Zélia Breda holds a Ph.D. in Tourism, a MA in Chinese Studies (Business and International Relations) and a BSc in Tourism Management and Planning from the University of Aveiro, where she is Assistant Professor, at the Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering, and Tourism (DEGEIT), holding the position of Director of the Master's in Tourism Management and Planning. She is a senior member of the Research Unit ‘Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies’ (GOVCOPP) of the University of Aveiro, a founding member and vice-president of the Observatory of China, and a senior consultant of Idtour, a tourism R&D spin-off company. She is also a member of the editorial, scientific and review boards of a few academic international peer-reviewed journals, as well as a member of the organizing and scientific committees of international tourism conferences. She has authored and co-authored several national and international papers and communications on tourism development, networks, tourism in China and Goa (India), gender and tourism, and internationalization of the tourism economy. She has also been taking part in several research projects in the tourism field, both as a member of the team and as a consultant.