Dr. Benjamin Altschuler joins the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management as an Assistant Professor, following the completion of his doctoral degree at the University of Utah.

Dr. Altschuler’s research focuses on culture and its influence on tourism in Asia, specifically in China, utilizing sociological and social psychological concepts related to culture and identity to understand touristic-related behaviors. His research has been published in top academic journals, and he has presented his work nationally as well as internationally in Germany and China.

He attained his Bachelor of Science degree in environmental studies from the University of Vermont. He received his Master of Science degree in parks, recreation and tourism, with an emphasis on peak experience, at the University of Utah. Recently, he earned his Ph.D. in parks, recreation and tourism, with an emphasis on tourism, China and cross-cultural studies, from the University of Utah.

Christine A. Cleaver joins STHM on a non-tenure-track appointment. Professor Cleaver uses an experiential learning teaching strategy in facilitating her courses. She has served as an adjunct faculty member within the school since 2000, leading courses in event operations, the business of events, the business of sport, program planning, and event planning.

Cleaver’s professional experience includes management of a full-service event management and event production company, and additional roles in marketing, organizational leadership, production management, and social media content generation and leadership.

Cleaver earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sport Management, Recreation, and Leisure Studies from Temple University., a Master of Education degree from Cabrini College, and she is currently working on her EdD in Higher Education at Temple University in the College of Education. Christine is excited to add Temple Mom to her titles as her daughter embarks on earning a BFA in Technical Production and Management.

Prof. Li’s research mainly focuses on destination marketing and tourist behavior, with special emphasis on international destination branding, customer loyalty, and tourism in Asia. He has authored over 150 scientific publications and has been consistently listed among the world’s top 40 contributors to tourism journals/most cited tourism scholars. To date, Prof. Li has conducted extensive tourism research in various areas and has been awarded over $1.45 million research funding. His clients include the United State Department of Commerce/Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI), China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), as well as numerous destination marketing organizations and companies including Disney. During 2012–13, Prof. Li served on the Global Insights Advisory Council for Brand USA. He holds/held adjunct or visiting faculty appointment in universities in Australia, Hong Kong, and Mainland China. He is also a frequent speaker at numerous international and industry conferences.

Areas of Expertise

• Consumer preferences & profiling
• Destination branding
• International tourism marketing and Asian tourism
• Quantitative modeling techniques

Education

• Ph.D. (Texas A&M University)
• M.S. (East Carolina University)
• M.S. (Nanjing Normal University, P. R. China)

Dr. Yang has an inter-disciplinary research and education background, and he is able to thoroughly investigate research questions and offer unique insights and perspectives. Dr. Yang has authored more than 80 academic publications, and several of them are published in the top-tier research journals. Dr. Yang has also accumulated abundant industrial experience from various consulting projects, especially tourism planning projects in the U.S. and China.

Areas of Expertise

• Tourism demand analysis
• Big data analysis
• Economic analytics
• Quantitative modeling techniques

Education

• Ph.D. (University of Florida)
• M.A. & M. Stat. (University of Florida)
• M.Phil. (Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong)
• Postgraduate Diploma (Peking University, P. R. China)
• B.Sc. (Nanjing University, P. R. China)

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 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’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)

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)