternative docking infrastructure and an international cruise terminal in Belém (PA), developed in preparation for COP30. Her research also explores innovative methodological approaches for knowledge transfer, ensuring that academic insights translate into practical solutions that benefit local communities and society at large.
Verônica was recently awarded in the Brazilian national research funding program “Em Tese – Embratur & ANPTUR - 2025”, promoted by Embratur (the Brazilian Agency for International Tourism Promotion) and ANPTUR (the National Association for Research and Postgraduate Studies in Tourism). The awarded project, titled “(Un)Sustainable Behaviour in Tourism: Determinants, Conducts and Guidelines for International Tourism in Brazil,” investigates the behavioural determinants of sustainable and unsustainable practices among international tourists visiting Brazil, aiming to generate actionable insights for the tourism and hospitality sectors.
Verônica Mayer served as a Director of ABRATUR – International Academy for the Development of Tourism Research in Brazil from 2023 to 2025, a non-profit organisation dedicated to fostering the internationalisation of Brazilian tourism research, and is now a board member. ABRATUR promotes collaboration between scholars engaged in the international academic community and those conducting research in Brazil, encouraging high-impact scientific production and knowledge exchange across different contexts. In this role, she contributes to strengthening international academic networks, fostering strategic partnerships, supporting collaborative initiatives, and promoting the dissemination of innovative tourism research.
As an experienced mentor, Verônica Mayer has supervised master’s and doctoral students, as well as undergraduate students and professionals in MBA programs and executive education courses. Many of her former mentees now hold recognised roles in academia and the private sector.