Dr. François Bédard has thirty-five years of experience in tourism as manager, international consultant and academic. Since 1993, Dr. Bédard has been professor in the Department of Tourism and Urban Studies at the Ecole des Sciences de la Gestion, a business school of the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). He is director of the International Centre for Education and Research in Tourism (CIFORT) and liaison officer between UQAM and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Since April 2000, Dr. Bédard has been an adviser on new technologies at UNWTO. In February 2007, he was appointed as Director General of the World Centre of Excellence for Destinations (CED). Dr Bédard was a guest speaker at many international conferences and seminars, including some organized by UNCTAD, and has published articles about the application of information technology to tourism and higher education. |