The Team

With deep roots in the city of Philadelphia, the American East and extensive networks across the globe, our exciting and energetic team is uniquely positioned to build bridges between academics and practitioners, as well as East and West.

We invite you to learn more about the backgrounds and expertise of our team below.

Professors

  • Benjamin Altschuler

    School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management

    Associate Professor of Instruction

    benjamin-altschuler

    Office Location

    Speakman Hall 323

    Direct

    215-204-8924

  • Christine Cleaver

    School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management

    Associate Professor of Instruction

    christine-cleaver

    Office Location

    Speakman 325

    Direct

    215-204-7115

  • Xiang (Robert) Li

    School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management

    Professor

    Director of U.S. Asia Center for Tourism and Hospitality Research

    Office Location

    Speakman Hall 370/371

    Direct

    215-204-8784

  • Yang Yang

    School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management

    Interim Chair and Professor and Executive Director of U.S. – Asia Center for Tourism & Hospitality Research

    yang-yang

    Office Location

    Speakman Hall 330

    Direct

    215-204-5030

Students

Karen Tan

Doctoral Student and Research Assistant

School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management

Email: karen.tan@temple.edu

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A Singapore native, Karen has close to 10 years of professional experience in tourism and hospitality consulting. With a primary focus on the Asia Pacific region, she has completed more than 100 demand and financial feasibility studies to assess the potential of new markets. Her wealth of consulting experience spans the entire lifecycle of hospitality assets, including but not limited to operator selection and hotel management contract negotiations, operations and benchmarking reviews, renovation and repositioning strategies as well as asset disposal and brokerage. In addition, she has extensive experience in strategic consulting projects, providing advice to clients on destination master planning, global brand expansion strategy, portfolio restructuring, business planning and regional headquarter operating modes. With her in-depth understanding of both the supply and demand dynamics of the tourism and hospitality industry, Karen is well-equipped to conduct research that holds practical applications while contributing to the broader knowledge base.

Areas of Expertise

  • Investment analysis
  • Demand forecasting
  • Trend analysis
  • Benchmarking analysis

Education

  • M.Bus. (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
  • B.Bus. (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

Xingyu Huan

PhD Student and Research Assistant

The U.S.-Asia Center for Tourism & Hospitality Research

Email: xingyu.huang@temple.edu

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Xingyu Huang’s current research interests include health and tourism, customer behavior/experience in tourism and hospitality. She does both qualitative and quantitative research and she has a wealth of project involvement experience.

Areas of Expertise

  • Destination management
  • Tourism planning
  • Consumer behavior/experience
  • Health and tourism

Education

  • M.A. (Sun Yat-sen University, China)
  • B.A. (Sun Yat-sen University, China)

Clare Robinson

Master Student and Research Assistant

The U.S.-Asia Center for Tourism & Hospitality Research

Email: tul05498@temple.edu

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Clare Robinson’s research interests include sustainability and eco-tourism, education through tourism and overtourism trends. Building on her previous work experience and education in design, she is also interested in hotel design and innovation and curating travel experiences.

Areas of Expertise

  • Marketing and Content Design
  • Customer Service
  • Event Coordination
  • Editorial and Administrative Work

Education

  • B.S. (University of Texas at Austin, USA)

Ting Fan

Master Student and Research Assistant

The U.S.-Asia Center for Tourism & Hospitality Research

Email: fanting@temple.edu

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As a future accomplished marketing professional with multiple marketing-related work experiences, Ting Fan’s research interests include analyzing market trends in the tourism and hospitality industry using the rich data available. An innovative thinker, detail-oriented researcher and creative event planner, in conceptualizing and executing process initiatives to deliver the best service to the customers.

Areas of Expertise

  • Food & Beverage Management
  • Market Analysis
  • Tourism Impact Studies
  • Consumer Behavior Analytics

Education

  • B.B.A. (International Business, Fox School of Business and Management, Temple University, USA)