Hi, I’m Raul!
I love Tourism, Geography, and Image – and talking about them!
Early on
I was born in the early 1980s in Contagem, an industrial city in the center of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. There, I took my first steps and, if I’m allowed a little nostalgia, I have fond memories of a very happy childhood. From there, I travelled to several places and have lived in several others.
Currently
I came to Barcelona for the first time when I was 17 years old, on a grant from my high school. It was love at first sight and everything I did from that day on was aimed at coming back and living here. It’s been almost a decade since I’ve living here non-stop, but I’d also lived in Barcelona before this current stretch.
Academic Life
I have been interested in other cultures since I was a child reading adventure books by Jules Verne and Agatha Christie, but my path towards Tourism only presented itself when I was trying to decide what to apply at university. Geography came a little bit later, during my time at the Instituto de Geociências at UFMG and later at the Departament de Geografia at UAB. Education is a much newer interest of mine, especially since I started my MA in Education at University of Hull.
Work Life
I started working at my aunt’s pharmacy when I was a kid, but it was not really work: they let me greet the costumers and pretend that I was selling medicine and cosmetics for 5 minutes before I got bored. My work life regarding Tourism started at a travel agency, went through local tourist information desks, hotels, more travel agencies, and more hotels. After earning my PhD, I started a new carrier path towards education at colleges teaching mainly Geography of Tourism and related subjects.
Academic experience
PhD in Geography
UNIVERSITAT AUTÒNOMA DE BARCELONA
2015 – 2019
PhD Thesis: “The Evolution of Tourism Destination Image through Travel Guidebooks – The case of Barcelona”
Grade: Excellent Cum Laude
MSc in Geograpy
UNIVERSITAT AUTÒNOMA DE BARCELONA
2007 – 2008
Research: “La imagen de Barcelona a través de las guías turísticas ¿Qué ciudades mostramos?”
BSc in Tourism
UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE MINAS GERAIS
UNIVERSIDADE DE AVEIRO
2002 – 2006
Research: “Acessibilidade e Locomoção: Estudo e proposições para a cidade de Belo Horizonte”
Work experience
Catalonia Hotels
RECEPTIONIST Since March, 2023
Receptionist at Hotel Catalonia Roma in Barcelona.
Ostelea
PROFESSOR Since February, 2020
Professor at Ostelea Tourism Management School. Classes on the BSc on Tourism and Leisure both in Spanish and in English. Classes on the Master’s Degree in Tourism and Hospitality.
Islandia360
CONSULTANT April, 2019 – August, 2022
Travel consultant for the Icelandic travel agency Islandia360. Creation of travel programs and itineraries, assistance to travelers in the island, salesperson for the travel agency, invoice management.
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
VISITING PROFESSOR August, 2017 – December, 2017
Visiting Professor teaching classes in the BSc in Tourism at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG).
Sec de Estado de Turismo de Minas Gerais
TOURISM SPECIALIST March, 2013 – August, 2015
Civil servant at the Minas Gerais’ Tourism and Sports Secretariat’s Section of Research, Information, and Statistics. Responsible for the state’s tourist information, events’ calendar, academic research, and training. Institutional representative of the Secretariat during international visits, liaison with local public and private institutions. Part of the team responsible for the tourist information during 2014 FIFA World Cup. Other responsibilities include the training of tourist information volunteers for the FIFA 2013 Confederations Cup and other local events.
Fanscup
COMMUNITY MANAGER and ASSISTANT MARKETING COORDINATOR July, 2011 – February, 2013
Copywriter and content manager in several social networks aimed at football teams’ fans. SEO and SEM analyst, copywriters’ manager.
Grants and Scholarships
Visiting Scholar at Leeds Beckett University
LEEDS METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY (currently Leeds Becket University) December, 2010 – March, 2011
Grant from Grupo Tudistar (Departament de Geografia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) for a PhD visit at Leeds Metropolitan University.
Programa Alßan
UNIVERSITAT AUTÒNOMA DE BARCELONA October, 2007 – August, 2008
Grant from European Union’s Programa Alban for Latin American students to complete a MSc in Geography at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Publications
Books
“Panorama sobre las políticas públicas de Turismo en Brasil: s. XX y XXI”
Chapter on the book ‘Desarrollo del turismo en Latinoamérica. Fases, enfoques e internacionalización’. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, 2017
“La imagen de Barcelona a través de las guías turísticas ¿Qué ciudades mostramos?”
Editorial Académica Española, 2012.
“Tourism cluster among livestock: the Case of Bonito (MS), Brazil”
Chapter on the book ‘Sustainable Hospitality and Tourism as Motors for Development’. Routledge, 2012.
“New Forms of Tourism in Spain: Wine, Gastronomic and Rural
Tourism”
Chapter on the book ‘Tourism and Agriculture: New Geographies of Consumption, Production and Rural Restructuring’.
Routledge, 2010.
Papers
“As Pesquisas de Demanda Turística em Minas Gerais: evolução histórica, principais desafios e perspectivas de futuro”
Paper published on Turismo em Análise by Universidade de São Paulo (Universitat de São Paulo, Brazil), 2015
“Tourist Image and City History: Barcelona and its Attractiveness throughout an Expanded 20th Century”
Paper presented at the 19th Nordic Symposium in Tourism and Hospitality Research and published on the annals. Rannsóknamiðstöð Ferðamála, Háskólinn á Akureyri (Universitat d’Akureyri, Islàndia), 2010
“La ciudad turística y las guías turísticas impresas ¿Qué fue primero?”
Paper presented at the I Congreso Internacional Ciudades Creativas and published on the annals. Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2009
“The Tourist City and the Guidebooks – Who Was First?”
Paper presented at the Emotions in Motion: The Passions of Tourism, Travel and Movement and published on the annals. Leeds Metropolitan University, 2009
Languages
Portuguese: Native
English: Advanced, C1
Spanish: Advanced, C1
Catalan: Advanced, C1
Italian: Basic, A2
French: Basic, A2
German: Basic, A1
Japanese: Basic, A1
IT
Windows: Advanced user
MS Office: Advanced user
Internet and SEM: Advanced user
atlas.TI: Advanced user
Lightroom and Photoshop: Intermediate user