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Xiang (Robert) Li

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Xiang (Robert) Li

  • School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management

    • Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management

      • Professor

Biography

Dr. Xiang (Robert) Li is a professor and Washburn Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Temple University. He is also Director of Temple’s U.S.-Asia Center for Tourism and Hospitality Research. 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 nearly 200 scientific publications, including 50 papers/editorials published in or accepted by top-tier tourism, business, leisure, and hospitality journals such as Journal of Travel Research, Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Leisure Research, Leisure Sciences, and Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research. Prof. Li serves on the editorial boards of over ten journals and book series, including the Journal of Travel Research and Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research. He has edited five special issues/columns for four prestigious journals and is currently working on a special issue on “Customer engagement in tourism and hospitality services” for the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research. Prof. Li’s academic work has been recognized through several awards, including the “Emerging Scholars of Distinction” Award by the International Academy for the Study of Tourism, the first ever “Best Emerging Scholar in Tourism (B.E.S.T.)” Award by the International Tourism Studies Association, and the USC Educational Foundation Award for Research in Professional Schools, one of the university's "most prestigious annual prizes for research and scholarship." In 2015, he was inducted as Fellow of the International Association for China Tourism Studies. In multiple recent rankings, Prof. Li has been consistently listed among the world’s top 40 contributors to top-tier tourism journals/most cited tourism scholars (Li & Xu, 2014; McKercher, 2014; 2015; Mulet-Forteza et al., in press) and one of the top five contributors to China-related tourism and hospitality research in leading journals (Bai, 2017; Bao et al., 2018).
To date, Prof. Li has conducted extensive tourism research in various areas and has been awarded over $1.6 million in research funding. He has worked with numerous prestigious organizations, government agencies, and corporations including the World Travel & Tourism Council, United States Department of Commerce/ National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO), Canadian Tourism Commission, China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), the United States Travel Association, and National Tour Association as well as several destination marketing organizations and companies such as Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Universal Studio Hollywood. His research has been cited by many American and international media outlets, such as New York Times, USA Today, Time, Las Vegas Sun Times, The Globe and Mail (Canada), and China Daily. His project on Chinese outbound travel for the U.S. federal government and industry was described as a “landmark” and “groundbreaking” project by the industry and media. Preliminary results of the study were used at the Joint China Commission on Trade meeting in Beijing, China, Dec. 2007, in which the “China-U.S. MOU to Facilitate Outbound Tourist Group Travel from China to the United States” was signed. His 2016 edited book Chinese Outbound Tourism 2.0 (https://www.crcpress.com/Chinese-Outbound-Tourism-20/Li/9781771881807) is considered “the most comprehensive book to date that is crafted to exclusively examine the Chinese outbound tourist market.” Another of Prof. Li’s projects on the American outbound travel market was one of the first marketing research projects CNTA commissioned to a Western university. During 2012–13, Prof. Li served on the Global Insights Advisory Council for Brand USA. He holds/has held adjunct or visiting faculty appointments at universities in Australia, Hong Kong, and Mainland China. He is also a frequent speaker at numerous international and industry conferences.
A native of Nanjing, China, Prof. Li earned his Ph.D. in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Science from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Before coming to the United States, Prof. Li worked as a destination marketing, event organizing, and tourism planning specialist in the city tourism bureau of Nanjing, China for 5 years.

Courses Taught

Number

Name

Level

THM 2311

Global Issues in Travel

Undergraduate

THM 3322

Destination Management Organizations

Undergraduate

Selected Publications

Recent

  • Lee, W., Lu, L., & Li, X.(. (2024). Unlocking the power of gamification: Alleviating reward-sensitivity in promotional interactions. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 119, 103717-103717. Elsevier BV. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2024.103717.

  • Tan, K.P. & Li, X.R. (2024). When Tourists are Angry or Fearful: (In)Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation in Changing Behavioral Intention. Journal of Travel Research, 63(4), 796-817. SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/00472875231173126.

  • Liu, H., Li, X.R., & Cohen, S. (2023). Is travel bragging in the eye of the beholder? Bragger and audience perspectives. International Journal of Tourism Research, 25(5), 475-490. Wiley. doi: 10.1002/jtr.2579.

  • Zhou, Q.B., He, Z., & Li, X.R. (2023). Quantifying Authenticity: Progress and Challenges. Journal of Travel Research, 62(7), 1460-1479. SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/00472875221131560.

  • He, Z., Wu, L., & Li, X.R. (2023). Mediating service experiences with online photos: the role of consumers' perceptions of the mediated servicescape. Journal of Service Management, 34(4), 657-695. Emerald. doi: 10.1108/josm-11-2021-0429.

  • So, K.K.F., Kim, H., He, Y., & Li, X.R. (2023). Mapping Service Innovation Research in Hospitality and Tourism: An Integrative Bibliometric Analysis and Research Agenda. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 64(2), 143-160. SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/19389655221102392.

  • So, K.K.F. & Li, X.R. (2023). Service Innovation and Emerging Technologies in Tourism and Hospitality. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 64(2), 140-142. SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/19389655231166819.

  • Huang, X., Li, X.R., & Lu, L. (2023). Travel shaming? Re-thinking travel decision making amid a global pandemic. Tourism Management, 94, 104658-104658. Elsevier BV. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2022.104658.

  • Tan, K.P., Yang, Y., & Li, X.R. (2022). Catching a ride in the peer-to-peer economy: Tourists’ acceptance and use of ridesharing services before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Business Research, 151, 504-518. Elsevier BV. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.05.069.

  • Lu, L., Lee, L., Wu, L., & Li, X.R. (2022). Healing the pain: does COVID-19 isolation drive intentions to seek travel and hospitality experiences? JOURNAL of HOSPITALITY MARKETING & MANAGEMENT, 31(5), 620-639. 10.1080/19368623.2022.2029726

  • Chen, Y., Liu, Y., Wu, L., & Li, X.R. (2022). How Does Mobile Social Media Sharing Benefit Travel Experiences? JOURNAL of TRAVEL RESEARCH. 10.1177/00472875221098936

  • Yu, Q., Huang, Y., Li, X.R., & Ren, Z. (2022). To go or not to go: multiple identities and the effects of ambivalence. CURRENT ISSUES in TOURISM. 10.1080/13683500.2022.2077180

  • Song, J., Qu, H., & Li, X.(. (2022). It Takes a Village!: Customer Value Co-Creation Behavior in Restaurant Social Media-Based Brand Community. JOURNAL of HOSPITALITY & TOURISM RESEARCH. 10.1177/10963480221095721

  • Lai, K. & Li, X.R. (2022). Tourism in a Semantic Mirror: Retheorizing Tourism from the Linguistic Turn. JOURNAL of TRAVEL RESEARCH, 61(5), 963-980. 10.1177/00472875211019464

  • Tan, K.P., Li, X.R., & Lee, S. (2022). Exploring the Determinants of Hotel Operating Performance Stabilization in Emerging Markets: Deciphering the Myth. JOURNAL of HOSPITALITY & TOURISM RESEARCH, 46(4), 742-770. 10.1177/1096348021996440

  • Liu, P., Wu, L., & Li, X.R. (2022). What can hotels learn from the last recovery? Examining hotel occupancy rate and the guest experience. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL of HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT, 103. 10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.103200

  • He, Z., Deng, N., Li, X.R., & Gu, H. (2022). How to "Read" a Destination from Images? Machine Learning and Network Methods for DMOs' Image Projection and Photo Evaluation. JOURNAL of TRAVEL RESEARCH, 61(3), 597-619. 10.1177/0047287521995134

  • Huang, X., Xu, H., & Li, X.R. (2022). Spatial development of two villages: Bordering, debordering, and rebordering in a community scenic area. ANNALS of TOURISM RESEARCH, 93. 10.1016/j.annals.2022.103370

  • Wang, Y. & Li, X. (2022). Developing and validating a scale of host territoriality in peer-to-peer accommodation. Tourism Management, 88. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2021.104425.

  • Zhangi, Y., Li, X.R., Cardenas, D.A., & Liu, Y. (2022). Calculating Theme Parks' Tourism Demand and Attractiveness Energy: A Reverse Gravity Model and Particle Swarm Optimization. JOURNAL of TRAVEL RESEARCH, 61(2), 314-330. 10.1177/0047287520977705

  • Liang, Z. & Li, X.R. (2021). What is a Theme Park? A Synthesis and Research Framework. JOURNAL of HOSPITALITY & TOURISM RESEARCH. 10.1177/10963480211069173

  • Liu, H. & Li, X.R. (2021). How Travel Earns Us Bragging Rights: A Qualitative Inquiry and Conceptualization of Travel Bragging Rights. JOURNAL of TRAVEL RESEARCH, 60(8), 1635-1653. 10.1177/0047287520964599

  • Wang, Y. & Li, X.R. (2021). Human Territoriality in P2P Accommodation: An Examination of Guest Experience. JOURNAL of TRAVEL RESEARCH, 60(8), 1735-1751. 10.1177/0047287520964588

  • Tan, K.P. & Li, X.R. (2021). To Guilt or To Vacation: Constraining Effects of Guilt on Vacation Decisions. Journal of Travel Research, 60(8), 1692-1713. SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/0047287520966392.

  • Yang, Y., Altschuler, B., Liang, Z., & Li, X.R. (2021). Monitoring the global COVID-19 impact on tourism: The COVID19tourism index. Ann Tour Res, 90, 103120. England. 10.1016/j.annals.2020.103120

  • Chen, N., Hsu, C.H., & Li, X.R. (2021). Resident Sentiment toward a Dominant Tourist Market: Scale Development and Validation. JOURNAL of TRAVEL RESEARCH, 60(7), 1408-1425. 10.1177/0047287520947799

  • Zou, S.S., Tan, K.P., Liu, H., Li, X.R., & Chen, Y. (2021). Mobile vs. PC: the device mode effects on tourism online survey response quality. CURRENT ISSUES in TOURISM, 24(10), 1345-1357. 10.1080/13683500.2020.1797645

  • Hao, J., Fu, Y., Hsu, C., Li, X.R., & Chen, N. (2020). Introducing News Media Sentiment Analytics to Residents' Attitudes Research. JOURNAL of TRAVEL RESEARCH, 59(8), 1353-1369. 10.1177/0047287519884657

  • So, K.K.F. & Li, X.R. (2020). Customer Engagement in Hospitality and Tourism Services. JOURNAL of HOSPITALITY & TOURISM RESEARCH, 44(2), 171-177. 10.1177/1096348019900010

  • Han, B., Wang, L., & Li, X.R. (2020). To Collaborate or Serve? Effects of Anthropomorphized Brand Roles and Implicit Theories on Consumer Responses. CORNELL HOSPITALITY QUARTERLY, 61(1), 53-67. 10.1177/1938965519874879

  • So, K.K.F., Li, X.R., & Kim, H.H. (2020). Customer engagement in hospitality and tourism: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda. JOURNAL of HOSPITALITY & TOURISM RESEARCH, 44(2), 178-200. 10.1177/1096348019895562

  • Yu, Q., McManus, R., Yen, D.A., & Li, X.R. (2020). Tourism boycotts and animosity: A study of seven events. ANNALS of TOURISM RESEARCH, 80. 10.1016/j.annals.2019.102792

  • Nyaupane, G., Paris, C., & Li, X. (2020). Introduction: Special issue on domestic tourism in Asia. Tourism Review International, 24(1), 1-4. doi: 10.3727/154427220X15845838896305.