Dr. Xiang (Robert) Li assumes Leadership of STHM’s Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management
By: Alison Rooney
First Published: July 22, 2020
Topics: Faculty, Faculty and Curriculum, Research, STHM School, Tourism & Hospitality, U.S.-Asia Center
As of July 1st, Dr. Xiang (Robert) Li will assume the role of chair of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Temple University’s School of Tourism, Marketing and Hospitality Management (STHM). A professor and Washburn Senior Research Fellow, Dr. Li is an expert in tourism and focuses his research on destination marketing and tourist behavior, with emphasis on international destination branding, customer loyalty and tourism in Asia.
The year after arriving at STHM in 2015, Dr. Li created Temple’s U.S.-Asia Center for Tourism and Hospitality Research, which he still directs. The center performs multidisciplinary research and provides consulting to the tourism, hospitality and related industries in the U.S. and the entire Asia-Pacific region.
“A top researcher in his field, Dr. Li has shepherded the U.S.-Asia Center for Tourism and Hospitality Research through a period of tremendous growth,” says STHM’s Associate Dean Jeremy Jordan. “I have every confidence that he will demonstrate the same leadership and vision in chairing the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management as it continues to grow and produce innovative scholarship and programs.”
“Temple’s Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management is internationally recognized as a preeminent institution for innovative research and education,” says Li. “With great gratitude and a humble heart, I look forward to serving our students, faculty and staff and to synergizing our community, industry and Temple University.”
Dr. Li’s extensive tourism research has been awarded over $2.1 million in funding. He has authored nearly 200 scientific publications, including more than 50 papers in top-tier journals in tourism, business, leisure and hospitality. Ranked among the world’s top 40 contributors to top-tier tourism journals/most-cited tourism scholars, he has been cited by international media outlets including Associated Press, New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, Time, Los Angeles Times, The Globe and Mail (Canada), and China Daily. Among the recent articles to feature his expertise on the impact of the pandemic on tourism was a June piece in Forbes about travel insurance.
Dr. Li has worked with destination marketing organizations and companies such as Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Universal Studio Hollywood, as well as with government agencies, organizations and corporations including the World Travel & Tourism Council, United States Department of Commerce/National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO), Destination Canada, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism (formerly National Tourism Administration, CNTA), the U.S. Travel Association and National Tour Association.
A Native of Nanjing, China, Dr. Li previously taught at the University of South Carolina and has held adjunct or visiting faculty appointments at universities in Australia, Hong Kong and Mainland China. He earned his Ph.D. in Recreation, Park and Tourism Science from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, and earned M.S. degrees at East Carolina University as well as at Nanjing Normal University, P. R. China.
