Research unit
Research interests
- Gender equality and women’s empowerment in the tourism sector
- Labour issues specific to the travel industry
- Social and territorial issues in tourism
Bio
With a master’s degree in tourism development from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Emilie Marcil is a research professional at ExperiSens since 2021.
Her Master’s thesis addresses the issue of affinity grouping during vacations, especially among women. Beyond the question of gender and social relationships during vacations, Émilie is interested in emerging trends and social issues in the travel industry, a field in which she has worked for over 17 years.
Drawing upon her experience as a guide, travel consultant, package tour operator and tour guide operator, she remains very close to the tourism stakeholders with the concern for better theorizing their practice, considering the tourist field as a rich environment of knowledge and expertise.
Research projects
Other projects:
- Promotion of harmonious coexistence between tourism and homelessness
- Use of mixed reality for health and safety training in restaurant kitchens
- Assessment of tourism industry member interest in the use of technology in their service offerings
- Analysis of training platform and assessment of its suitability for a hotel’s housekeeping needs
- Tourism and social inclusion: strengthening the professional development and sense of identity of people excluded from the labour market (in progress)
Papers
Thesis and dissertation
Marcil, E. (2020). “Femmes et tourisme de l’entre-soi “ Mémoire. Montréal [unpublished master’s thesis], Université du Québec à Montréal.
Books
Marcil, E. (2022). Femmes et tourisme de l’entre-soi, Presses de l’Université du Québec : Québec, 120 p.
Presentations
Marcil, E. (2023). Femmes et tourisme de l’entre-soi. Paper presented at the Midis-conférences, Département des études universitaires et de la recherche, Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec.
Marcil, E. (2022). Les femmes et le voyage de groupe. Paper presented at ESTHUA, Faculté de Tourisme, Culture et Hospitalité, Université Angers, Angers, France.
Marcil, E. (2022). Femmes et tourisme. Paper presented to the Association Femmes du Tourisme, Paris.
Marcil, E. et J.-C. Cailles (2024). Faire appel à la recherche pour sublimer l’expérience-client. A collaboration between the ExperiSens research centre and et Hotel Monville, as part of the Infopresse training series.
Marcil, E. (2025, October). Résultats des recherches sur l’itinérance. Invited oral presentation as part of the Atelier des experts event, Synchronex, Québec City, QC, Canada.
Marcil, E. (2025, November). Comprendre l’influence de l’itinérance sur l’expérience client et l’expérience employé. Invited oral presentation as part of the AHQ-AQS Annual Congress, Rivière-du-Loup, QC, Canada.
Marcil, E. (2026, February). Quand l’itinérance s’invite dans nos milieux touristiques : sommes-nous bien outillés pour soutenir nos équipes? Invited oral presentation as part of the Les Grands Remous event, Québec City, QC, Canada.
Audiovisual Work
Niagara Inc. – Documentary (52 min), produced by Moi et Dave, 2026 Project ideation and contribution to editorial content
Media Appearances and Contributions
MARCIL, E. (2023, October 11). “Le mirage du maillage entre « start-up » et organismes touristiques”. Le Devoir, Opinion.
MARCIL, E. – Radio-Canada, Moteur de recherche, December 21, 2023: Commentary on the understanding of the factors that promote well-being among different hotel clienteles.
MARCIL, E. – Radio-Canada Saguenay and Bas‑Saint‑Laurent, July 2025: Interviews on the future of tourist information centers.
MARCIL, E. (2025, July 31). “Google n’est pas un office du tourisme”. Le Devoir, Opinion.
MARCIL, E. (2026, January 16). “Les petits gestes à l’épreuve de l’intelligence artificielle”. Le Devoir, Opinion.
MARCIL, E. – Radio-Canada, Pénélope, March 25, 2026: Guest contributor for a discussion on the documentary ” Le tourisme aux chutes Niagara”.
Posters
Marcil, E., (2023, April). Évaluation de l’intérêt des membres de l’industrie du tourisme à utiliser la technologie dans leur offre de service. Poster presented at ACFAS, Montréal, Canada.
Marcil, E. (2023, November). Mesures d’analyse sensorielle de services informationnels et communicationnels en contexte hôtelier. Poster presented at Ateliers des experts de Synchronex, Québec City.