Prof Lubbe is currently Head of the Division: Tourism Management in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She started her career as a travel consultant, eventually owning her own travel agency, before moving into academia where she has become a highly rated researcher. Her research in the tourism field covers topics such as tourism competitiveness, the role of air transport in tourism, eTourism and business travel. She has published her research in journals such as the Journal of Air Transport Management, the Transportation Journal, Tourism Management and the Journal of Business Ethics. She collaborates with universities in Finland and the Netherlands in her research and regularly presents guest lectures to both academic and industry audiences. In 2006, Prof Lubbe received a Laureate Award from the University of Pretoria for her contribution to educational innovation. In 2011, she became the first South African to join the board of the International Federation for Information Technologies in Travel and Tourism (IFITT).