Dr. Melissa Varao

Areas of Expertise

• Business communications, marketing, customer experience (CX), customer service quality, brand loyalty, sustainable tourism/ecotourism, wine tourism, tourism economics, hotel and resort management, event production, wedding planning, revenue management

Education

• B.S. in recreation and sport management, Indiana State University (2002)
• MHRTM in hotel, restaurant and tourism management, University of South Carolina (2004)
• Ph.D. in hotel and restaurant management, Auburn University (2009)

Media Coverage

• Forbes magazine
• WADK Newport
• Yahoo News
• Boston Public Radio

Selected Publications

International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational ResearchVol. 23, No. 8, pp. 1-18, August 2024

The Impact of Tourism on Local Public Resources: A Case Study on Tourists Use of Emergency Services in Newport, RI June 2024 Conference: Ninth International Conference on Tourism & Leisure Studies

Building Entrepreneurship: Evaluating the Impact of Collegiate Entrepreneurial Programs on Business Startups in States January 2022 Conference: Northeast Business & Economics Association Proceedings

A Comparison Study of U.S. and Non-U.S. Education Internationalization Practices of Hospitality and Tourism Programs November 2010Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism 10(4):335-361

Defining visitor satisfaction in the context of camping oriented nature-based tourism - the driving force of quality! April 2010.Journal of Vacation Marketing 16(2):141-156