Hellenic Open University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Marketing
2009 – 2013
Athens University of Economics and Business
MBA
2003 – 2005
Athens University of Economics and Business
Marketing and Communication
1999 – 2003
Stella Kladou is Assistant Professor at the Hellenic Mediterranean University in Crete, Greece. She has served as an Assistant Professor in the Tourism Administration Department at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey and a Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. Her PhD in ‘Evaluating Cultural City Brands: The case of Athens, Istanbul and Rome’, was realized in cooperation with the Hellenic Open University in Greece, Istanbul Bilgi University in Turkey and the University of Rome La Sapienza in Italy, and partially funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. She has published in prominent academic journals and books of international publishers and presented at well-esteemed international conferences. She has participated and/or led several international and national projects as a researcher or consultant. She is an International Place Brand Specialist for The Place Brand Observer, in the editorial board of the Journal of Qualitative Research in Tourism and the Journal of Destination Marketing and Management, and in the organizing and/or scientific board of international conferences, such as the International Conference on Tourism (ICOT). Her research mainly pertains to place branding, cultural and wine tourism, and digital marketing.
Peer-Reviewed Journals
Kladou, S. & Trihas, N. (2022). Place branding through resource integration and gastro-cultural experiences: A transnational perspective. Tourism and Hospitality, 3(1), 1-14;
Lee, L., Kladou, S., Usakli, A., & Shi, Y. (2022). Co-branding exercises in New World Wine Countries: The case of Yantai, China. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights., 5(1), 116-137
Peng, N., Chen, A., Kladou, S., Barnes, B. (2022). Cultivating a sense of belonging and promoting sports fans’ travel intentions. Tourism Analysis: An Interdisciplinary Journal. In Press.
Kladou, S., Rigopoulou, E., Kavaratzis, M., Salonika, E. (2021). Memorable tourism experiences and country image. Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research.
Farmaki, A., Kladou, S. (2020). Why do Airbnb hosts discriminate? Examining the sources and manifestations of discrimination in host practice. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 42, 181-189.
Kladou, S., Psimouli, M., Kapareliotis, I. (2020). The role of brand architecture and brand heritage for family-owned wineries: the case of Crete, Greece. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 41(3), 309-330.
Kladou, S. (2021). Book Review. Ingra L., Slocum, S. and Cavaliere, C. (eds.) (2020). Neolocalism and Tourism: Understanding a Global Movement, Oxford, UK, Goodfellow Publishers. European Journal of Tourism Research. In Press.
Kladou, S., Kavaratzis, M., Rigopoulou, E., Salonika, E. (2016). The role of brand elements in destination branding. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 6 (4), 426-435.
Kladou, S., Giannopoulos, A. & Mavragani, E. (2015). Destination brand equity: An analysis of a decade of research (2001-2012). Tourism Analysis. 20 (2), 189-200.
Kladou, S. (2015). The 6th Advances in Tourism Marketing Conference. Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research., 1-2. DOI: 10.1080/13032917.2015.1103401
Kladou, S., & Mavragani, E. (2015). Assessing Destination Image: An online marketing approach and the case of Tripadvisor. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management. 4(3), 187-193.
Kladou, S. & Kehagias, J. (2014). Assessing destination brand equity: an integrated approach. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 3 (1), 2-10.
Kladou, S. & Kehagias, J. (2014). Developing a structural brand equity model for cultural destinations. Journal of Place Management and Development, 7 (2), 112-125.
Kladou, S., Giannopoulos, A. & Assiouras, G. (2014). Matching tourism type and destination image perceptions in a country context. Journal of Place Management and Development, 7 (2), 141-152.
Zouganeli S., Trihas N., Antonaki M., Kladou S. (2012). Aspects of Sustainability in the Destination Branding Process: A Bottom-up Approach, Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 21, 739-757.
Kladou S. (2008). Golf Tourism: What does a golfer appreciate and consider in selecting a golf destination?, Tourist Scientific Review, 4.
Edited Books
Farmaki, A., Kladou, S., & Ioannides, D. (eds.) (to be published in 2022). Peer-to-peer Accommodation and Community Resilience. CABI.
Kladou, S, Andriotis, K., Farmaki, A., Stylidis, D. (eds.) (to be published in 2022). Tourism Development and Planning in the Middle East. CABI Regional Book Series.
Chapters in Edited Books & Published Project Reports
Kladou, S. (2022). Destination Brand Equity. In Buhalis, D. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Tourism Management and Marketing, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham.
Kladou, S., Psimouli, M., Giannopoulos, A., Skourtis, G., Eskitark, N.H. (2022). Shedding Light Upon the Shadows: Exploring the link between country destination image and dark tourism. In Pappas, N. & Farmaki, A. (eds). Tourism Dynamics: New perspectives and changing directions, Goodfellow. In Press.
Ayhan, N. & Kladou, S. (2022). Moving away from wine tourism and sustainable tourism development: The paradox in the case of Bozcaada (Tenedos), Turkey. In Kladou S., Farmaki, A., Andriotis, K. & Stylides, D. (eds). Tourism Development and Planning in the Middle East. CABI. Forthcoming.
Kladou, S. (2022). Gastro-cultural identities for place branding: The forbidden fruit of minorities? In Slocum, S.L. (ed.) Building inclusion in tourism: Overcoming institutional discrimination and bias. Routledge. (forthcoming)
Kuzuoglu, S. & Kladou, S. (2021). Challenges to sustainability in prospective World Heritage Sites: The case of Iznik/Nicaea, Turkey as an up-and-coming tourism destination. In Decrop, A., Correia, A. & Kozak, M. (eds.) Marketing sustainable and collaborative tourism in a digital world, Goodfellow.
Kladou, S. (2017). Destination Brand Equity & Cultural Tourism. In Tsartas, P. & Lytras, P. (eds.) Greek Tourism – A Collective Volume. Papazisis Publications. (Published in Greek), 489-494. (Published in Greek)
Kladou, S. (2017). Destination brand equity: the path leading to brand loyalty. In Kumar Dixit, S. (ed.) Handbook of Consumer Behaviour in Hospitality and Tourism, Routledge, 326-336.
Kladou, S. & Mavragani, E. (2016). A social media approach to evaluating heritage destination perceptions: the case of Istanbul. In Alvarez, M., Yuksel, A. & Go, F. (eds.) Heritage Tourism Destinations: preservation, communication and development. CABI, 91-104.
Expert Report: Access to Culture – Policy Analysis (2015). Analysis and project financed by the European Commission – Culture Programme. Final Deliverable of the Project realized by EDUCULT (Austria), IRMO (Croatia), KPY (Turkey), Interarts (Spain), NCK (Sweden), and Telemarksforsking (Norway).
Papatheodorou, A. & Kladou, S. (2013). Shifting patterns in Cultural Management: A success story. In Cultural Changemakers Against the Grain: New players, management practices & policy challenges across Europe and its neighborhood (4th ed.), KPY Cultural Policy & Management Yearbook 2012-13, Istanbul. ISBN 978-605-399-328-5
Kladou, S. (2011). Cultural Festivals: An overview. In Ada, S. (eds.), Istanbul Cultural Festivals, Turkey: Turkish Ministry of Education & Culture, Istanbul Bilgi University Publications. (Published in Turkish). ISBN 978-605-399-201-1.
International Conferences
Kladou, S., & Trihas, N. (2021). Gastro-cultural identity and branding: Acknowledging the Goose that lays the golden egg. TOURMAN, Virtual Conference.
Kladou, S. & Trihas, N. (2021). Public diplomacy, place branding practices and cross-border cooperation around the table. Place Branding and Cross-Border Regions. Virtual Conference.
Kladou, S. (2021). Whose culture? The role of identity-based branding. 5th International Place Branding Association Conference. Barcelona, Spain.
Kladou, S., Psimouli, M., & Kapareliotis, I. (2020). Branding Family-Owned Cretan Wineries: The Role of Heritage. 2020 Global Marketing Conference, Virtual Conference.
Ayhan, N., & Kladou, S. (2020). The (Dis)connection between Destination Identity, Wine Culture and Tourism Destination Brand: The Case of Bozcaada, Turkey. t-Forum 2020 Global Conference, Virtual Conference.
Eskitark, H.N., Kladou, S., & Psimouli, M. (2019). Shedding light upon the shadows between country destination image and dark tourism: the case of Turkey, 7th International Conference on Contemporary Marketing Issues, Heraklion, Crete.
Kuzuoglu, S. & Kladou, S. (2019). Treasure hunting in Iznik, Turkey: Evaluating the city’s heritage resources from a destination branding perspective. International Conference on Tourism, Porto, Portugal.
Kuzuoglu, S. & Kladou, S. (2019). What does it take to be inscribed as a WHS? Urban Tourism and place branding in the case of Iznik/ Nicaea, Changing Cities IV: Spatial, Design, Landscape and socioeconomic dimensions, Chania, Crete.
Lee, K., Kladou, S., Madanoglu, M. & Shi, Y. (2019). ‘New world’ wine countries vs. ‘Old world’ wine countries: A comparative study of wine tourists. American Association of Wine Economists Annual Conference 2019, Vienna.
Kladou, S., Rigopoulou E., Kavaratzis, M., & Salonika, E. (2019). A memorable tourism experience and its effect on country image. Advances in Tourism Marketing Conference, Namur, Belgium.
Kladou, S., Farmaki, A., & Rigopoulou E. (2019). Airbnb for everyone: Hosts’ perceptions on Airbnb’s antidiscrimination policy. Advances in Tourism Marketing Conference, Namur, Belgium.
Farmaki, A., Kladou, S. (2019). Discrimination in Airbnb: Insights from Host Practices. 5th World Research Summit for Hospitality and Tourism, Orlando, Florida.
Kladou, S., Lee, K., Madanoglu, M. & Shi, Y. (2018). Experiencing the Wine Destination: The Case Of Yantai Wine Region In China. Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Marketing Management Conference, Bangkok, Thailand.
Kladou, S., Lee, K., Madanoglu, M. & Shi, Y. (2018). Inspiring Winery Experiences to Benefit Destination Branding: Insights from Chinese Wine Tourists, EuroCHRIE, Dublin, Ireland.
Lee, K., Madanoglu, M., Kladou, S. & Shi, Y. (2017). Chinese Wine Tourists: The case of Yantai Wine Region, China, 3rd Culinary and Wine Tourism Conference, IMC FH, Krems, Austria.
Chen, A., Kladou, S., Mai, L-W, Peng, N. (2017). Incorporating Vanity into a Luxury Value-Attitude- Behavior Model- Evidence from Luxury Restaurant Consumers, Association for Consumer Research Conference, San Diego, USA.
Kladou, S., Kehagias, J., & Dilmperi, A. (2015). What matters to tourists? A multi-group analysis to assess destination brand equity, 5th Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Marketing & Management Conference, Beppu, Japan. (Open link, p.93-99)
Kladou, S., Kavaratzis, M., Rigopoulou, E., & Salonika, E. (2015). Asserting the significance of the brand’s symbolic elements in destination branding, Advances in Tourism Marketing Conference, Joensuu, Finland. (Open link)
Kladou, S. (2015). Tourists and residents on cultural city brands, 3rd World Research Summit for Tourism and Hospitality & 1st USA-China Tourism Research Summit, Orlando, USA.
Kladou, S., Kehagias, J., & Dilmperi, A. (2014). An Insight Into City Branding A Destination Brand Equity Approach, 43rd Annual Conference of EMAC, Valencia, Spain. Online Hard Copy Proceedings
Kladou, S., Kehagias, J., & Dilmperi, A. (2014). Destination Brand Equity: Evaluating Cultural Urban Destinations, AMA SERVSIG 2014, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Kladou, S., & Mavragani, E. (2014). Assessing Image Traits on Social Media: The Case of a Cultural Destination, Heritage Tourism and Hospitality International Conference, Istanbul, Turkey.
Kladou, S., Bakas, F., & Kladou, M. (2013). Cultural destination brands and the role of gender in sustainable tourism development: Focusing on handicraft entrepreneurs. Critical Tourism Conference V, Sarajevo. (Open link)
Kladou, S., Assiouras, I., & Giannopoulos, A. (2013). Tourism type and destination image perceptions in a country context: a match/mismatch framework. 42nd AMS Annual Conference, California, US.
Giannopoulos, A., Kladou, S., & Assiouras, I. (2013). Matching tourism type and destination image perceptions in a country context. 42th Annual Conference of EMAC, Istanbul, Turkey. ISBN 978-9944-380-10-2
Kladou, S., & Kehagias, J. (2013). Assessing brand equity in the case of cultural destinations. Sustainable Issues and Challenges in Tourism Conference. Istanbul, Turkey. ISBN 978-975-518-354-1
Kladou S., Giannopoulos, A., & Assiouras, I. (2013). Matching country destination image with tourism types. Sustainable Issues and Challenges in Tourism Conference. Istanbul, Turkey. ISBN 978-975-518-354-1
Kladou, S., Kehagias, J. (2012). Αξιολόγηση Brands προορισμών: Η σημασία των πολιτιστικών χαρακτηριστικών, 1st Pan-Hellenic Place Marketing and Branding Conference, Volos. (in Greek)
Kladou, S., Kehagias, J. (2012). Sustainable Tourism Development in Times of Crises: The Contribution of Culture to City Branding, Sustainable Tourism in Times of Crisis, Antalya. ISBN 978-605-4483-08-2.
Kladou, S., Giannopoulos, A., Mavragani, E., Chytiri, A. P. (2012). Building a sustainable competitive advantage in times of crises: Capitalizing on culture, destination branding and relationship marketing, Sustainable Tourism in Times of Crisis, Antalya. ISBN 978-605-4483-08-2.
Kladou, S. Kehagias, J. (2012). Investigating the Contribution of Culture to Destination Branding, ICOT 2012, Crete. ISBN 978-9963-9799-1-2, ISSN 1986-4256.
Kladou, S., Giannopoulos, A., Mavragani, E., Chytiri, A. P. (2012). Destination Branding and Relationship Marketing: A Competitive Advantage through Capitalizing on Culture, ICOT 2012, Crete. ISBN 978-9963-9799-1-2, ISSN 1986-4256.
Giannopoulos, A., Kladou, S., Mavragani, E., Chytiri, A. P. (2012). Measuring the Effectiveness of Destination Branding: A Critical Approach, 2nd Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Marketing & Management Conference, Corfu. ISBN 978-960-287-139-3
Kladou, S. Kehagias, J. (2012). Connecting Culture to Destination Brand Equity Dimensions: Towards a Conceptual Model, 2nd Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Marketing & Management Conference, Corfu. ISBN 978-960-287-139-3
Zouganeli S., Trihas N., Antonaki M., Kladou S. (2010) The role of local people in the development of a local brand: A bottom-up approach, International Conference on Sustainable Tourism: Issues, Debates & Challenges, Crete & Santorini – Best Paper Award