Dr. Xiang (Robert) Li is a professor and Arthur F. McGnigle Senior Research Fellow of the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Temple University. He is also Director of Temple’s U.S.-Asia Center for Tourism and Hospitality Research. Robert’s research mainly focuses on destination marketing and tourist behavior, with special emphasis on international destination branding, customer loyalty, and tourism in Asia. Robert is a frequent contributor to top-tier tourism, business, leisure, and hospitality journals, and serves on the editorial boards of fifteen journals, including Associate Editor of Tourism Management. His academic work has been recognized through numerous awards. In multiple rankings, Robert has been consistently listed among the world’s top contributors to leading tourism journals/most cited tourism scholars. Please view Robert’s Google Scholar here.
To date, Robert has conducted extensive tourism research in various areas and has been awarded over $2.3 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), Destination Canada, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism (formerly 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 HollyTwood. His research has been cited by many American and international media outlets, such as Associated Press, New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Time, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, The Globe and Mail (Canada), and China Daily. Robert is also a frequent speaker at numerous international and industry conferences.
A native of Nanjing, China, Robert earned his Ph.D. in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Science from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Before coming to the United States, Robert worked as a destination marketing, event organizing, and tourism planning specialist in the city tourism bureau of Nanjing, China for 5 years.