Key ITC-A Associates
Lionel Becherel
Lionel Becherel is the founder of International Tourism Consultancy Associates with over 30 years experience in the tourism sector, 25 years of which in tourism development consultancy. He has led and worked on projects worldwide for major international executing and donor agencies such as UNWTO, UNDP, EU, JICA and others. He specialises in the formulation of tourism strategies and development plans, marketing strategies, ecotourism strategies and human resources strategies in destinations such as Nepal, Ghana, India, Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Albania...
Acorn Tourism Consulting Ltd
Acorn Tourism Consulting Ltd is ITC-A's statistics and research associate, a highly regarded independent consultancy experienced in advising governments, local authorities and private organisations around the world on the development of tourism. The firm specialise in the development of Tourism Satellite Account Systems (TSA), tourism market research, industry trends, forecasting, statistical guidelines, the development of tourism information systems, the dissemination of tourism information and related training. The company has recently completed projects in destinations as diverse as Jordan, Lesotho, the Falkland Islands and the South Pacific, developing tourism satellite accounts, and tourism information systems for marketing and planning the tourism sector. In addition to establishing and implementing visitor and industry surveys in these and other countries, Acorn has trained local staff in collecting tourism statistics and maintaining information systems.
Chris Cooper
Professor Chris Cooper is ITC-A's human resources, educationalist and research associate with strong links to academia. He works with international agencies in tourism research, human resources, training and education, including the United Nations World Tourism Organization where he has held the Chair of the Education Council and was awarded the United Nations Ulysses Medal for contributions to tourism education and policy in 2009. Chris has also worked on projects with the International Labour Organization, the OECD, the United Nations Development Programme and the European Union. He spent three years as the specialist tourism advisor to the AUSAID project to develop a mutual recognition arrangement for tourism training across the 10 ASEAN countries. Chris has held senior academic positions in both the UK and Australia giving him a detailed knowledge of tourism issues across Europe and Asia. Chris Cooper has published extensively on tourism research.
François Vellas
Professor François Vellas is ITC-A's associate specialising in economic anlaysis of the tourism and air transport sectors, the export of tourism services, SME development and poverty alleviation through sustainable tourism. He has carried out missions for major international institutions such as UNWTO, EU, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), UNESCO, World Bank and UNDP. He is the Scientific Director of the Tourism Section at Acting for Life, a French NGO established by major tourism and air transport firms and has led missions worldwide on developing and establishing sustainable tourism indicators for monitoring the impacts of tourism SMEs and MSMEs, poverty reduction strategies through tourism and the transfer of technology in the tourism sector. Frençois Vellas has published extensively on the tourism and the air transport sectors.
EUASIA Ltd
EUASIA is ITC-A's physical planning associate. The urban planning consultancy is based in Hong Kong responsible for numerous strategic and regional planning studies, tourism master plans and urban development proposals in the Asia Pacific region, South Asia and the Middle East. The firm's core consultants have more than 20 years experience working around the world, specializing in strategic and urban planning, urban design and tourism planning and development taking advantage of the knowledge of the cultural and geographical features of each place where the projects are located.
Joel Sonne - TOURISM NETWORKS LIMITED
Dr Joel Sonne is ITC-A's tourism planner and tourism investment associate. He is based in Ghana in West Africa and has been working on tourism planning, and development for decades covering the Civil Service and Academic landscape. He is currently the Director of Projects at the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Ghana. His expertise spans Policy and Development Plans preparation, Project Planning and Management, Tourism Investment, Human Resource and Institutional Capacity Building, Research Monitoring and Evaluation at global, national and local levels. He has in-depth academic and working knowledge of Sustainable Development, Poverty Reduction, Public Policy, Stakeholder Analysis, Local Community Participation, Gender Analysis and Networking.
Dr. Sonne has PhD in Tourism (University of Bedfordshire, Luton, UK), Masters in Local Economic Development (Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, Netherlands), Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Geography with Political Science (University of Ghana, Legon), Post-Graduate Diploma in Tourism Management in (Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management, Salzburg Austria), Post-Graduate Certificates in Public Administration and Management (Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration) and Post-Graduate Certificates in Tourism Planning (University of Haifa, Israel) among others. He has produced technical publications on tourism policies and development planning.
He is a member of the Ghana Institute of Management, Associate Member of the Ghana Institute of Planners and a Member of the Board of Directors of Ghana Tourism Authority.
Edith Szivas - SEASTAR CONSULTANCY 
Dr Edith M Szivas is ITC-A's associate specialising in hotel development, quality and sustainability. She has over 25 years of international experience in tourism sector development, working on tourism advisory projects for the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), EU, UNDP, USAID and AFED (Arab Forum for Environment and Development). She started her career in international trade and emerging markets. She had a distinguished academic career during which she was Director of PhD Programme and led the renowned tourism MSc Programmes at University of Surrey, UK. Later she joined the Jumeirah Group, Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management in Dubai, UAE as Director of Research and Consultancy. She gained her MSc Degree in Tourism Planning and Development and her PhD in Tourism at the University of Surrey, UK.
Michael Hitchcock
Professor Michael Hitchcock is ITC-A's cultural heritage and museums specialist. He is Professor in Cultural Policy and Tourism at Goldsmiths, University of London. After taking a doctorate at Oxford University’s Pitt Rivers Museum, Michael worked at Liverpool Museum (National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside) and the Horniman Museum, London, before going into higher education. He became a Deputy Dean at the University of Chichester and then Dean of IMI Switzerland before going to the Macau University of Science and Technology as a Senior Executive and Dean of the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management. He has written and edited 14 books and has published 50 papers in refereed journals concerned with heritage and tourism management. He has extensive consulting and project management experience and is Prince 2 qualified.
