A leading figure in Northern Ireland’s hotel industry has been appointed as a Visiting Professor at the University of Ulster.

Marketing Director of Hastings Hotels, Julie Hastings, has joined the Ulster Business School’s Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management as part of its efforts to further develop relations between the University and the industry.

Julie has been Marketing Director and previously Group Marketing Director with Hastings Hotels, which includes the famous Europa, Culloden and Slieve Donard, for 25 years.

She is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, a former board member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, a board member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and the CLIC Sargent Charity.

Julie Hastings said: “My family and I are delighted about this appointment and we are very proud of our ongoing association with this wonderful and proactive University.

“I’m really looking forward to meeting the students and bringing some of my experience from the hotel industry to them and you never know, I might even get some good advice and ideas to implement as well, that is what it is about really.”

Dr Una McMahon-Beattie, Head of Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management said: “Julie brings a wealth of marketing experience in the hospitality and tourism industry in Northern Ireland to us.

“The University is keen through Julie’s appointment to develop relationships with the industry and particularly with Hastings Hotels who employ graduates from the Department each year.”

Hastings Hotels has enjoyed an excellent relationship with the University dating back to the Hastings lectures in the 1980s.

The Hastings family has previously been recognised by the University of Ulster for their contribution to the industry. An honorary Doctor of Letters was awarded to Sir William Hastings in 1998 and a DSc awarded to Howard Hastings in 2012.