JUDGE & MENTOR
Emma is an Economist, ex-Googler, Glamping researcher and traveller, in the physical and storytelling globe. She is the founder and lead consultant of Gavala & Co, a specialised boutique consultancy, offering Investment and Strategic Marketing advisory services to new and existing Glamping & Alternative Tourism operators, while also consulting governmental and industry-level Glamping organisations worldwide. She draws her expertise from academic and market-based research on the global Glamping & Alternative Tourism market, undertaking projects in the realm of Nature, Adventure, Sustainable, Wellness and Lodging Tourism, in Europe, the ASEAN and LATAM. She has been recently recognised in Tourism Awards 2019 (Greece) for her contribution towards the birth and growth of the Glamping niche in the Mediterranean region.
She is a graduate of The London School of Economics & ESADE Business School (Global Masters in Management, CEMS), while currently pursuing further education in Strategic Hospitality Marketing, at Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration & Hospitality Management. She brings into the Travel & Hospitality sector her previous professional experience in Digital Marketing and Communications, Public Policy and Investment Consulting for international funds and ventures, complemented by her novel academic research in the Travel Consumer Behaviour field.
She is Greek in origin, cosmopolitan at heart. Holding islander roots from beautiful Crete & Kastellorizo and feeling ‘local’ in London, Athens, Barcelona, Buenos Aires and Sydney, where she has lived and worked. She was born and raised within two families with long-lasting legacy in Tourism and Hospitality Services, rendering her natural inclination towards the field almost inevitable!
She is a Glamper and lover of The Great Outdoors herself, fervently chasing unique experiences of upscale tourism offerings in the world’s most pristine, natural locations – then going about building these for her clients! She finds it impossible being a strategist and marketer in the Travel and Hospitality field, without first and foremost being a passionate traveller and consumer of holistic travel experiences, a curious explorer of the world. She has been largely inspired by innovative travel offerings she has encountered throughout her travels and she longs to see these insights spilling over to the Greek Tourism Industry and further sparkling its growth.
She is an avid believer in the pursuit of bringing Greece to the world & the world to Greece. Hence, she has been actively involved in the Greek Diaspora’s efforts to support the domestic entrepreneurial scene and enable it spread its wings around the globe.
When not nerding about Glamping and Travel Consumer Behaviour, she is immersed into journalistic and creative writing, amateur photography, rhetoric speaking, diverse creative endeavours & purposeful travel explorations.