Rui Costa was born in Oliveira de Azeméis, district of Aveiro. He graduated in Tourism Management and Planning in 1988, completed the Master’s degree in Innovation and Development Policies in 2005 and the PhD in Tourism in 2012, at the University of Aveiro.
He is Assistant Professor in Tourism at the Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism of the University of Aveiro. He is an Integrated Member of the Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies, part of the Research Group in Tourism and Development. He develops his research on planning and development in tourism, networks, governance and public policy, territorial dynamics of investment and financing of small and micro enterprises in the tourism sector. He participates in several projects of applied research, nationally and internationally, and he is author and co-author of several papers in national and international journals.
He is also member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Tourism & Development and member of the Organizing Committee of the International Conference INVTUR.