Rachelle O’Brien is a lecturer in the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism at TU Dublin. She lectures across a number of tourism and event management modules including Conference Management, Event Industry Studies, Event Operations and Business Tourism. She is Year 1 and Year 3 tutor on the B.Sc. Event Management programme. Rachelle holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology & English from Maynooth University and a first-class honours M.Sc. in Tourism Management from the Technological University Dublin.

Prior to her academic career, Rachelle worked in the Hospitality and Tourism industry for almost 20 years in senior management roles. Her extensive industry background includes Director of Sales & Marketing positions as well as product development for incoming tour operators and market research and planning assistance for Fáilte Ireland.

Her research interests include sustainable events, authenticity in destination marketing, and the changing dynamics in online distribution.